Bike It Project Review 2009
Welcome to our 2009 Review of Bike It, one of the UK’s most successful projects in bringing about travel behaviour change amongst our young people by enabling them to cycle to school. In its fifth year Bike It continues to be a great success story. In an age when we hear so much negative comment about our young people, with concerns about their attitude, happiness and health, it is refreshing to see a project like Bike It succeeding in engaging children simply by enabling them to do something they want to do – cycle to school.
Foreword from Sustrans
During the year Sustrans conducted our biggest survey yet of children involved in the Bike It project. At the beginning of the year whilst 4% of children were cycling every day, a huge 49% of children wanted to cycle to school. By the end of the year the percentage of children cycling to school every day had doubled to 8%, and the number cycling at least once a week had increased from 14% to 26%. Even more encouraging, was the change in the number of children who never cycle to school, which dropped from 75% to 55%. This represents a lot of children discovering the joy of cycling to school for the first time. How does it achieve this? Bike It is designed to give children the skills and confidence to travel under their own steam, and parents the peace of mind to let them. It is this crucial combination that is at the heart of Bike It’s success – children are willing, but parents are anxious, so building trust over time with parents reaps rich rewards.
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Bike It’s success relies on the support of a wide range of people – our funders, including the Bike Hub whose financial support enabled us to start the pilot projects in England and Wales; teachers and schools willing to give their time and open their doors to the project; local bike traders who help with bike maintenance sessions; Sustrans’ volunteers who help with organising Bike It events; and a host of others. It’s a team effort that has so many benefits.
places like Germany, Denmark and Holland car ownership levels are, on the whole, higher than in the UK, and yet car usage is less, in part because of much higher levels of cycling amongst young people.
At its core Bike It is fundamental to achieving Sustrans’ vision of a world in which people choose to travel in ways that benefit their health and the environment.
But we can do more – so much more. During the year Bike It worked with nearly 89,000 children. There are millions of children of school age who could be cycling to school, and whilst the number of initiatives seeking to change this is growing, the potential is so great and the benefits so cost-effective, it deserves to be more highly prioritised.
We are all aware of rising levels of obesity, particularly amongst children, with the lack of everyday physical activity heavily implicated. The potential cost to our economy could be a staggering £50 billion each year by 2050, or about £833 for every man, woman and child in the UK today. By contrast, 1,000 Bike It officers, working with 12,000 schools each year and millions of children, would cost £65 million, or just over £1 for every man, woman and child in the UK. A perfect example of a stitch in time saving nine. Then there is the environmental impact of our travel behaviour. I won’t pretend that getting every child cycling to school is going to massively cut the UK’s carbon footprint. Although the saving would be significant, it would be a drop in a very large ocean of carbon dioxide emissions generated by personal car use which account for about 13% of total CO2 emissions in the UK. But it seems obvious that creating a bike habit from an early age will pay dividends later. In
In addition to these very obvious benefits, you’ll see that the children, their parents, teachers, Headteachers, local authorities and others get a huge amount more from Bike It, which in combination, add up to a positive experience.
Sustrans and our partners have the people and know how, we have economics and government policy on our side, and we have the evidence to show that Bike It works. I hope you agree that there should be a massive investment in cycling and walking sustained over many years, prioritised on the basis that it’s good for our health and our environment as well as being fantastically good value for money.
Malcolm Shepherd Chief Executive, Sustrans
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Our partners The Bicycle Association
The Primary Care Trust
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It’s great to see young people discovering the joy of cycling. Learning to ride a bike is a rite of passage, and even in the technically advanced 21st century the pleasure children get from learning to travel independently on two wheels clearly remains. I am proud that the cycle industry, through the Bike Hub, has supported Bike It from the very beginning, and seeing the life changing skills and experiences that Bike It brings to young people is immensely rewarding.
