Of all the cycling related activities that I’m involved with, I’m probably kept busiest working for Suffolk Roadsafe as a Road Safety and Cycling Instructor; visiting primary schools across the county to deliver Bikeability Level 1 & 2 to pupils in years 5 and 6.
For many of these youngsters, taking part in these courses is their first opportunity to experience ‘real world’ situations with live traffic. In just about every case, they rise to the challenge with great dedication and enthusiasm to gain some fantastic life experience while having a great deal of fun.
The combined Level 1 & 2 courses take the youngsters from the skills needed for basic bike control, right through to being able to ride on quiet single carriageway roads with fairly low levels of traffic.
The training focuses on the four key principles of cycling:
- Observation
- Communication
- Position
- Priority
which are designed to prepare our young riders to manage just about any situation in simple low traffic environments.
Courses are delivered over a total of 8 hours, with the first two covering Level 1 in a traffic free environment. The remaining six are all carried out on live roads.
All training areas are risked assessed and instructors are fully qualified in line with the National Standard for Cycle Training.
At the end of the course, the young riders all receive a certificate, detailing their success and a Bikeability Level 2 badge that they can wear to celebrate their achievements
Many schools in Suffolk do offer Bikeability as part of their curriculum. If you’re not sure that your child’s school does, just get in touch and ask them. If they don’t currently offer it, then it only often takes a couple of requests for them to contact us to see how we might be able to help.
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