So Many Pedals ……….. for the big pedal. - Sustrans

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Heard this term… “The Big Pedal is a great Sustrans competition to get more kids out on two wheels. So many kids want to cycle so we should make it easy for them to get around by bike and to be fit and healthy. It's brilliant to see Sustrans encouraging children from a young age to be happy, independent and free-range, and maybe even feel inspired to become future British cycling champions.” Mark Cavendish, World Champion cyclist, 20-times Tour de France stage winner “Wheelie Wednesday is definitely improving our cycling figures especially on Weds but also Thursday and Friday. Additionally we had a Christmas-themed Wheelie Weds last week where the children came in earlier for milk and Christmas cookies (72 attended !!!) plus parents. Santa (my husband) was a little bashful when he arrived in the hall on his bike as a surprise to draw the raffle, but the children loved it!” Michelle Massimo, Kingswood Primary This term in numbers Your local schools Bike Health Checks carried out in 5 schools with 239 bikes being checked. 3 Bike It Breakfast/brunches were run 300 pupils, family members and teachers taking part. National Standards cycle training; 73 children achieved level 2 and 12 level 1. Top bike shed (including scooters) counts this term; Holywood PS – 121 Ballymacash PS – 81 Andrews Memorial PS - 61 Comber PS - 51 All Children’s IPS – 46 Did you know? In 1971, 80% of 7 and 8 year-olds travelled to school without an adult. By 2009 only 11% of 7 to 10 year-olds did the same. National Standards Cycle Training Four schools took part in National Standards Cycle training with pupils from P6 and P7 classes getting the chance to develop their skills from playground experience to on road training, looking at starting and finishing a journey, checking for other road users, setting position on the road and always being ‘pedal ready’. . Certificates for training Getting ready to start a journey Talking about positioning and turning into a junction …and across the UK The results achieved in the Bike It SE area contribute to Sustrans’ school work throughout the UK. Sustrans is currently directly engaged with 1,405 schools, with a total of more than 380,000 pupils*. Between 5-23 March, Sustrans ran the Big Pedal cycle to school challenge (see Page 4), and the results were startling: • 898 primary and 61 secondary schools took part • Collectively they represented almost 312,000 pupils • 890,304 journeys were generated by bike or scooter • On average 21% of pupils at Big Pedal schools took part on a daily basis – the national average for cycling (not scooting) in primary schools is just 1%, for secondaries it’s 2% (2010) The Sustrans Bike It School Mark recognises schools which show exceptional commitment to cycling with Bronze, Silver and Gold awards. 432 schools already have Bronze status, with 35 at Silver and working hard to be the first UK school to achieve the coveted Gold School Mark award. Our Winter Sticker design competition to encourage cycling attracted over 8,000 inspired (and inspiring) entries. *based on a total school roll for all primary and middle schools, and the targeted pupils within the secondary schools. Bike It NI South East Sustrans schools update Spring Term 2012
What’s Sustrans up to with schools in your region? We are working with schools in three areas of Northern Ireland. In addition to the work in the South Eastern Health Trust area we are working with 8 schools in Belfast and 2 schools in Derry~Londonderry. In Belfast pupils at Bike It schools regularly cycling to schools has risen from 5% to 14% in just one year. In Derry Greenhaw PS have done a year of the Sustrans Bike it programme and won the bronze award for their efforts. This was presented by the Mayor in Feb Photo competition Caption: High Five for cycling! Find a favourite photograph from Bike It activities this year; could you get a better one than mine? Send your photos to: pamela.grove-white@sustrans.org.uk Hype that site – www.walktoschool.org.uk Walk to School Week is coming up between 21-25 May… the ideal opportunity to get any non-cyclists to discover the joy of an active journey to school. The site has free resources, case studies and advice for parents, schools and local authorities on how to get involved. Remember, pupils who walk to school burn more calories in a week than the recommended 2 hours of PE... What else is new? Active School Travel in Northern Ireland is set to receive much more focus in coming years following targets in the Programme for Government (PfG). The target is “by 2015 create the conditions to facilitate at least 36% of primary school pupils and 22% of secondary school pupils to walk or cycle to school as their main mode of transport.” Thumbs up to this great news from pupils and staff from the Hezlett PS on their weekly walking bus. Top tips for the term • The clocks have changed, so can you fit in any after-school bike activities? • Start Wheelie-Wednesdays to involve pupils and parents who can’t cycle every day • Spring clean your bike… better weather means it will get more use, have you given yours an “M-check”? • Help pupils become Sustrans Heroes to celebrate the London 2012 Games! Ask your officer for details. Get these resources… • Clocks Forward Fun… our activity sheet to celebrate the extra light • M-check advice… the quick way to check your bike is safe and ready to roll You can download both (and more!) at www.sustrans.org.uk/freerangekids/families/res ources-for-families Bike It NI South East Sustrans schools update Spring Term 2012
Page 1: Spring Term 2012 Bike It NI South E

So Many Pedals ……….. for the big pedal. - Sustrans

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