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Philip Taylor, President of The Bicycle Association
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We aim to encourage active travel as an essential component of a healthy lifestyle for all ages, and Bike It is a proven intervention to help children develop that habit of healthy travel. Adrian Dawson, Director of Public Health at Bournemouth and Poole Primary Care Trust
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The local authority
The school
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The profile of cycling has been raised enormously both in Bike It schools and beyond. We now have a waiting list of schools wanting to join the fun. One unexpected bonus for schools has been the increased involvement of parents in activities, particularly dads. The project has renewed the schools’ awareness of travel plans, and we have a great working partnership with Sustrans. Jane Deeley, School Travel Advisor, Swindon Borough Council
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We warned the Ofsted inspector that she would have to wear a bike helmet and join in the fun. In her subsequent report she praised the school’s community spirit, the excellence and the enjoyment she saw of children and staff at the assembly. If you get a chance to be a Bike It school, I urge you to grab it with both hands. It will be one of the best things you ever do.
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Carole Jones, Deputy Headteacher, Roman Road Primary School, Gateshead
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What is Bike It?
Bike It works directly with schools who want to increase levels of cycling. We do this by helping schools to make the case for cycling in their school travel plans; we support cycling champions in schools and demonstrate that cycling is a popular choice amongst children and their parents. Our aim is to create a procycling culture in the school which continues long after the Bike It officer has left.
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Meet Gayle Rowson, Bike It officer working with Reigate and Banstead Borough Council in Surrey
The project also adds to local investment in cycle routes, bike sheds and cycle training by involving pupils, teachers and parents and enabling them to take the small steps which are necessary to make a real difference. Bike It officers work with schools by: • explaining the benefits of cycling • contributing to classroom work • addressing concerns about safety and liability with the help of the local authority and other partners • sharing good practice with school management teams • organising practical cycling activities • generating positive publicity. Where possible, we work with clusters of enthusiastic schools in areas which are particularly suited to cycling and where we can link the efforts of secondary schools and their feeder primary schools. Each Bike It officer works with 12 schools over the course of an academic year. Some schools keep Bike It for a second year if they are not quite ready to go it alone or still have the potential to increase cycling levels further. Sustrans’ Bike It officers meet regularly to share ideas and swap skills so that whilst each of them plays to their own strengths when working with schools, they all benefit from the collective experience of the wider team. As part of the wider Sustrans School Travel team, Bike It officers also benefit from Sustrans’ long experience of delivering a wide range of successful projects to increase levels of walking and cycling to school. In combination this helps keep the Sustrans Bike It message fresh, engaging and relevant to young people. In addition we provide staff with full training in first aid, risk assessment, cycle safety instruction, outdoor activities and child protection.
What did you do before Bike It? Before joining Sustrans I worked in primary and secondary schools teaching PE and tutoring children with special needs and behavioural problems. What do you enjoy about the job? I feel privileged to be in a position where I am able to influence people to follow an enjoyable, healthier lifestyle. It’s incredibly satisfying to see the happiness cycling to school brings to parents, teachers and especially children. Is Surrey an easy place to promote cycling? Schools in the area know how important it is to promote active travel and have taken to the idea very well, meaning hundreds of children are cycling to Bike It schools on most days. Best moment in the last 12 months? One of my schools, Furzefield Primary School, in Merstham, jointly won the national Bike It Virtual Bike Race in May last year. It was called the Tour d’Afrique and the school had to cycle the distance from Cairo to Cape Town by cycling to school over four weeks. They completed it in an amazing three and a half weeks amounting to 2,000 journeys made by bike to school. What exciting plans do you have for your schools this year? 14 of my schools will soon be taking part in this year’s national virtual bike race; ‘Round The World’ following the 46,000 mile route that adventurer, Alastair Humphreys cycled. I am very excited that Alastair will be coming to talk to my schools and to parents, about his epic journey and to encourage them to complete theirs. The Council have kindly agreed to fund a Mountain Bike Stunt show for the winning local school.
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Who do we work with? Bike It is a partnership project and we work closely with schools, parents, local authorities, and other funders. But there are many other organisations that play their part and Sustrans’ Bike It officers frequently co-ordinate much of this work within the school.
