Transition journey

Your child is about to go through some big changes in their life, moving from Primary School up to Secondary School. 

Young people are in a higher risk group as road users during the early years of secondary school. This may be the first time your child is travelling to school without you.

Help prepare them for their new school journey and make sure they have the skills needed to judge traffic and make safer decisions.

Before your child starts school in September discuss and practise the new school route together.

Will your child be cycling to school?

Practice the route before the first day at school, discussing alternatives routes for various reasons.

• Has your child done Cycle Training at school?
• Do they own and wear a cycle helmet?
• Do they have and wear high visibility clothing?
• Is the bike in good working order, particularly the brakes, tyres and steering?
• Does the bike have good lights for dark, gloomy or foggy conditions?
• Do they know the rules of the road (Highway Code) for cyclists?
• It is important to obey traffic signals and, in particular, not to cycle up inside of large vehicles.  Ask your child what are the risks of doing this?
• Shared pedestrian / cycle paths. Ask them if they understand the need to respect pedestrians and give-way to them as necessary?
• Moving off cycle paths on to the road. Ask your child what they must do before joining the road?
• Can they resist peer pressure? Ask, what would they do if other children make fun of them for wearing a cycle helmet or high visibility clothing?
• Is your child worried about this new journey or are they feeling confident?