April update

It’s the start of another financial year, and we’re looking forward to what we’re sure will be another successful year of Bikeability. 

National curriculum interim review

The government shared their interim review of the national curriculum. The interim findings, published in March, determined that the current system is not delivering for every child. The review is ongoing with a final report and recommendations due to be published in autumn. You can read the interim review here Curriculum and Assessment Review publishes interim findings – GOV.UK. 

There were over 7,000 responses to the review, including from the Bikeability Trust. We have and will continue to push for cycle training to be part of the curriculum.  

Our four asks of the Government

Alongside pushing for cycle training to become part of the curriculum, there are four main things we are asking of the government: 

1. Maintain funding levels for ‘every child’ 
2. Extend Get Cycling in Schools programme 
3. Zero Rate VAT on children’s cycles 
4. Bring adult cycling under administration of Bikeability Trust 

We are and will be reminding them of these at every opportunity – the Bikeability industry has the potential to help make an impact on many areas including health and mobility, and we need their support to deliver on that potential. 

The future of active travel

Fusion held an event in March looking at “The Future of Active Travel”. It brought together some of the most influential voices in transport including Chris Boardman CBE (National Active Travel Commissioner, Active Travel England), Ruth Cadbury MP (Chair, Transport Select Committee) and Trudy Harrison (Former Minister & Senior Advisor, Fusion, and chair of Bikeability’s trustees).  

The discussion, chaired by Fusion’s CEO, Adam Tranter, covered policy, infrastructure, public engagement, and messaging strategies for promoting active travel. Key themes to emerge were reframing cycling as something that everyday people do, every day; seizing opportunities for funding and policy commitments for active travel; making everyday changes; and the importance of health, among others. 

Trudy Harrison, our new Chair of Trustees, also underlined four essential areas that need focus: 

• Curriculum – Every child should have the opportunity to learn to ride a bike as part of their education. It’s something we’re working on with our partners at The Bikeability Trust. 
• Capability – The right infrastructure must be in place to make cycling a viable transport option. 
• Confidence – Cycling groups and industry support to help build confidence and encourage participation. 
• Communication – The benefits of cycling should be clearly and relatably conveyed to the public. 

You can read more about the event here What We Learned About The Future of Active Travel — Fusion Media 

The Bikeability Trust restructure

The Trust has just completed a restructure of roles and responsibilities. This is in response to some changes requested by Active Travel England’s review of the Trust, alongside the launch of our new strategy. We are now organised under five central teams: 

• Grants and Finance 
• Strategy 
• Quality  
• Development  
• Partnerships  

Once we have all the new staff in place in roles we will further communicate changes, but this represents an exciting new focus on quality improvement and income generation aligned with our mission.  

The Who we are page has bios of the staff and their roles. Industry day-to-day contact with the Trust should be unaffected and largely go through the contactus@bikeability.org.uk channel.