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British Cycling encourages more youngsters to take up cycling as a sport. Sustrans works closely with their ‘Go-Ride’ coaches who deliver basic cycle skills training and help run after-school cycling clubs at several Bike It schools. As part of our partnership in Derby, a new BMX track was constructed in Alvaston Park next to the National Cycle Network. The facility now attracts youngsters from schools across Derby and beyond. We work closely with local authority road safety teams and private training providers to promote take up of Bikeability (accredited on-road cycle training) and encourage local authorities to sign up to the national scheme. In some schools we deliver Level 1 (basic skills) training to pupils who want to cycle with their parents, before they reach Year 5.
On top of the financial contribution made by the Bike Hub, local cycle retailers have supported Bike It schools and promoted the benefits of cycling to school to their customers. One example is Tredz Bike Shop in Swansea which has run Dr Bike sessions in Bike It schools in the Neath Port Talbot area, and Isla Bikes and Raleigh have also offered bikes as prizes for schools.e
“More schools are coming forward to take part in cycle training as a result of Bike It” – local authority
“We all think it’s a great project. Just the fact that there is a dedicated Bike It officer who can go to schools and get the kids (and adults) interested in cycling is fantastic” – local authority
Schools sports co-ordinators have been helpful in creating cycling resources linked to the curriculum and have helped with funding to establish after-school cycling clubs and cycle training.
Cycle parking manufacturers, including Urban Engineering and Lock It Safe, have offered generous discounts to schools purchasing bike parking, as well as prizes linked to cycling incentive schemes.
Active travel to school is a regular and inexpensive way of boosting everyday physical activity. Healthy Schools Officers are recognising the benefits of promoting cycling at schools seeking Healthy Schools status. With the help of local authority School Travel Advisers, we ensure that schools make progress with their travel plans and share good practice with other schools.
Sustrans’ Bike It officers also work closely with regional Sustrans colleagues and local authority transport officers to ensure that Bike It works in schools where new cycle routes have been constructed. Sustrans also has funding (in England) to construct safe routes to schools which encourage walking and cycling. Find out more at www.sustrans.org.uk
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Bike It works
8% 26% 49%
Before Bike It,
of children told us that they wanted to cycle to school.
of children told us that they now cycle to school every day, compared to 4% before Bike It.
of children told us that they now cycle to school at least once a week, compared to 14% before Bike It.
Calculating the benefits In the school year 2007/08, Sustrans conducted hands-up surveys of pupils at schools where Bike It was being introduced for the first time. In total, Sustrans surveyed around 19,000 pupils at 72 Primary and 17 Secondary schools in England. Before the project began, Sustrans asked the pupils how often they cycled to school and how they would prefer to travel to school. Sustrans then asked the same questions after Bike It had been delivered. Regular bike shed counts were also conducted throughout the academic year. For more information about Sustrans’ Bike It surveys please refer to the Bike It Technical Report: www.sustrans.org.uk/bikeit
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94%
The percentage of children that told us that they never cycle to school dropped from 75% to
of headtechers felt that Bike It had helped pupils become more physically active.
55% after the completion of Bike It.
Increase in frequency of children cycling to school at Bike It schools: 2007-08
80 70
% of pupils
60 50 40
75
Before Bike It After Bike It
30
55
20 10 0
4 Never
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Every day
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18 7
13
Once or Once or twice twice a week each term
Source: Sustrans, 2008 Note: Data based on hands-up surveys of around 19,000 pupils, asking the question “Do you cycle to school?�
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Once or twice each year
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Wider benefits Headteachers (and their nominated school champions) have given Bike It a resounding thumbs-up after we asked them about the impact of Bike It. Of the 70 schools that responded: • 69% said that the number of children being driven to school by car had reduced since Sustrans had started working with their school (29% said the number of children being driven had remained the same) • 97% felt that cycling levels had increased (3% felt that they had remained the same) • 94% felt that Bike It had helped pupils become more physically active • 85% said Bike It helped improve school travel plan quality and delivery • 54% believed that Bike It had helped teachers use the project for classroom work or curriculum activity • when asked if they would recommend Bike It to other schools, 99% of schools said ‘Yes’ • the most important factors for increasing cycling were listed as information and advice from Bike It staff, promotional events, cycle training, then cycle storage (bike rides, parents’ involvement, safety improvements and local authority information were rated less important).
