CityCyclingEdinburgh Forum » Cycling News
"Council pledges to give all primary school pupils cycle training by 2016"
(5 posts)-
Posted 11 years ago #
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As has been mentioned elsewhere "cycle training not effective in increasing levels of cycling to school" so the commitment to Bikeability is less important than the commitment to delivering it on-road.
This will be less easy than politicians imagine - BUT they have now committed CEC to doing it (very publicly) and will need to make sure the various departments work together (with outside agencies where appropriate) and ensure that the resources are available.
One problem with Bikeability is that the SG has decreed that this should be delivered by "volunteers". This used to largely mean parents, and some schools have never been able to find enough/any.
A couple of years ago CEC made it the responsibility of individual schools to identify suitable staff and send them on a training course.
Even with this extra resource, very few schools deliver to all pupils in (usually) P6. Not all schools are willing to do the training in school time or even do the classwork part of Bikeability.
The "by 2016" target has been around for a while (it's in the ATAP) - I HOPE that it will be met.
The important things though aren't a tickbox exercise and a certificate, it's about giving young people the skills and confidence to want to ride - not just to school - AND joining-up-networks (Family or otherwise) and making the roads more pleasant generally.
Training ALL children will also help to improve 'driver attitudes' in the future.
Posted 11 years ago # -
This is not 'Nam, there are rules on who can be alone with school children these days and were I to move to a different school I'd need to be checked again.
The memsahib is working for two authorities at the moment and, even though she was already employed by one, the second one had to have her checked.
It's OK if a member of staff is present with the parent but then the school would have committed a member of staff anyway so they might as well just get them trained.
In a large secondary school with over 100 staff I'm once more the only cyclist, have been since August.
Posted 11 years ago # -
The school my children have been to does the whole school in P6 out on the quiet roads. The school I most often work in does the same (tho they have big input from our forum meister), I can think of another school I remember this hAppening in and then I guess the marchmont schools. Hope there are more.
Posted 11 years ago # -
In a large secondary school with over 100 staff I'm once more the only cyclist, have been since August.
Well below the national average, it would be interesting to know if there's some systemic condition discouraging teachers from riding to work, and if so should we positively discriminate to help them set a better example for future generations?
Posted 11 years ago #
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