What happens when you let kids ride bikes in the playground?

There aren't many occasions when children at St Barnabas CE First & Middle School are actively  encouraged to bring their bikes into the playground and ride around it, but the Saturday before Cycle to School Week 2026, that was exactly what happened. 

Over 90 children and adults came along to our free Community Bike Day in Drakes Broughton –  mostly from St Barnabas, but this year we were really pleased to welcome families from further  afield too, including Elmley Castle Primary, Norton Juxta Kempsey, Upton Snodsbury and even  Bretforton, some 13 miles away. It turns out that simply providing somewhere safe to ride can make  quite a difference to families. 

Somewhere safe to have a go 

One of the things we'd heard from parents was that their children needed somewhere to practise.  Some didn't have a suitable safe space at home; others could technically ride but had lost  confidence, often after a fall. 

There were lots of Reception and Year 1-aged children in particular who fell into that second group,  so this year we put much more emphasis on learning to ride, building confidence and developing  skills, with Karl from Walk Wheel Cycle Trust running three bike agility sessions on the  playground. 

Around eight children joined each session, practising skills through games and challenges, while  Karl also spent plenty of time talking to parents and giving them tips for helping their children learn  to ride. As one parent put it: “I really enjoyed helping Karl, he's really good with engaging the kids  in learning skills in a fun way.” 

However just as important was what happened between the organised activities. Children simply  rode! They followed their friends around the playground, went round and round on balance bikes  and gradually became a little more confident. 

One parent told us: “My daughter had the best time and I even think I'm going to get a bike! It was  a lovely space to let the kids go round on their bikes and build up confidence. It's good  encouragement for them to see their friends riding round too.” Another said her son had “never been  on his balance bike so much”. 

Perhaps the best feedback was a suggestion we hadn't anticipated: could the playground be opened  one Saturday a month simply to give families somewhere safe for their children to practise? One to  talk to the school about… 

No bike? No problem. 

We were keen that not owning a bike shouldn't stop anyone taking part and so Dave ‘Dr Bike’ from  Evesham Adventure Playground arrived with a van containing a selection of refurbished adult and  children's bikes that people could borrow or potentially buy. This meant children without suitable  bikes could still have a go, but it also meant something else rather important: parents could borrow  bikes too. 

This was also an enhancement on last year and several parents, some of whom hadn’t riden for year,  strapped on a helmet, adjusted the seat height, and jumped on a borrowed bike so they could join 

our practice Bike Buses with their children. Some of those parents are now talking about getting  bikes of their own, including looking at affordable recycled options, so that they can join the regular  Bike Bus or simply cycle with their children. 

One message after the event was wonderfully immediate: “It was amazing, my husband has been  looking for a bike this afternoon.” That's quite an outcome from borrowing one for a morning. 

A little TLC for 30+ bikes 

Meanwhile, Dave was kept very busy with approximately 30 bikes being processed by Dr Bike  during the event. Some needed little more than a quick check over whilst others received  considerably more attention. One left with new brake and gear cables and new brake pads which is  a pretty good illustration of why getting an unused bike out of the shed isn't always quite as simple  as deciding to go for a ride. Around 10 bikes were also security marked, meaning should they be  stolen and recovered by the police, there is a greater chance of them making their way back to their  rightful owner. This can be as much about sentimental value as financial! 

Trying the Bike Bus – without the school-morning rush 

We'd wanted to run a practice Bike Bus at last year's event but the novelty of using the Evesham  Adventure Playground’s ‘Bicycle Bus’ vehicle stole the show, so this year we were determined to  make it happen. 

The reason this was important to us was that we know there are families who are interested in  joining Bike Bus but trying something completely new on a busy school morning can feel like quite  a leap, so we wanted to provide the opportunity to practice at the weekend. 

We ran two practice Bike Buses based on our usual village route, with 26 riders on the first and 25  on the second. At least half of the riders on each were new to Bike Bus. The Bike Worcester Raleigh  Stride cargo e-bike came too, carrying younger siblings so parents could ride alongside their older  children. All week this amazing machine has been turning heads and sparking conversations about  something which can otherwise be a real barrier to family cycling: what do you do with the little  one? What if I need to pick up some shopping too? I can’t cycle up that hill! 

One family spent time talking through the different options for transporting their youngest child so  they could cycle with their older one, and around a dozen mums and dads took the opportunity to  try the cargo bike themselves on the school field, complete with little passengers in the front. The  verdict seemed fairly unanimous: cargo bikes are fun. As another parent said afterwards: “It was  good to learn about all the options to help get families cycling.” And one family who tried the  practice ride told us: “My girls had a great time. They really enjoyed the agility session and the  community bike bus around the village was fab. Such a great atmosphere. Thanks for the bike  marking, and we look forward to joining the bus as many days as we can during Cycle to School  Week.” These are all reasons why we wanted to run practice rides during the day. 

And when they weren't cycling… 

there was plenty happening off the bikes too. Friends of St Barnabas kept everyone fuelled with hot  drinks, squash and an impressive selection of homemade cakes, raising just over £105 for  enrichment activities this academic year in the process. They also ran our Spin the Wheel game,  while 27 budding bike designers completed the Bikeability Cycle to School Week's Dream It. Draw It. Ride It. competition to design their dream bike.

More than one Saturday 

This was our second Community Bike Day, and perhaps the most encouraging thing is seeing what  happens after the event. Following last year's event, three more families became regulars on the St  Barnabas Drakes Broughton Bike Bus, with others joining us occasionally. This summer, a family  

bike ride grew out of the cycling community around the school and attracted 12 families and 19  children, including families from outside St Barnabas, and Bike Pershore has been born under the  Bike Worcester family, widening our reach further into Wychavon. 

This year’s Community Bike event feels like another step forward with families travelling from  other villages to take part: children who'd lost confidence got back on their bikes; parents who didn't  own bikes borrowed them, and went home thinking about buying one; more families tried Bike  Bus; parents discovered different ways of carrying younger children; bikes that needed attention  were made rideable again; AND people are now asking whether we can create more opportunities  simply to open up a safe space and let children ride. 

Perhaps that's the point. Encouraging more families to cycle isn't always about building confident  cyclists overnight. Sometimes it's about removing one small barrier at a time: somewhere safe to  practise, someone to show you how, a bike you can borrow, help getting your old bike working, or  the chance to try riding with others before committing to the school run. 

As one parent summed it up: “I think it has encouraged lots to bike or at least consider it!” We'll  take that. 

A team effort 

A huge thank you to everyone who made the day happen: Karl and Walk Wheel Cycle Trust; Dave  and Evesham Adventure Playground; Bike Worcester and Bike Pershore; Friends of St Barnabas; St  Barnabas CE First & Middle School; Wychavon District Council; and all the parents and volunteers  who contributed time, bakes, manpower, resources and enthusiasm. 

Most of all, thank you to all the families who came along and had a go. 

It was great to see so many positive cycling experiences happening in one place, and particularly  lovely to spend a Saturday watching children enthusiastically doing something they're normally not  allowed to do at school: riding their bikes around the playground!