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At the moment, I cannot think of any ways in which I could improve the Bike It project. It has been such a good thing for our school. – Bike It School Headteacher
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In London, results have echoed trends seen in the rest of the country. The share of pupils cycling every day increased from 4% to 6% whilst the proportion cycling at
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least once a week grew from 13% to 21%. The proportion of non-cyclists fell from 78% to 66%. It was also encouraging to see an increase in young people’s preference for cycling as a mode of travel to school, up from 44% to 50%. At individual schools bike counts and cycling activities vary enormously depending on the interests of teachers, local terrain, size of catchment area and the amount of cycle storage. The outcomes listed below reveal a huge appetite for change and represent the start of significant shifts in travel behaviour.* • once the severe flooding had receded, 25% of pupils cycled to Castle Hills Primary to win the local Virtual Tour de France cycle competition held between Doncaster schools • in Coventry, the Big Family Bike Ride attracted 165 pupils and parents from Bike It schools who completed an 11 mile round trip along National Cycle Network Route 52 • levels of every day cycling have trebled at Skerton High School in Lancaster, in part because of a bike loan service and ‘self esteem’ sessions aimed at Year 9 girls. • at St Aidan’s RC Primary School in Knowsley, Bike It has successfully been used to improve pupil attendance • female students at Charter Secondary School in Southwark presented their cycle clothing designs at the Fashion2Ride show after they worked with clothing designer Sarah Buck • in South Buckinghamshire, 250 children – over half the school - turned up at the Bike Week event at Butlers Court Primary. * these figures taken from the Bike It Summer 2008 newsletters and Bike It Supervisor updates.
Feedback from local authorities has also been extremely positive, with particular praise for the way in which Bike It has increased cycling levels amongst children, provided popular activities and events for the community, established local examples of good practice, improved publicity for the council’s work and improved local partnerships. The comments below were returned anonymously from local authority partners. “Bike It has demonstrated that the intensive support of a dedicated officer can achieve what for many appeared to be an impossible task - large numbers of children cycling to school. The Bike It officer hasn’t just talked about making it happen – she’s made it happen!” “Our Bike It officer is excellent at getting the schools excited and interested in Bike It activities and it has had a large impact at those schools, the number of pupils cycling at each school has increased massively.” “As a Cycling Demonstration Town, we had a target to get 20% of children cycling to secondary school. We have all but achieved this at most of our schools. This wouldn’t have happened without Bike It.” “Bike It has helped to influence the Primary Care Trust to look at cycling to school and as a result given £80,000 to increase walking and cycling around schools this year. The majority of the funding is for cycling infrastructure.”
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Case studies
RJ Mitchell Primary School, Havering, London
St Paul’s Primary School, Brighton
Total number of pupils on school roll: 185*
Total number of pupils on school roll: 216
Based on a survey of 195 pupils before and 179 pupils after Bike It, the proportion of pupils regularly cycling to school (once a week or more) increased from 2% to 51%.
Based on a survey of 77 pupils before and 118 pupils after Bike It, the proportion of pupils regularly cycling to school (once a week or more) increased from 7% to 28%.
How the change happened: New cycle storage; improved links through a local park and other Sustrans networks; teacher-led praise and reward for pupils who took up walking and cycling; regular Bike to School Days. Efficient take up of Bikeability training scheme. Priority given to walkers and cyclists arriving at school.
How the change happened: Busy roads, hills and a lack of cycling facilities all posed challenges for families wishing to ride to school. The Headteacher has become an enthusiastic champion for cycling. The school has installed new cycle storage, plans to promote Level 3 (advanced) cycle training and is keen to trial family cycle training for parents. Ten pupils from Year 3 upwards are members of the school’s BUG (Bicycle User Group) which promotes cycling to fellow pupils.
Star performance: Through their participation in Bike It’s first National Virtual bike race ‘The Tour d’Afrique’ the school managed to generate 907 cycle journeys over a four week period; an average of 50 riders per day. In their own words: “I've found the involvement with Bike It and Sustrans a fantastic experience. Having all the children involved and being 'allowed' to cycle to school has meant that the culture shift (from car to bicycle) is happening earlier. The input from Sustrans has been much valued and we feel like we have got to know Bike It officers and staff really well. Being involved with Bike It was an important part of the school winning Travel School of the Year for Havering.” Barry Read, Headteacher * School roll figure taken at different time to pre and post Bike It surveys.
