Sustrans schools cycling officers - Leicester

Sustrans’ Schools Cycling Officers are based in Leicester City Council’s Walking and Cycling team. Their role is to work with, and support, targeted primary and secondary schools across Leicester City.

Further information

The project’s ambition is to double cycling numbers within the school and aim for 20% of the pupils cycling regularly.  Schools cycling officers intensively engage with schools for the first academic year and tail support off over the course of the next two years, to increase the School’s ability to engage their pupils with bike riding independently.

Schools cycling officers achieve this by working intensively with the pupils, staff and parents, delivering a wide variety of fun and engaging activities, including:

• Cycle skills
• Dr Bikes and maintenance workshops
• Bike breakfasts
• Bike rides
• Assemblies
• Classroom sessions; and
• National competitions and events such as Bike to School Week, The Big Pedal and The Big Shift

Schools are encouraged to take up the School Mark accreditation scheme to help celebrate and award achievements, while tracking the school’s progress – helping to increase and sustain the number of pupils travelling to school actively.

The school journey is a perfect opportunity for children to learn about their local area, develop wider social networks and gain independence. Encouraging children to walk, cycle and scoot will reduce congestion and pollution around the school gates. It will also help a child’s mental and physical health. Teachers find that pupils who walk and cycle arrive at school more relaxed, alert and ready to start the day than those who travel by car.

Global goals which this project supports:

3. Good health and wellbeing
4. Quality education
5. Gender equality
6. Sustainable cities and communities