Care experienced and vulnerable young people in Warwickshire can join a virtual bike maintenance workshop to learn practical skills while the nation is in lockdown.The workshop is offered by Warwic...
Care experienced and vulnerable young people in Warwickshire can join a virtual bike maintenance workshop to learn practical skills while the nation is in lockdown.
The workshop is offered by Warwickshire County Council’s Bike Project which was set up last year following the donation of a number of second-hand bikes by Warwick University.
The Targeted Youth Support team at the council saw an opportunity to gift the bikes, many of which needed renovating, to vulnerable young people to teach them the skills to fix them at their local youth centre in Atherstone and Leamington Spa.
Each young person who wanted to get involved was given a bike in a safe condition, and additional funding from Warwickshire’s Police and Crime Commissioner enabled provision of additional items of helmet, toolkit and bike chain so that they could restore the bike and use it safely.
Staff working on the project found that giving the bikes to young people had a positive effect on them as they were attending their youth centre and school more because the bike provided them with a means of getting there.
The COVID-19 pandemic has meant that the Targeted Youth Support team needed to come up with new ways to run The Bike Project so they are now offering the support online for all Bike Project members who have a bike and toolkit at home.
Hamish Cameron, Youth Worker at Warwickshire County Council explained how the project is working, he said:
“Since the lockdown, we have sent out the first bikes and toolkits last week to five young people in care and we have already held a virtual introduction session to help them find a work area in their homes or gardens so that they can get started. We hope to make further deliveries over the coming weeks.
“Each week we plan to hold an online course where we will teach bike maintenance to these young people. They can then take the skills that they have learnt and using their ready-made toolkits they can work on their bikes.
“We hope that this project will give the young people something positive to focus on and something to look forward to each week during lockdown. It also will allow us to keep in touch about anything that they are struggling with during isolation and a place to get support if they need it.
“The virtual club will also include teaching about cycle proficiency, quizzes and bike safety modules so that they can stay safe when out and about on their bikes.”
Callum, a young person from Warwickshire who is part of The Bike Project said:
"The Bike Project has given me a focus and something to look forward to each week. I struggle at school, but this has made learning a new skill easy. I'm really glad it has carried on during the lockdown.”
John Coleman, Assistant Director for Children and Families at Warwickshire County Council said:
“We are so pleased that we can continue to run The Bike Project albeit virtually at the moment. Alongside the skills learnt through the practical work of fixing up a bike, young people can also gain skills such as teamwork, communication, leadership and self-esteem which we hope will help them in their work and personal lives in the future.
“With the help of the Police and Crime Commissioner it is fantastic that we can support initiatives like The Bike Project to help vulnerable young people in Warwickshire learn new skills whilst getting support from a Youth Worker in a comfortable and relaxed environment.”
The council plans to expand the project even further over the coming months in other areas of the county.
If you are a care experienced or vulnerable young person and you would like to take part in The Bike Project, please speak to your Social Worker.
For more information about the Targeted Youth Support Service, visit https://www.warwickshire.gov.uk/youthservice