The chance to ride a bike, something most children take for granted, is one of the things that makes Tuart Hill’s St Kieran’s Catholic Primary School a special place for special needs children.
St Kieran’s bike education program was initiated three years ago by teacher assistant Francesca Gizzarelli. Bike Ed, as it is known, aims to improve motor skills and give each student the ability to participate in a fun activity with their families.
Of St Kieran’s 540 students, about 65 are special needs children (a number that has grown from about 21 five years ago). About 25 special needs children, who have a wide range of intellectual and physical abilities, are involved in the program, which teaches them the basics of how to ride a bike, simple road safety knowledge and maintenance tasks such as how to fix a puncture.
But modifying a standard bike to suit the needs of the school’s special needs students does not come cheap. The cost could typically be about $900, said the school’s special needs co-coordinator, Russell Pratten, and in some cases could cost up to $4000.
The school received no external funding for running programs such as Bike Ed for its special needs, Mr Pratten said, and so was grateful for a $5000 community grant awarded to it as part of a community grants promotion by MOOV, the maker of head lice treatment products.
St Kieran’s was one of just three successful applications from 597 made by schools across the nation. The other winners were Hughes Pre-School in Canberra and Forest Hill State School in southeast Queensland.
MOOV’s brand manager, Melissa Giuliani, said St Kieran’s vision for students with disabilities merited reward and made the school a deserving winner. “These young children stand to benefit by having their learning experience and general social confidence enriched in a very hands-on, tangible way. It is also the sort of project that can be realistically achieved with $5,000.”
With the money, and the good will of those offering to help modify bikes as cheaply as possible, Mr Patten said the school would be able to add two or three new custom- modified bikes to its fleet of half a dozen, as well as acquire other safety equipment.
Anyone able to assist the school to modify bikes can contact St Kieran’s on (08) 9444 9744 or admin@stkieran.wa.edu.au