The Bikeability Trust - Annual Report 2018

Promotion and Communications A highlight of this year, in May 2018 was the first ever National Bikeability Awards, held during the annual Bikeability training conference. The primary aim of the Awards Programme is to reward and promote the good work that the Bikeability industry and partners are doing. Secondary aims include collecting a series of ‘case studies’ that can be used both to showcase Bikeability to external audiences, but also provide examples of best-practice for peer-to-peer learning within the industry. The nominations were assessed by a panel of independent, expert judges against a set of criteria for each award category. The short-listed candidates were invited to attend the Awards Ceremony on Thursday 17th May 2018 at which the winners and runners up were announced and presented with their awards. The Trainee of the Year Award has been dedicated to Pete Rollings who made an extraordinary contribution to Bikeability during his life and we were honoured that his family were able to attend and his daughter, Pascale could present the Award. In the summer we wrote a PR and Communications Strategy for the Trust and set up an Advisory Group to support us with the delivery of this strategy. The main aim of the strategy is to develop community outreach with schools, parents and children to sustain cycling engagement after training. In turn this will prove the effectiveness and value of training to increase demand for, and secure future resources We have developed a social media strategy and annual delivery calendar to engage the key target audiences, including parents and schools in 2019 and will be setting up new social media platforms to reach these audiences. It is a priority for the Trust to ensure that there is clear, effective communication with all sectors of the Bikeability industry including individual instructors, providers and grant recipients as well as our key stakeholders and national decision makers. Since October we have issued a monthly newsletter aimed at the industry and starting in 2019 we will also be producing a quarterly newsletter for stakeholders. We produced a series of new resources, and a dedicated web page about Bikeability Plus delivery www.bikeability.org.uk/bikeability- plus/ Next year we will be focused on consulting with the industry and delivering a series of new resources for parents, grant recipients and Bikeability providers. The results for the 5 award categories were: INSTRUCTOR OF THE YEAR Runner up: Kelly Koya (Cycle Experience) Winner: Rob Piatt (West Sussex County Council) SCHEME OF THE YEAR Runner up: BikeRight!/Merseytravel Winner: Royal Borough of Kensington & Chelsea LOCAL AUTHORITY /SGO HOST SCHOOL PARTNER OF THE YEAR Runner up: Northamptonshire County Council Winner: Warrington Borough Council SCHOOL/SCHOOL TEACHER/GOVERNOR OF THE YEAR Runner up: Simon Partridge - Ashton Gate School, Bristol Winner: Lesley Byrne - Slated Row School, Milton Keynes TRAINEE OF THE YEAR (PETE ROLLINGS AWARD) Winner: Dannon Butler - Pinchbeck Primary School National Bikeability Awards Carrie and Paul (Dannon Butler’s parents) told The Bikeability Trust: “We are a very active family so can now enjoy dog walks, bike rides and Geocaching outings with Dannon on his KMX. The instructors have left a lasting positive impression on Dannon, and we can’t thank Outspoken enough for what they have done.” Our Activities in 2018 Setting up the Trust Agreement was reached with the Department for Transport (DfT) in May 2018 for the Bikeability grant to be transferred from the consultancy, Steer Davies Gleave to the Trust from August 2018. Much of the first half of the calendar year was therefore spent preparing for the transfer of the Bikeability contract – setting up the necessary administrative, financial and legal structures, as well as recruiting staff and trustees. Partnership deals The Trust secured a major partnership deal with Halfords which was announced in June 2018. The funding associated with the deal will allow a further 25,000 children to be trained over 3 years. Halfords and the Bikeability Trust have also been working to develop a series of initiatives this year including: • Resources for Bikeability providers (bibs) • Participant discounts for parents and children • Information provision for parents and children (via the Participants’ Hub) • Template Letter of Consent & posters for Bikeability providers and schools use • Cross-promotion via our respective websites We have set up an Advisory Group comprised industry contacts to consult with and take advice on the delivery elements of the contract. In 2019 we look forward to working with Halfords on a range of initiatives including: • Joint PR/Marketing at the national level with Halfords PR agency • Regional marketing guidance, PR tool kits and training sessions for providers • Further resources, deals and incentives for the Bikeability industry • Provision of fleet and/or individual bikes for projects/individuals that have a proven need • Co-designed Bikeability product range • Promotional videos 12 www.bikeabilitytrust.org 13 www.bikeability.org.uk