CYCLING AT KELLANDS

At Kellands, we promote cycling and active travel throughout the year with various events and clubs. We understand the importance of cycling for our learners and the impact that it can have on them, their families and our local community. As a result of our implementation of cycling within the school, we see massive benefits to our children and to our school community.

A YEARLY VIEW:

● Leg it to Lapland (December)

● The Big Walk and Wheel (March)

● P5 Bikeability (Level 1)

● P6 Bikeability (Level 2)

● P7 Bikeability (refresher)

● P7 Bennachie Cycle

● Support Sessions

● Hairy Bikers (Cycling club)

● Bike maintenance team

● The Big Cycle

● Loan bikes (Access to Bikes)

● Tour of Britain

At Kellands, we work very closely with walking, wheeling and cycling charity, Sustrans.

As a result of this relationship we have been able to organise numerous events, run clubs and really push cycling forward in our school to become a “Cycle Friendly School”.

The Big Walk and Wheel and Leg It To Lapland are national events organised by Sustrans. They run over two weeks each, with the aim to get as many children travelling in an active way to school each day. Active journeys (walk, scoot and cycling) are recorded as we compete against different schools for prizes.

On top of this, at Kellands, we offer cycling skills sessions to every class! This has been a massive success and the children look forward to it each year. It also gives us a chance to identify children who struggle to cycle and could benefit from extra sessions throughout the year.

Through these events and competitions, we have been very successful as a school and over the years, we have won visits from the Pedal Cinema and 3Sixty Stunt team.

A massive thank you to Lucy, Tim and Gordon from Sustrans who delivered 50 new bikes and helmets for the school. This is such an amazing opportunity for us and we are so excited to be able to offer our children and families access to bikes.

Sustrans gave us the opportunity to be part of the Access Bikes scheme. This was funded by the Scottish Government to encourage more children (especially from disadvantaged backgrounds) to cycle, and gives pupils the chance to get a bike if they don’t have one. There were only 6 schools in Scotland participating in the project and Kellands was the only primary school in Aberdeenshire.

Through this scheme, we now have 50 bikes in a range of sizes that we can use in school for lessons and/or to loan out to children who we believe would benefit from them.

Already we have seen big results… we currently have 20 bikes out on loan to children and have been able to use the others to support P5, P6 and P7 Bikeability. We also use the bikes to help with the class skills cycling sessions and offer 1 to 1 or small group sessions for children who cannot cycle or need to build their confidence in cycling. We already have lots of success stories that we are so proud of!

BIKEABILITY

Bikeability is incorporated into the PE curriculum for P5-7’s.

In P5, children complete their level 1 Bikeability training. This is playground based and aims to get all children cycling at a level where they are confident in skills such as turning, starting safely, signalling and checking over their shoulder.

We then develop this in P6 where they complete their level 2 Bikeability training. This is where they build on their skills from level 1 and move to cycling safely on the roads.

In P7, we refresh this learning to ensure children have remembered their road safety in preparation for a cycle to Bennachie we do each year.

HAIRY BIKERS

This is a girls only club that was started with the intention of raising participation and engagement levels in cycling among girls.

Since starting, the club has proven a great success with those attending having experienced growths in confidence, skill sets and knowledge of how to stay safe on the roads. We have also facilitated the training of several volunteers, including parents and staff, in Led Rider and Bikeability qualifications with impacts felt across the wider school community.

At Hairy Bikers, the girls gain a breadth of skills including knowledge of how to safely cycle on and off road, maintain a safe bike alongside technical cycle skills. Our weekly group cycles give the girls an opportunity to explore their local community while building social skills.

The success of Hairy Bikers has been enjoyed by many pupils, families and staff alike and we look forward to future adventures.

An added bonus that has come from the cycling that takes place at Kellands, is how much it has brought people from the Kellands family closer. Many staff members, parents and family members have been trained, across the years, in Bikeability and Led Rider training. During events and Bikeability, parents are brilliant at coming to lead and assist and be part of the school life. They also come and help with some of the maintenance of bikes to ensure that children are safe when cycling. Their support is greatly appreciated and we love them being part of what goes on at Kellands.💙

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