They've just finished building a truly massive new car park for the teachers only (where over 50% of spaces are unused) and now im told this morning when i asked the Head Mistress that the project to build the first ever student bike sheds have been shelved as a larger classroom project has been given the green light.

These kids are there from age 4 – 11, and there's not a single permitted place to chain a bike up…great message to send out.

If anyone of the staff cycled it may be different, but im still forced into driving my son as a result as its too far to feasibly walk with a 5 year old. There is a safe cycle route for almost the whole distance.

Rant over.

They won't be happy until children evolve with no legs. As they'll no longer be required. Idiots!

I'm lucky. I live in a meeja utopia (see where to live in manchester thread). We get letters from the school every other week requesting that parents encourage their children to cycle/walk,so as to reduce car journeys into school. There are loads of places to lock bikes (proper racks) and the school has regular cycle training

Oh and so peed off am I, that I think it's definately worth naming and shaming in this case…St Michael's C of E, School, Lichfield

Jeez, isn't the priority towards educating your children in the school??

A bike shed is way down the list of priorities.

How many parents would let their 5-11 year old's ride to school anyway?

If you feel so stongly, go see the head and tell her that your want to do a fund raising event for the school so they can have the bike shed.

The public purse is under enough pressure as it is and adding extra classromm space will allow the school more pupils and therefore a larger grant!

Sheesh, some people!!

Richie, fact is I'm sure the school doesnt want kids riding to it for obvious and dpressing reasons

That would be a fine point Spongebob, were it not for the OP noting that the teachers had just been given a bigger car park. How is that a better use of the precious public purse?

Do many primary school kids ride to school? I think I did in my last year…

Jeez, isn't the priority towards educating your children in the school??

Yessss…education is probably the #1 priority but school isn't all about book-larnin'…and PSHE (or whatever it's called) and PE are also part of the curriculum, presumably.

OP: lock the bike on the street? Trailer? Seat on the back of your bike instead of driving?

You'll not see a bike shed for 5 years or so now, so have a quick rant and then shut up until we get a new government.

Like I said…rant over. And some space on railings would do but she ruled that out on space / circulation grounds

My local primary school has recently got a bike shed.
It's already filled to overflowing – which is a lovely sight to see.

i'd lock it on the railings and make a nuisance out of yourself. they'll find a suitable place soon enough

My Daughters school (and LA) have embraced the cycle to school thing. Lots of posters up around the streets advertising kids cycling, covered cycle racks with lockers and the 'cycle proficiency' test for P6 and P7.

now all we have to do is get the teachers to teach the kids what's in the guidance and not what their rather outdated views are about cycling that will be great.

still, a step in the right direction.

There's a local cycle train organised for one of the other schools, We'll try to get something similar for this one, but currently I cycle in with my daughter and the two youngest neighbours.

With regards what the OP said, it's just shit that cycling isn't being promoted to kids as a way to get places. It does seem that 'paranoid parenting' prevents kids from going out and messing about on their bikes as much, so kids still aren't getting out and about at all. result is kids that are not savvy among other things. I know, we do it as well. Its a vicious circle, we don't allow our kids out on the cul-de-sacs of the posh estates as big merc 4×4's can kill kids, if the kids were allowed, maybe the big merc 4×4 drivers would expect kids to be in the street and drive a little bloody slower!

Thing is, we're not going to be the first to punt our kid out in the firing line, and so it continues…

plus there are perverts out there…

aren't there?

Internet has a lot to answer for 😉

sheesh.

On a similar note:

The serviced office that I work in, recently announced they were "Going Green" by recycling old toner cartridges.

I asked if, as part of their new green policy, they might be able to provide somewhere secure for bikes to be locked up. Possibly even let bikes share a dedicated space in the (half-empty) secure car park at a discount rate (as they charge £20 pcm for cars).

After much humming and hawing they eventually decided that I couldn't possibly put my bike in there "in case it fell over and scratched a car".

Nice.

Graham. Is that for real? That's pathetic!!!

Anywhere else outside of the school grounds you can chain a bike – its probabally no more insecure than most school grounds or work place bike parks if you use a good lock.

Could also be worth (if you are accompanying the child on his/her ride) if any local house holders would be prepared to allow it to be parked in their garden for a small fee. Someone in my family used to rent out drive space to a commuter in that way.

All a bit sad though isn't it – so much is said by politicians to look good and so little is done in reality.

