Cycling and road safety
Living in a close community, such as Haltwhistle, many of our children are given the independence to walk and play between family homes in the town from a relatively young age. We believe it is of fundamental importance that our children are equipped with the knowledge they need to be able to stay safe, whether walking or cycling around Haltwhistle. Our Cycling and Road Safety programme ensures that every child is equipped with this understanding.
Located on the junction between two national cycling routes, and with our Y6 programme including sections of both trails into our programme, it is our intention that this programme will encourage resilience, teamwork, and a sense of achievement, promoting personal growth.
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Nursery and Reception |
Balanceability |
Developing balance, gross motor skills, core stability and the joy of riding without stabilisers |
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Year 1 and 2 |
Think! Road safety |
Green cross code Keeping safe and being seen Identifying hazards Safer places to cross in Haltwhistle Practicing crossing the road |
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Year 3 and 4 |
Think! Road safety as part of walking to school preparation by Y4 (revisited in Y4) Home - child - school Walking home agreements in Y4 Bikeability 1 in Y4 |
Planning safer routes between school and home Being safe as a pedestrian, cyclist or passenger Risky behaviour and the Science of stopping. Traffic free cycling and bike control |
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Year 5 and 6 |
Bikeability 2 and 3 in Y5 and 6 Hadrian's Cycle Challenges as part of Y6 transition Haltwhistle Bike Hut (repairs and tinkering with bikes) |
Level 2: Start and stop with more confidence; Pass stationary vehicles parked on a road; Understand the road: signals, signs and road markings; Negotiate the road: including quiet junctions, crossroads and roundabouts; Share the road with other vehicles Level 3: Advanced riding skills on more complex roads and junctions Hadrian’s Cycle challenges: A series of local cycling routes to places of significant promoting adventure and appreciation of our locality |
Haltwhistle’s Dark Skies
Sited on the edge of the best dark skies sites in the UK, we firmly believe that all of our children should understand and appreciate our amazing dark skies. We have incorporated an age-appropriate understanding of the night sky, stars and planets into our core curriculum and into our signposting and extra-curricular opportunities.
School staff have built relationships with astronomers at Kielder Observatory who have provided workshops in school for children to engage with the night sky and the world beyond our own. Furthermore, relationships with Julie Wardlow (an Astrophysicist) from Lancaster University have been established as part of creating a partnership project where children will investigate the stars. Children will be able to explore using telescopes, technology and research shared by professionals is their field to develop their scientific skills and learn about careers in science.
We are excited to have secured funding for 10 telescopes and will be starting our Star Gazers Club in the Autumn of 2022.
