Our Guarantee

We guarantee to get every child who joins our course cycling on their own. This means that your child will be able to start pedalling without any physical assistance and they will be able to pedal in control for at least two laps of the course venue, stopping safely using the brakes.

Here’s how our guarantee works…

You book your child or children on to a course of 3 one hour sessions. We usually find that the children master cycling on their own in these 3 sessions. However if they haven’t quite got there by then, we offer extra sessions for no extra charge until they’ve cracked it!

These extra sessions are offered in the form of another full course of 3 sessions, for no charge. The vast majority of children get there in 6 sessions but if more sessions are needed after that, we keep providing them for no extra charge - as many as the child needs to get there. You just pay once for the initial course.

Our guarantee is what you get from us. However, in order for our guarantee to work, we need a few things from you! You can read our terms and conditions in more detail on this page, but we'll outline the main points here…

Your child must be able to attend all 3 sessions in full

Before booking, please make sure that your child is able to attend all 3 sessions. Please note that we cannot mix and match dates from different courses - each course is offered as a block of 3.

If your child isn’t able to attend all 3 scheduled sessions or they miss more than 15 minutes in total through lateness, and they cannot cycle by the end of the third scheduled session, we will not offer extra sessions for free, as we would have done if they had attended all 3 sessions in full.

The course is for children aged 4 years or older

We stick strictly to our lower age limit of 4 years old, meaning that in order to get our guarantee, your child must be 4 or older at the date of the first session of the course. 

We have had children booked on to a course before they are 4, and we do our best to get them cycling but if they haven't mastered it in the three sessions of the initial course we do not offer extra sessions for no charge as we would have done had they been 4 at the start of the course. We run courses all year round, so even if your child turns 4 just a few days after the first session of a particular course, please wait for a later course in order to get our guarantee. We may ask for proof of age to be brought to the third session of a course, if there is some doubt as to whether a child is 4.

With all this talk of 4 year olds, please don't think that the course is just for children of that age! We have children of all ages older than that attend the course and we have bikes of all sizes, up to small adult bikes. We find that the mixture of ages really helps with the dynamic in the sessions as the children can learn from each other well.

Parents and carers do not stay for the sessions

At the beginning of the first session of the course there is a 5 minute introduction where the aims of the course are described and we discuss how to work as a team. As part of this introduction we talk about the correct way to wear a cycling helmet. Parents and carers are welcome to stay for this introduction.

Once all the children have their helmets on correctly and they are ready for the bikes, the instructor will ask the parents and carers to leave and to come back 5 minutes before the end of the hour session.

Without the parents and carers there the children are less distracted and they encourage and learn from each other more readily.

We will not make any exceptions on this rule of the parents and carers not staying.

5 minutes before the end of the session we invite all the parents and carers back in when each child will do a lap to show the progress they have made. We encourage hearty applause!

Your child must be willing to participate

If your child is not yet ready to be left at an activity in this way, please do not book them on to the course as we will not offer any refunds or a replacement booking if your child refuses to be left at the course by their parent or carer, or if they refuse to take part in the sessions.

Our instructors are excellent at reassuring children who may be a bit hesitant or nervous and we do all we can to encourage all the children throughout the learning process. Our instructors are also extremely patient and it really doesn't matter to us how long it takes for a child to learn - we just focus on progressing at a pace suitable for each individual child. As our guarantee states, we'll provide as many sessions as needed to get the children cycling confidently on their own. We are never in a rush - all we care about is that the learning experience should be positive and fun for all the children!

Practice afterwards is essential

Once your child has learnt to cycle it is essential that they are able to practise in the days and weeks immediately following the course.

For this you will need a suitable bike for them to ride. Most children’s bikes are poorly designed, very heavy and difficult to ride. Also, shops almost always sell bikes that are too big for the child to be able to ride safely. We offer expert advice on bikes and sizing after the first session of the course that your child attends. We also have a page with our advice on what to look for when buying children's bikes… https://pedalproject.co.uk/bikes

The Pedal Project guarantee does not apply if the child has successfully learnt with us but has not been able to practise afterwards and has subsequently lost the ability to cycle. However, if practice doesn't go well in the days immediately after your child has learnt, if you get in touch with us within a week of their last session, we are happy to offer extra sessions for no charge to bring their confidence back.

Anything else?

As we mentioned at the top of the page, you can read our full terms and conditions here. But if you still have questions unanswered, do get in touch with us at info@pedalproject.co.uk.