#InclusiveCycling sessions build meaningful partnerships with schools and their students

This is the fifth article in our new series which explores every aspect of our London-based cycle sessions and led rides. Since our cycle operations started in 2007, our impactful programmes have helped thousands of Disabled people to try cycling in a safe and supportive environment. This has led to participants experiencing a range of health, wellbeing, and social benefits. This series is designed to bring our collective skills, knowledge, and experience together to create better opportunities for all who want to try #InclusiveCycling.

Part One of the series, introducing our Led Rides, can be found here.
Part Two, revealing some of our long-standing Instructor Insights, can be found here.
Part Three, where we read about Em and Ben’s cycling experiences, is here.
Part Four revealed Lucie and Brooke’s journeys to cycling here.

Charles Critchell is an Active Travel professional and a non-disabled cyclist. For this series, Charles worked closely with Wheels for Wellbeing to learn more about the charity’s cycle sessions and led rides with the aim of sharing the experiences of its staff, volunteers, and cyclists.

By the time I arrive at Herne Hill for the 10am Thursday morning session, the velodrome’s inner track and adjacent court are already alive with activity. Greeting volunteer Sandra at the gate, I dash across the outer track and seek out session manager Simon: “This is Orchard Hill College, they have two sessions booked and they like to arrive early”. As he says this he’s strolling and gesturing towards another instructor, Beata, who along with Sandra and Paul make up the Wheels for Wellbeing team for today’s sessions. On the inner track and court are ten young adults on an assortment of different cycles. Also noticeable is a high number of supporters. Some are cycling with students on the track, while others watch from a bench positioned on the verge between the track and tarmac.

Orchard Hill College is a special educational needs and disabilities (SEND) college, which specializes in supporting young adults aged between 19 and 26 years old. On Thursdays, the college brings up to 20 students in two groups of ten for back-to-back sessions at Herne Hill Velodrome. Mini Buses are used for these two groups; however, a few students will make their way on public transport with the help of a supporter as relayed to me by James and Rene – Orchard Hill Curriculum Leads. James explains that helping students to do as many day-to-day things more independently is the College’s goal: “community learning is the school’s main objective and we really do believe that learning happens everywhere”.

James tells me that attending the weekly cycle sessions is one of the student’s most popular activities: “some students are living their best life when cycling; it provides a real release of energy”. As we walk, James outlines the college’s programme (whilst offering encouragement to students, and instruction to supporters). Orchard Hill focuses on four curriculum areas: independent living, friendship and relationships, employment, and good health. For the college, the cycle sessions are important because they directly link to several of these areas while providing opportunities for students to become more independent. James adds that Orchard Hill provides each student with a ‘Future Timetable’ once they leave the college; a programme which may include provision for former students to attend Wheels for Wellbeing’s open sessions. 

Casting a watchful eye over the busy inner track is Session Manager Simon. He confirms that several of the participants who are booked into the later 12pm session are past Orchard Hill students who first attended the charity’s sessions with the college years before. Simon attributes the busyness of this, the 10am session, to the fact that most attendees have severe learning difficulties necessitating one-to-one support and even two supporters for certain students. He explains that aside from onboarding students and supervising the session, Wheels for Wellbeing staff don’t directly supervise Orchard Hill students: “for example, we can’t restrain a student who tries to abscond”. This is something that does occasionally happen and is a real concern given the proximity of the outer competition track.

Instead, the staff are on hand to improve the experience for students by ensuring that they are properly matched to cycles based on their needs and their ability. For instance, for those who want to chat as they ride Simon will suggest a side-by-side cycle to remove the risk of cyclists bumping handlebars. Furthermore, Simon has learnt to be mindful of non-verbal students: “they may just keep riding as they can’t always communicate that they’re not enjoying it”. This can lead to panic, and it’s up to Simon and the team to not only spot this but to help students and their supporters to “work through it”. Simon considers that a no-phone policy among supporters would improve the quality of the sessions, as he believes that some students would benefit from constant supervision.

The following week I’m once again at Herne Hill, this time on a breezy Monday morning, to meet teachers from another nearby school who are arriving at the velodrome with their students. Turney School supports children and young adults aged between 5 and 19 with Autistic Spectrum Conditions and associated learning difficulties. Today the school has brought its usual cohort of sixth formers, who, after making their way onto the inner track and court, are soon off and cycling. Simon initially introduces me to Lisa, a Turney School teaching assistant of 21 years who has also worked as a weekends and holidays instructor for Wheels for Wellbeing since 2019.   

Lisa tells me that today’s session includes some of the most high-ability students in the sixth form. As she says this, I can see that many of the students are on bicycles and are cycling confidently around the inner track – including one who Simon instructs to slow down.

Before long, the same student falls off his cycle while trying to thread his way through two fellow cyclists on a bend, prompting Simon and Turney’s head of year Collin, to help him up. Simon is soon filling out an accident report while Collin carefully cleans and dresses the student’s grazes before placing him under the supervision of one of the school’s supporters.

I speak with Collin, who tells me that attending the Wheels for Wellbeing cycle session is a great way for his students to start the week. As with Orchard Hill College, community and real-world learning is a big part of Turney School’s curriculum which includes helping students to manage daily activities: “cycle sessions act as a bridge between the classroom and the wider world”. Collin says that Turney have been working with Wheels for Wellbeing for over ten years and that having initially attended sessions at Croydon switched to Monday mornings at Herne Hill five years ago: “the weekly cycle sessions remain an important part of the curriculum as they tick a lot of boxes and are something we hope to keep doing”.

Both Orchard Hill College and Turney School have worked in partnership with Wheels for Wellbeing for over a decade, a real testament to the enduring value that the charity’s weekly cycle sessions provide for an evolving cohort of students. Aside from providing students with much needed health and well-being benefits, each institution’s decision to integrate weekly sessions into their curriculum speaks to the wider ranging benefits that sessions offer. These include the opportunity for students to continuously refine motor skills, to gain independence, and to develop meaningful relationships, all of which some students can continue to nurture by joining cycling sessions once they have left education. Above all, the sessions are enjoyable and, as Simon later relays to me, are keenly anticipated by the Wheels for Wellbeing staff as much as by the students.

Wheels for Wellbeing is open to working in partnership with educational institutions who consider that their students may benefit from attending inclusive sessions. If your institution is interested in finding out more, please contact us for more information – on 020 7346 8482 or info@wheelsforwellbeing.org.uk

Part One of the series, introducing our Led Rides, can be found here.
Part Two, “Sharing Session Instructor Insights”, is here.
Part Three, sharing the Cycling Stories of Em and Ben is here.
Part Four, introducing the Cycling Stories of Lucie and Brooke, is here.