I received by email today my provisional accreditation as a
'Bikeability' training provider, that is delivery of cycle training to
the National Standard Levels 1, 2 and 3.
In my application I made a number of points about what I felt were
flaws with the assessment process, in particular, I wrote the word
*nonsense* next to the stipulation that all Level 3 pratical
activities are undertaken on-road.
I also defied the stipulation that a maximum pupil to instructor ratio
of 2:1 be used for Level 3 training, arguing successfully that 4:1 was
quite adequate, only that 1:1 or 2:1 were required for certain
manoeuvres.
However, they thought that my risk assessments were [censored].
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BIKEABILITY
Provisional Bikeability Accreditation
John Ball Cycle Training
Summary of Provisional Accreditation Submission
The submission for provisional accreditation from John Ball Cycle
Training is of a consistently high standard and demonstrates an
excellent alternative model for the delivery of cycle training that
was not fully anticipated in the development of this assessment
process.
The covering letter with the submission detailed a number of issues
that were felt to be onerous and unnecessary however it must be noted
that all applications for accreditation have been required to produce
the same level of documentation and it would not be possible to have a
different accreditation process for every model of training. In a
number of cases local authorities have failed to provide sufficient
Child Protection and Health and Safety Policies when it may have been
assumed that they too would have appropriate policies in place.
The only area where the submission was felt to be slightly weak was
that of risk assessments although those provided were sufficient to
gain accreditation. To this end it is recommended that you visit
http://www.bikeability.org.uk/professionals/health_and_safety.php
for examples of risk assessments that you may wish to consider
adapting for your own purposes.
I am however pleased to inform you that John Ball Cycle Training has
met all of the required criteria and will be recommended for
Provisional Accreditation to the Cycle Standards Training Board who
will contact you in due course with further details of how to access
the full range of Bikeability materials.
The school should be congratulated on their obvious commitment to
cycling and cycle training and will undoubtedly attract much interest
as an example of good practise.