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New figures from The Bikeability Trust show a record 560,471 children in England got pedalling with Bikeability cycle training between April 2023 and March 2024 – taking the total since the programme’s inception in 2007 to more than five million.
The Bikeability Trust, who manage, develop and promote the Bikeability programme on behalf of Active Travel England, believe that cycle training can help the new government with their mission to raise educational standards and break down barriers to opportunity.
Bikeability cycle training for all children brings a wide range of benefits.
As a public health intervention, it helps to address childhood physical inactivity, obesity and the mental health crisis.
By equipping children with life skills, pupils not only learn to cycle, they gain independence, social skills and a sense of wellbeing.
Bikeability also increases road safety with children better at responding to risk and reporting increased confidence.
And finally, it increases cycling as a transport choice.
After Bikeability training, children are more likely to cycle to school and for leisure. In 2023, children who took part in Bikeability’s on-road course pedalled 5,340,194 kilometres during training.
Emily Cherry, The Bikeability Trust’s chief executive, said: “I’m so proud of the five million children who are now equipped with the skills and confidence to thrive through pedalling, funded by Active Travel England.
“But we know we have further to go. That’s why our mission is to ensure no child leaves school without the knowledge, confidence and opportunity to cycle.
“Now, more than ever, is the time to focus on the most important thing; to protect the future generation and support them with investment in clean, green and healthy active travel choices.”
The Bikeability Trust wants to:
- Maintain government funding levels for ‘every child’
- Extend Get Cycling in Schools programme, which trains teachers to coach balance and pedal skills to children aged three to six
- Implement zero rate VAT on children’s cycles
- Bring adult cycling under administration of The Bikeability Trust
These policies are supported by parents.
In a YouGov study conducted by The Bikeability Trust, only 14% of parents feel very confident to use the Highway Code to teach their children to cycle on the road.
Yet 71% said that cycle training should be on the school curriculum, 59% wanted more cycle paths and cycle safe routes, and 30% called for drivers to have mandatory education on how to drive safely with cyclists on the road.
