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ROAD SAFETY &
CYCLE TRAINING |
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Working together with you, meeting your needs on your home territory ...
I have recently been approached by one of the four Special Needs schools in the county to help set up a Cycle Club after school - what a brilliant idea, so often those who need a little extra help get overlooked, so work on the project has already begun in earnest! Every so often I go over there to meet the students so that I learn more about them and can adapt the various courses accordingly, so we can work with as many children and young people as possible. Together with the school and the CTC who are setting up a module for instructors to update their skills as people like myself have little or no experience, (which is why college this year, university next) I am learning fast!! I have also begun to work with adults who have learning difficulties but want to cycle so it really is not exclusive at all! Did you know that there are even bicycles for people who are wheelchair bound ... One thing I will say is when it is called a special needs school, it is special - but because of the nature of the students there, not because of the problems they have to deal with. They are simply both amazing and delightful to be with, having had the privilege to shadow some of the students there so I can gain a better insight as to how we need to adapt the courses for them. Also I am hoping to get a consultancy bursary from the CTC to seek professional advice from an instructor who already works with children with similar problems.
As well as doing that, a Youth Worker in the south west of the county, has asked me to do something similar and lead the way by instructing some of the young people who she works with - initially on road training, then off road training because of the numerous trails around the county ending up with maintenance courses so they are self sustainable within reason.
In fact we have already started the sessions, in the Penzance area working with the Three Villages Youth Project for Newlyn, Mousehole, and Paul where youth clubs and craft workshops are run. This is where all the independent instructors pulling together as part of the bigger picture because of the different skills we can all bring to the table, pays dividends and Cornwall has a pretty amazing network of instructors with backgrounds in a multitude of complimentary professions! Momentarily I am done there and teaching in St Agnes over the Bank Holiday instead but I will be back as some of them want to go on and do their Level 3. We wound it down by going on a ride out to Mousehole where we had an ice cream before coming back again and met the Pedal Back the Years ride out en route!
It has also been suggested that as my university project I work towards setting up a cycling academy at college and again, that is something that is already being worked on as it is needs some serious research and planning. Having already encountered at least one young person who wants to train as an Assistant Instructor, possibly as part of her work experience programme, my gut feeling is this would be a fantastic way forward for both Cornwall and the children of this county! On top of that I have also been asked if I'd be interested in being part pilot to become an Instructor Trainer. Naturally I've said 'yes' but sadly it not only clashed with college but the E2E as well, however all is not lost as there will be other courses and it would be a great starting point to the academy becoming a reality in practical terms. Watch this space - the possibilities are endless and hopefully will come to fruition ..... it is an exciting time for the world of cycling. Wendy ~ © Copyright 2008. All Rights Reserved ~ |
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DISCLAIMER: Whilst every reasonable care has been taken to ensure accuracy of information provided on both this page and website, we cannot be held responsible for any errors in or omissions from the given text |
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In fact
Velovision which is run by Peter Eland, is a wonderful magazine to
know about - he does his research before publishing any articles and
then ensures they are updated as and when necessary ..... he also
has a lot of helpful advice about bikes for people who have special
needs and if you wanted to get a free download on the subject, click
here to go to the
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