The Story so far…
St. Peter’s Primary has been delighted to offer our Primary 5, 6 and 7 children with Bikeability sessions during the last three years. Level 1 is delivered to children in Primaries 5 and 6 shortly after the Easter break. All training takes place in the playground. Level 2 is delivered to children in Primary 7 who have completed Level 1 training. The children practice manoeuvres on Braehead Road, outside the school. This area has been fully risk assessed by Craig Dalziel our Bikeability Co-ordinator and Mrs Maclean, our Principal Teacher.
Our current cycle trainers are Mrs Maclean, Mrs Mitchell, Mrs McLean and Miss Gordon who have all attended the Bikeability training. They are well supported by Craig Dalziel, the Bikeability Co-ordinator for Renfrewshire Council. Craig often supports the staff and children during Bikeability lessons and has worked with Mrs Maclean this year to help us receive the ‘Cycle Friendly Schools Award’.
Why Bikeability?
Bikeability is much more than a cycle training programme and it offers our school numerous advantages that cannot be underestimated. Bikeability helps to promote healthy living and making sustainable life choices that can last a lifetime.
Bikeability helps to develop our children’s skills for learning, life and work and it facilitates the development of critical thinking skills and the development of independent thinking, reasoning, problem solving and decision making.
We are also an eco- friendly school and are proud to have recently earned our fifth Green Eco flag! Bikeability helps us to promote the message that cycling is an eco- friendly means of transport that is kinder for our environment.
The Programme:
Health and safety is a priority and it is important to ensure that our children’s bicycles are road worthy prior to beginning the training.
If there are any issues with bicycles, then we would ask parents to make the necessary repairs at home or by taking the children’s bike to a local bike shop for repair.
Unfortunately, we are unable to support with this due to issues around insurance but we are happy to highlight the areas which require attention.
The three most important areas to check are:
- The Brakes.
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The Types.
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The Chain.
Every cycle must have a red rear reflector fitted before it can be taken out onto the road.
It is also important to note that the children must wear a cycle helmet prior to participating in Bikeability training. The school have some spare helmets that can be used should this be required.
There is a handy video clip on the Bikeability website that can provide you with further information around bicycles being road worthy. You can access on the Bikeability website under the ‘Bikeability’ tab: www.bikeability.org.uk
Further information can be found on the following website that is specifically appropriate for schools in Scotland: www.cycling.scot
