Assessment and Evaluation

Assessment and evaluation is a significant part of providing cycle instruction and is a vital component of the risk assessment process. There are three main parts to assessment and evaluation.

1. Client assessment

The National Standard cycle instructor cannot safely instruct new clients without previously assessing their cycling ability. One must never take at face value what the client tells you in the pre course assessment form, their values will be different to yours and they may not fully understand the implications of the cycle session.

A good example comes from swimming courses. Intermediate swimming courses tend to be held wholly in the deep end of a swimming pool. No competent swimming instructor would ever allow a child whom he/ she had never seen before to jump in purely on the fact that the child had said he/ she was a good swimmer? It is the same with cycle training.

2. Client evaluation

Evaluation is also key to the success of a cycling session. The client must be assessed or evaluated by using a number of milestones in order to gauge their progress through the levels.

Ask the clients a post course checking question to underpin what they have learnt:

Post course reflective practise is a good method of improving your instructing abilities, after the session and the course ask the three key questions:

3. National Standard outcomes

The third and possibly the most important aspect of assessment and evaluation is training to outcomes. The National Standards are entirely based upon outcomes. Educational outcomes are a vital part of the instruction process. It is essential to understand what you are trying to achieve before you set out to achieve it. This is the primary difference between the old cycle training courses and the new National Standards. The instructor must set his or her outcome before actually creating the session plan.

Each session and each course delivered must be based and aimed at the stated outcome. The National Standards have a series of mini and meta outcomes. When planning your session and course it is advisable to write down your outcome at the top of your session plan and build your session in order to achieve it.

This section is divided into five sections - each of which have minimum National Standards to adhere to:

  1. Planning and preparing for a session
  2. Assessing a clients' cycling experience and skills prior to training
  3. Advising a clients' on an appropriate training course
  4. Assessing a clients' progress against training goals and standards
  5. Preparing equipment and facilities for a session

A. Planning and preparing for a session

What you must do to meet The National Standard:

  1. Collect the necessary information about the subject
  2. Have a session plan that meets the outcomes of the programme and the needs and the potential of the individual trainees drawn from trainee assessment
  3. Make sure that the plan has realistic objectives, sequences and timings
  4. Make sure the plan satisfies health and safety requirements
  5. Adapt the plan to take account of available equipment, facilities and time
  6. Identify any circumstances that may change and plan how to deal with these
  7. Get approval from the colleague responsible for the programme
  8. Ensure the National Standards for ratios of instructors / assistants to trainees are at or below the recommended number
  9. Make sure that your own personal competence and qualifications meet the requirements of leading the session and the trainees
  10. Make sure that you are physically and mentally prepared for the session
  11. Make sure that you have the correct equipment ready for the session
  12. Choose a style of leadership that is appropriate to the aims of the session and the needs and potential of the trainees

What you must cover

From your work you must show that you have prepared:

Information needed prior to the session

  1. Time and location
  2. Expected trainees
  3. Participant needs and aspirations from the trainee assessment
  4. Aims of the programme
  5. Health and safety requirements
  6. Available equipment and facilities, including bikes and tools
  7. Evaluations of similar sessions

Aims of the programme

  1. Recreational cycling
  2. Curriculum based cycle training certificate
  3. Encouraging future participation in cycling

Clients

  1. Adults
  2. Children
  3. People with particular needs (optional)
  4. Groups
  5. Individuals

Click here to download further guidance to plan and prepare a session

B. Assessing a clients' cycling experience and skills prior to training

What you must do to meet The National Standard:

  1. Know the difficulties and advantages of training trainees in cycle use
  2. Know the needs of your trainee
  3. Know the expectations of your client
  4. Know the training courses and methods you can offer your client
  5. Be able to assess your client's cycling ability and experience
  6. Identify issues arising from your clients background, age, gender, health, disabilities, race/language or any other characteristic or special needs that need to be taken account of when preparing the training session
  7. Gain your client's confidence that they can complete a course of cycle training
  8. Make sure you can answer client's questions about training and cycling
  9. Decide whether your client will benefit from group or one to one training
  10. Use the above to prepare a course of training for your clients

To be competent in this unit you must demonstrate minimum levels of knowledge accompanying each item of the standard.