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Star performance: A Two Wheel Extravaganza where pupils were encouraged to dress their bikes in recycled Christmas materials and ride to school. “It was cold, dark and absolutely bucketing down when I arrived at school and I feared the worst. But half an hour later over 80 smiling parents and pupils arrived with bikes proving just how much Bike It meant to them”. Ben Sherratt, Bike It officer. In their own words: “The shelters, which were arranged by Bike It, have really enhanced the fabric of the school and are focal point for both cyclists and walkers. They provide shelter on wet days and act as a social point for the whole school community.” Linda Dupret, Headteacher
Case studies
Hadrian Primary School, South Tyneside
Isambard Community School (Secondary), Swindon
Total number of pupils on school roll: 314
Total number of pupils on school roll: 240*
Based on a survey of 144 pupils before and 136 pupils after Bike It, the proportion of pupils regularly cycling to school (once a week or more) increased from 4% to 35%.
Based on a survey of 192 pupils before and 221 pupils after Bike It, the proportion of pupils regularly cycling to school (once a week or more) increased from 65% to 73%.
How the change happened: Commercial support from Sage Plc and Capital Shopping Centres enabled the school to purchase a new bike shelter and cycle transporter. Incentivised reward schemes including prize giving from the local mayor and excellent role models in the form of teachers cycling to school.
How the change happened: Intensive work with the feeder primary school to map children’s cycle routes to their ‘new school’; support from local volunteers and the local School Travel Adviser. Benefits of cycling integrated into Year 7 PSHE lessons.
Star performance: The school came first in the region in the Tour D’Afrique Virtual Bike Race for the number of journeys to school made by bike. In their own words: “Bike It is great fun, it’s helped me become fitter and now I love cycling!” 11 year old pupil Bike It begins at Hadrian Primary
Star performance: Bike It was introduced as part of the school's Open Day for prospective parents and children. This instilled the idea that children at Isambard Community School choose to cycle to school. In their own words: “Our students now see cycling to school as the norm and are very informed about the benefits to themselves, the environment and also all of the risks and safety implications related to cycling. Our partnership with Bike It has been extremely valuable and I would recommend other schools to join the scheme.” Terry Conaghan, Deputy Headteacher
* First year of school intake
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Going forward In 2009 Bike It will work in the following locations.
Gateshead and South Tyneside Stockton and Middlesborough Darlington
Lancaster Rochdale and Stockport
Bury
Doncaster Merseyside (2)
Sheffield (2)
Conwy
Lincoln
Derby
Leicester
Birmingham
Great Yarmouth
Coventry Luton, Bedford and St Albans Aylesbury
Neath Port Talbot South Glos
Harlow and Cheshunt
Swindon South Bucks and Slough
Bristol (3) Bath & North East Somerset
Southend, Basildon and Thurrock London (6) Ashford
Reigate and Banstead
Exeter Bournemouth and Poole
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Brighton & Hove
Over the year funding from Cycling England, the cycle industry via the Bike Hub, the Big Lottery Fund, Welsh Assembly Government and local authorities enabled us to expand our team to 43 staff, each supported by a regional supervisor and Mike Madin, the project manager. We now work with 443 schools in 55 local authorities and estimate that we are giving a positive cycling experience to nearly 89,000 children. As part of their child obesity strategies, several Primary Care Trusts have commissioned Bike It in their areas. New funding from Cycling England has established a further 12 Cycling Demonstration Towns and Cities, and each, we hope, will be supported by a Bike It officer. Our next goal is to establish a network of around 70 to 80 staff across England and Wales, enabling every local authority to join the project, and subject to agreement commence pilot projects in Scotland and Northern Ireland.
