Majority of kids miss out on cycling proficiency
Two-thirds of primary school children in South Lanarkshire are missing out on cycling proficiency training.
Less than half of schools in the region offer the Bikeability Scotland training scheme, with roughly 2000 pupils in P5 and P6 taking part last year. There around 6000 pupils in P5 and P6.
Figures presented to the council’s roads safety forum on Wednesday, October 30, revealed that just 60 of the 124 primary schools in South Lanarkshire took part in the scheme in 2018-19.
Engineering officer Colin Smith told the forum that there were “various reasons” schools didn’t take up the training.
He added: “All primary schools were invited to participate within Bikeability Scotland level one and level two training during the academic term 2018-19.
“Something we need to work at increase the participation rate.”
Councillor Janine Calikes (Rutherglen Central and North) asked if the schools which didn’t take part were in areas of higher deprivation however Mr Smith said that “there doesn’t seem to be a main reason” for schools not taking part.
Bikeability Scotland is a multi-level cycling training scheme designed to “give the next is to generation the skills and confidence to ride their bikes safely”.
The scheme forms part of the Scottish Government’s Cycle Action Plan for Scotland.
Level one training, offered to P5 pupils, aims to teach children the basic skills of riding a bike and takes place in the school playground.
Last year, just 41 schools offered level one training to 995 pupils, compared with 46 schools and 1115 pupils in 2017-18.
In P6, pupils are then offered level two training, which aims to teach them how to ride a bike safely on the road and navigate basic junctions.
A total of 60 schools offered level two training last year, however six did not offer the on-road element of the training. More than 1200 pupils completed level two training which represents a year-on-year increase.
Some schools participate in the scheme on a biannual basis so some pupils will have completed both level one and two training in 2018-19.
Mr Smith said some schools were unable to release teachers to be trained for the scheme but there has been an increase in the number of parent and community volunteers.
Efforts to increase participation rates are ongoing and the council have received grant funding for part-time Bikeability coordinator while four cycle training assistant courses were delivered last year.