What you must cover

From your work you must demonstrate that you have completed the following:

You must be trained to demonstrate use of all the techniques below to prepare training for a client and gain their confidence and commitment to training. “Real” trainees should be used for evaluation.

Types of pre-assessment:

Sufficient of the following information to prepare client programme:

Assess at least two clients in each of the following categories:

Click here to download further guidance to asses a client's skills prior to training

C. Advising clients' on an appropriate training course

What you must do to meet The National Standard:

  1. Know the difficulties and advantages of training clients in cycle use
  2. Understand child and vulnerable adult protection issues
  3. Respond to your assessment of your client's needs, expectations, cycling ability, experience and any special needs, be prepared to seek advice
  4. Know the training courses and methods you can offer your client
  5. Gain your clients' confidence that they can complete a course of cycle training
  6. Use the above to prepare a course of training for your clients
  7. With your scheme organiser agree likely timing, cost, duration and location of training

To be competent in this unit you must demonstrate minimum levels of knowledge accompanying each item of the standard.

What you must cover

From your work you must demonstrate that you have completed the following:

You must be trained to demonstrate use of all the techniques below to prepare training for a client and gain their confidence and commitment to training. ?Real? trainees should be used to prepare a programme.

Devise a training programme for at least two clients in each of the following categories:

Devise a programme to allow a client to achieve different goals including at least three of:

Demonstrate that your programme will result in a client increasing cycle use as a result of training

Click here to download further guidance to advise clients on an appropriate training

D. Assessing a clients's progress against training goals and standards

What you must do to meet The National Standard:

  1. Understand the purpose of assessment and feedback to clients
  2. Understand the use of outcomes and their achievement by the clients
  3. Be able to use a range of methods to carry out assessment and feedback
  4. Where appropriate give feedback to parents, teachers or other responsible person
  5. Complete any administration required to determine client progress for client, your organisation or National Standards
  6. Be able to store feedback
  7. Assess clients against levels of the National Cycle Training Certificate
  8. Apply for national awards on behalf of clients
  9. Advise clients of other awards, training and opportunities to develop their cycling and the methods of assessment used
  10. Review a session with clients
  11. Respond to clients' progress and adapt training appropriately

To be competent in this unit you must demonstrate minimum levels of knowledge accompanying each item of the standard.

What you must cover

From your work you must demonstrate that you have completed the following:

You must be able to demonstrate use of all the techniques below to assess training and maintain confidence and commitment to training. “Real” trainees should be used for assessments.

Use at least two of the following approaches to assess and feed back progress to clients:

Complete an assessment of clients at levels 1, 2 and 3

Complete feedback after a session for clients from the range below:

Click here to download further guidance to assess clients' progress against goals and standards

E. Preparing equipment and facilities for a session

What you must do to meet The National Standard:

  1. Select and obtain equipment and a location that are suitable for the clients
  2. Make sure that the equipment and facilities meet health and safety requirements and local codes of practice
  3. Identify any unsafe or unserviceable equipment and facilities and follow the correct procedure for dealing with those
  4. Encourage and help the clients to prepare equipment and facilities in line with your organisation?s procedures
  5. Prepare equipment and facilities in a way that reduces harm to the local environment and injury to self and others

To be competent in this unit you must demonstrate minimum levels of knowledge accompanying each item of the standard.

What you must cover

From your work you must demonstrate that you have prepared equipment and facilities for the following:

Clients

  1. Adults
  2. Children and young people
  3. People with particular needs (optional)

Session

  1. Recreational cycling
  2. Curriculum based i.e. Cycle Training Certificate
  3. Encouraging future participation and progress in cycling

However, you must also show that you have the necessary knowledge and skills to cover all the types of context listed above.

Click here to download further guidance to prepare equipment and facilities for a session