In addition a Public Service Agreement target ‘halting the year-on-year rise in obesity among children aged under 11 by 2010’ is a target shared by the Department of Health, the Department of Culture Media and Sport and the Department for Education and Skills. We hope that this will lead to further funding for Sustrans’ work. Bike It is also habit-forming. Evidence from other countries in Europe shows that where more children cycle to school a greater proportion of adults cycle too. Young people today are going to rely more on low energy forms of transport as we move towards a low carbon economy, so giving children the skills they need to cycle prepares them for a very different future. Sustrans’ vision is a world in which people choose to travel in ways that benefit their health and the environment. Bike It is achieving just this, and we look forward to the day when every school has access to a Bike It officer enabling the hundreds of thousands of children who want to cycle to school to do so.
Bike It will continue to grow because it helps support so many key government objectives (in England). • every school to be a Healthy School by 2009 • every school to have a travel plan by 2010 • every school to become a sustainable school (acting as a model of sustainable travel) by 2020 • every local authority to report progress with reducing car use on school journeys • every local authority encouraged to deliver national standard cycle training in schools (Bikeability). In its Walking and Cycling Action Plan for Wales 2009 to 2013, the Welsh Assembly Government has set a target to triple the percentage of children cycling to school.
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Want to get involved? If you like the sound of Bike It and think that schools in your area could benefit from the project please get in touch with Sustrans: Register your interest at www.sustrans.org.uk/askforbikeit Write to: Sustrans School Travel, Sustrans, 2 Cathedral Square, Bristol BS1 5DD Call Sustrans School Travel on 0117 915 0100
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Schools If you would like a Bike It officer to work with your school then visit www.sustrans.org.uk/askforbikeit and complete the on-line survey. It’s only by registering your interest that we can make the case for more funding. Encourage your local authority school travel adviser to approach Sustrans and register their interest too. Bike It can help organise Bikeability cycle training at your school. To find out about Bikeability visit: www.bikeability.org.uk Parents, teachers or school governors If you would like Bike It to work with your child’s school then contact a member of staff at the school and ask them to complete the survey listed above. If you would like to become a champion for walking or cycling at your school please contact the Sustrans School Travel team via www.sustrans.org.uk/schooltravel Local authority If you want Bike It to work with schools in your area, then write to Sustrans to register your interest. Write to: Sustrans School Travel, Sustrans, 2 Cathedral Square, Bristol BS1 5DD. Please also encourage enthusiastic schools to complete the on-line survey too.
Sustrans is the UK's leading Sustainable transport charity. Our vision is a world in which people choose to travel in ways that benefit their health and the environment. We work on practical, innovative solutions to the transport challenges facing us all. Sustrans is the charity behind Safe Routes to Schools, Bike It, TravelSmart, Active Travel, Connect2, Liveable Neighbourhoods, Art and the Travelling Landscape and the National Cycle Network, all projects that are changing our world one mile at a time. If you think what we do sounds sensible, we urgently need people like you to help us do more. By giving from £5 a month you’ll start to make a difference. Without this financial support, Sustrans and projects such as Bike It would probably not exist. To find out more about Sustrans or to become a Sustrans Supporter please visit www.sustrans.org.uk or call 0845 113 00 65. Sustrans’ Bike It is generously supported by:
Primary Care Trust If you want Bike It to help you deliver your local physical activity and child obesity strategies, please discuss this with your local authority school travel adviser and write to Sustrans. Bicycle trade If you have contributed to the Bike Hub levy, thank you for your support. If you want to see the project extended, please contact the Bicycle Association or Association of Cycle Traders. If your business is located where Bike It is already active, please contact the local Bike It officer to see how you can get involved. Their details can be found at www.sustrans.org.uk/bikeit
and many local authorities and Primary Care Trusts. Head Office: Sustrans, 2 Cathedral Square, College Green, Bristol, BS1 5DD Photography: Sustrans staff, Gayle Rowson (p6), Andy Huntley (p7), James Adamson (p15). Design: www.trmvs.co.uk Print: printed on Revive 100 Offset. This is an FSC certified paper made using 100% post-consumer waste. ISSN 1755-3415 (Print) ISSN 1755-3423 (Online) ©Sustrans. April 2009 Registered Charity No. 326550 (England and Wales) SC039263 (Scotland) VAT Registration No. 416740656
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