Road awareness for children

Pedestrian training for young children

Footsteps is a pedestrian training scheme for young children which aims to develop their awareness of roads. Children – usually from the reception class and Years 1 and 2 – are taken outside their school with a trained tutor to observe local traffic and talk about road safety.

Footsteps helps children learn how to live safely with traffic and avoid accidents. They learn how to behave on and near the road, and to be aware of the dangers of traffic. Under the careful guidance of a tutor, holding hands, children learn how to identify a safe place to cross and how to cross safely.

How can we start Footsteps at our school?

Our road safety team provides training and a range of information on the Footsteps programme. Find as many volunteers as possible and make sure you have the support of the head teacher and other staff involved.

All volunteers are checked for their suitability to work with children, and children usually take part at least twice a term.

For more information contact the Child Pedestrian Training Co-ordinator.

See also Czone – Walking buses.

Cycling awareness training

A cycling awareness course gives children the skills they need for riding their bikes on the road. The aim is to encourage children to think independently and make their own informed decisions.

Courses generally consist of five 90-minute sessions. These can be run during the school day, after school or during the holidays.

Most of the training is on the road, with practice sessions in the playground. Most courses are run in conjunction with local schools, either free of charge by trained parent volunteers or by council-approved cycle trainers for a small fee.

To go on the course children need to be at least nine years of age at the start of a basic cycle training course and 10 years for an on-the-road training course.

They must have their own bike, of a suitable size and in roadworthy condition. It will be checked at the beginning of the course. They will also be required to wear a safety helmet. In Britain over 50% of child cyclists who are taken to hospital have head injuries. Research shows that 88% of cyclists' brain injuries can be prevented by using a helmet.

Individual training for adults and children can be arranged for a small fee.

To arrange cycle training please contact the Cycle Training Co-ordinator.

Cycle trainers wanted

We are looking for keen and active cyclists who are interested in joining our professional cycle training team. You will need to be able to carry out training for 15 or more hours per week.

Please contact the Cycle Training Co-ordinator.