North Lincolnshire Council’s Active Communities Team secured funding through the Tacking Inequalities Funding via Active Humber to deliver a pilot around cycling skills.

What did the project deliver?

Providing cycle skills sessions in the heart of the community targeting adults and families in the Town and Crosby area of Scunthorpe (one of our identified areas of high physical inactivity levels and an area of deprivation).

Working in partnership with Crosby Collective community organisation, ONGO Housing and The Islamic Centre. Cycle skills sessions were delivered by First Step Cycle.

Who did the Cycling Skills Sessions support?

ONGO – Refugee Resettlement Officer
Supporting 10 Syrian families who have been resettled in North Lincolnshire as part of the vulnerable person resettlement scheme.

Crosby Collective
11 individuals attended the family group skills sessions over the course of five, two and a half hour sessions during September at Oasis Academy Henderson Avenue Primary School.

Islamic Centre
Six adults attended the group ride on Sunday 11 October along the Ridgeway Cycle Path with the First Step Cycle ride leader. 16 children attended the skills session held on Sunday 18 October in the car park at the University Campus, Ashby Road Scunthorpe.

Working closely with the community organisations

Key to the success of this project was working closely with the community organisations. By promoting the sessions through local community leaders, working on the ground who live/work in that community and have the trust and positive relationships with families who live in the area. These community champions were able to identify families that would benefit from the opportunity to participate in this pilot.

Positive Feedback and Quotes

“The feedback has been really positive”

“The instructor did really well as some participants have limited English”

“I received a call form a family who were delighted to have been given the opportunity to learn to ride a bike, mother and children had never been on a bike before, and the mother now hopes to use a bicycle to get around”

Four individuals have now learnt to ride a bike that had never been on a bike before.

One lady has been gifted a bike and will now use it with confidence to get around.

“The cycling session helped my son enhance his skills to ride a bike with confidence”

“The people were very supportive”

“We would like to go again, we enjoyed it very much”

“The sessions were beneficial and help children learn essential knowledge of biking”

“It was brilliant”

“The parents really loved it and would like another session”

Overcoming challenges

One of the challenges was bike ownership, First Step Cycle was able to provide bikes to anyone that didn’t have access to a bike, overcoming this particular barrier.

First Step Cycle provided the booking system but many of the Syrian families were unable to access it and have limited English but with ONGO’s support the officer was able to book the places on their behalf.

For many of the participants taking part in the family group sessions this was their first experience of riding a bike and so all sessions remained on the enclosed school grounds. Two of the sessions had been planned to progress onto the road but the participants didn’t reach a level that the instructors felt they were ready to progress and be safe on the roads.

However two of the children did really well and received their Bikeability Level 1.