Worth trying to get on the school governors board, or get the local paper to do a campaign?

I'd rather they spent money on classrooms, but not car parks. We had bike sheds at my primary school but very few people used them, same at high school despite being a sports oriented school. Shame but unless you know of a lot of people waiting to use it, I think they'll just argue that biking to school isn't likely for many of the students and so it's a waste.

Don't know about England but in Wales there has been funding through Safe Routes in Communities. This is a fund that pays for better footpathhs Cycleways etc. The school will need to put in a bid, and probably do a travel audit. Best place to start would be your local councils Traffic section, probably the Road Safety Officer.

I spoke to the Head six months ago…at that point she didnt tell me the sheds were low priority, contrary to that, she made a point of telling me that they considered them very important and as soon as the car park was finished the construction would start she even pointed out the proposed site…Lip Service I tell you.

They've built there little ivory tower, and their transport issue's are all sorted. Apparantly the rest of us can just get on with it as best we can.

Graham. Is that for real? That's pathetic!!!

'fraid so. Not sure why they thought it'd be at risk of falling over if I've chained it up. There are even corner spaces that the cars can't use which would be ideal.

Not much I can do about it either as I'm not in a position to ask my company to find me another office.

No way I'd be happy to leave my bike outside round here (central Gateshead), even with a decent lock on it.

OK, I'll try to give a sort of sensible answer to this, and predictably it comes down to money, and how it's allocated in the budgets that schools have to produce. Certain money pots can ONLY be spent on certain things, the car park, your bike shed and the classroom would be out of "Capital Expenditure". there's a limited budget for stuff, as you can imagine, and as a school you're only allowed to "carry over" a limited amt. in your budget for ongoing projects. Budgets have just gone in all over the country so faced with limited resources heads and governors have just had to say no to certain things they liked to do but just cant afford anymore. I'd imagine the car park was on-going, so it gets completed, (same thing happening with windows at our school) but smaller projects(like bike sheds) are just too easy a target, sorry. As a Governor at that school, I'd have probably said the same thing.

To give an example of how tight budgets are? At my teeny primary school we spent last year something close to £20K on classroom consumables (which pretty much is everything a class could possibly use in classroom, we have 6). Our budget this year? £5K. Belt tightening going on all over the country like that.

Governors are my next port of call and after that…."man chains himself and bike to school staff car park gates" (when they are closed of course) 😉

My lads school has a lovely new bike shed. Right in front of the main building, behind gates that are locked once school starts! 😆

Completely empty and unused 👿

Only available to kids who have passed their cycle training. And kids who use it are not allowed to enter the school through the main building. So they have to then leave the school, walk alongside the busy main road and doubleback through the other gates.

But the kids aren't allowed to ride in through the other gates and then park in the bike shed.

Great idea, nice facility, completely screwed up by idiots with no practical experience of using a bike.

So if you want a second bike shed, one careless owner, hardly any use, contact West Hallam C of E Primary School!

I also sadly was involved in sooo many 'eco' building projects where the teachers/bosses car had to be parked outside the door – ergo anyone arriving on foot/bike/bus had to travel the last few yards crossing or walking past the car park, or across the access road. No-one seemed to get the 'hide the car park round the back and give priority to buses/kids/bikes/walking' as a subliminal marketing/message and for safety.

Have a whip around from all the parents and local businesses. How much does a bike shed cost, £5000. The school will bite your hand off. Works with a park I help to look after, the council bitse our hands off every time we offer to pay for anything.

Buy a trailer and ride it home. Or chain the bike to a lampost/fence/signpost/tree/street sign/gate…

buy an old Transit van. park it in the cark. remove the wheels. instant bike shed! 😈

buy an old Transit van. park it in the cark. remove the wheels. instant bike shed!

Don't joke about that. I worked for a Big 5, PwC in fact, who through their generosity gave me a carpark as part of my package. I wanted to ride my bike to work so asked for somewhere to park it. Apparently this was a new question and they queried why 'someone of my grade would want to ride a bike'. Anyway I let that one wash over me. Answer came back nowhere to put it, and not allowed to park it in car park. Borrowed a mates fckd van while he was overseas and put it in my parking space, just put my bike in it every day ! Less than a week went by and I was called in for a major come to jesus meeting about my insubordination ! Classic, they just could not fathom what I was on about. Funnily enough I left not long after but their old school attitude cracked me up. I pity their children who live a life of being lifted and laid and pampered.