Any info on the course and getting work after ?

I’ve already got my own business doing really well but I fancy branching out into cycle instructing

It’s great, as long as it’s not your only income. Depends on the co. providing it where you are really.
APF

I did the course a few years ago with with :-

http://www.cycletraining.co.uk/index.php?pg=111

it was a week long course relaxed and fun

First few days were a demo of a typical day’s training and then having a go at training members of the group learning from each other including games to play

I did it as part of my work and taught in a primary school once a week so can’t add anything re payed work I’m afraid

might be worth booking a days tuition to see how they do it , a bit of research so to speak

http://www.cyclewise.co.uk/index.php/youth-and-schools give these guys a call, they cover Cumbria.

Some info here from the course I did a few years ago; http://www.bikeabilityscotland.org
Did the 4 day course but due to various things not been available for the past couple of years. Local council “re structured” and the people I was involved with all got moved around and the new regime appear to doing things their own way via aSustrans hub system. I am a volunteer, working shifts means I am not available to do blocks whereas before my contact worked around myself and others.
Tried to find out who the council contact was last year but nobody new due to further reorganisation!! I was thinking about setting up on my own with some friends but C.S. will only sanction 1 “hub” ie our council. Other events took over but I might have another go, part of my retirement plan 😉
Historically around here the police used to deliver the course during April/May/June until the cuts began. It was in limbo for some time before Active Schools took it on after parental pressure. Seems to have warned again 🙄

http://www.britishcycling.org.uk/cycletraining

If starting a business you will need others trained to help deliver training, child protection course/checks and the obvious insurance. Then go out and sell yourself to councils. You probably know that I would imagine 🙂

Find out who delivers the course locally and offer to volunteer. There is(was?)a half day course that allows you to help qualified trainers.

This might be a good point to start; http://www.cyclingscotland.org/our-projects/training-courses/cycle-training-for-adults/commuter-course

Just going to bump this thread up as yesterday I did a ride leader course which was provided free by the local transport authority.

We did some theory then got out doing some basic positioning, snaking and route planning.

I enjoyed it but it was all a bit rushed as I’m not the fastest learner in the world so just wondered if anyone else has any pointers towards my OP

Thanks

I did my training and accreditation with http://www.kingston.gov.uk/info/200316/cycling/946/cycling_training/3

The course was done at a sensible pace with a good mix of theory and practical. At the time I did it there were bursaries available that paid a big chunk of the course fees.

Worth noting that the training gives you National Standards provisional accreditation only. If you want to offer Bikeability branded training then you either need to work for a registered Bikeability scheme provider or get registration yourself. The later isn’t particularly difficult or expensive, but does involve a fair amount of paperwork (although there are templates for much of it). You also need to factor in at least 3 hours a year continuing professional development and specific instructor insurance from BC or CTC (£50~75/year)

In terms of post course work, you can instruct and get paid as a provisionally accredited instructor, but only if you’re working with a fully accredited instructor.

Local authorities seem to cover school Bikeability training in a number of ways:
1) They do all the training themselves and directly employ their own instructors (often on bank worker contracts).
2) They sub out the training to a training provider such as Cycleexperience.
3) They sub out the work to individual Bikeability instructors.

As a new instructor you’re likely to have to go with 1) or 2) to get the experience at least until you get fully accredited. They also have the advantage that you don’t have to deal with the whole admin and scheduling side of the work which can be very time consuming. Whilst 3) can seem to be the most lucrative, you’ve got to factor in the admin time and the fact that Local Authorities often only want to work with a small number of training providers to minimise their own admin overheads, so it’s harder for individuals to pick up this work.

As you’d imagine the work can be quite seasonal. Most schools want Level 2 done in year 6, which is the last year of junior school. They also typically want it done in the summer term (May/June/July) as by then all the tests, entrance exams, etc. will have been done and it can be seen as dead time by the schools.

As others have said, as a secondary job it’s OK, but it’s not going to pay the mortgage on its own. Typically if you’re doing 1) or 2) above, you might expect to be paid between £8 and £15/hour.

Thanks for the information, quite a lot to consider.

Cheers