Hi All,

I’ve just started volunteering at the local Cubs / Scouts group and have started thinking about what I have to offer. I’m a very musical person, so this is one thing on the table but, as I love cycling I thought this is something else I could put in.

Do I need to do a course or get a qualification to do this? Does anyone on here do it? Any advice would be greatfully received!

Cheers

Morgs

It’s called Bikeability these days and you need to go on a training course (4 days, I think) to get qualified.

I teach it myself sometimes and find it pretty enjoyable, although it is quite basic so doing back-to-back weeks of cycle training can get pretty repetitive.

I think the training course is about £400 these days so might be a bit expensive if all you want to do is a couple of courses with the scouts.

Of course, you could just download the Bikeability manuals from the DFT here, then deliver the course without using the official name.

@Aidan – fantastic! Thanks for the help – it is muchly appreciated!

I’ve done a few helping out sessions with my son’s cubs. One was fixing punctures, another was building a bike from parts (well attaching pedals seat wheels tightening stem etc- two old bikes, two groups of 6 or so lads- same written instruction, race to make a rideable bike- they loved it.
As for riding they do a cycling night once a year when the evenings are light- younger ones do a bit of riding round cones on tarmac etc, older ones who’ve done that go for a spin through the woods. I doubt anyone has any formal qualifications though. They do bikeability at school in y6 (age 10-11) which is about 2 years too late if you ask me.
To help out at cubs you’ll need a CRB check then just do whatever you think they’ll enjoy!
my lad is going up to scouts after xmas and has heard they go BMXing- bring it on!

It depends what you want the cubs to do… Have a look at the details of the cyclist badges and see what you can offer. You do not need to be ‘qualified’ for this, however it can give people peace of mind if you are.
Also have a look to see if you can offer the Scouts/Explorers in your District Mountain Biking (I assume as you’re here that is what you do!). Look at the Factsheets and get involved.
If you have any other questions about cycling within Scouting let me know as I have a little to do with it at a National Level (for my sins!)

Overall though, it’s great that you’re volunteering and I hope you find it as rewarding as I have.

Thanks guys!

I’ve started helping to assist with my PGCE application but, to be honest, it wont just stop there.

Time to start ‘giving something back’ methinks 🙂

Straying off topic, but…

They do bikeability at school in y6 (age 10-11) which is about 2 years too late if you ask me.

The pass-rate with y5 groups that I take out is often around 50%, with y6 it’s usually closer to 90%. Lots of y5 kids just aren’t mature enough to deal with traffic. Some of them are just so physically tiny that they get kinda lost on the road.

Aidan is spot on. I teach bikeability to 10 yr olds and am constantly amazed at the lack off basic cycling skills some of them have.

It’s also the stage of development they’re at. Any younger than the generally targeted age of Y6 (primary 6?) and the child’s perception and judgement of moving objects/speed may likely not have fully developed yet. There are exceptions, and of course at the targeted age there will still be those who haven’t developed that sense yet. There’s Bikeability Level 1 for before on-road stuff to help get skill levels up and throw in some games and it’s great stuff.

We have done basic bike maintenance with ours. This is well worth doing if you know your way round a bike, as the vast majority of ours had BOS that were positively dangerous. From various resources on-line I cobbled together a check list that followed the bikes round the bays. Several bikes were scrapped by parents after this evening!

We set this up as bays (steering, brakes, gears etc). We also got the owner of the local bike shop in for the evening to do one of the bays.

The badge requirements are all on line.

You can also take them road cycling with no qualifications, but to take them mountain biking you need letters after your name.

I had our older scouts bike-packing 18 months ago (inspired by this site…). They had a great time. 3 days away in the Cheviots, with an adult checking on them for a couple of minutes each evening.

If you have not found them yet, there are two great factsheets on-line that list what activities can be scout-led (ie leaders) and what need to be commercially led, with links to the indepth facts sheets.

You can also take them road cycling with no qualifications

Called bikeability 3

but to take them mountain biking you need letters after your name.

This
+ first aid and child protection CRB?

I had our older scouts bike-packing 18 months ago (inspired by this site…). They had a great time. 3 days away in the Cheviots, with an adult checking on them for a couple of minutes each evening.

❓

Additional Qualifications
At CycleActive we are involved in all aspects of the MBLA training process, and for any small group of candidates we can also deliver the following modules:

Expedition Module

2 Days Training
2 nights 3 Days Assessment
Able to lead groups on multi day, self-sufficient trips
Able to lead expeditions under the award holders remit (TCL OR MBL).

Hmmmmm,

Once an scout leader has their own camping permit they can sign off young people to lead their own trips out. The scouts get a “passport” for the duration of the expedition. It will be happening all over the country, every weekend. So as long as you are confident (experiance, knowledge of the YP, area, camp sites, risk assessments done etc) then you can let them off the leash.

The decision by the SA to class mountain biking as needing a higher level of supervision/qualification than road biking is no doubt open to debate.

But for the most part I would be happy to let responsible teenagers* out on many of the sustrans routes (and similar quiet roads) in Northumberland.

*They still do exist.