After 12 years, we say goodbye to our Managing Director, Kieron, who is moving onto a new role with The Bikeability Trust.
Who could have foreseen when Kieron started as a Training Coordinator, the progression both the company and he would have. A lot has happened in this time, so we asked Kieron to document what the differences are from 2012 to 2024 and what his highlights have been over this time:
Achievements and milestones
- Growth of the instructor team from 12 to 137 instructors.
- An office move to our new home at The Bike Depot.
- Moving from 2 to 13 local authority Bikeability partnerships.
- An increasing office team from 3 to 10 staff.
- Raising our training reach from 1,300 people per year to over 42,000 participants in 2023.
- Becoming a 1st4Sport Recognised Delivery Centre and delivering Ofqual accredited instructor qualifications.
- Expansion of Bikeability services from just Level 2 on-road training to a wide variety of on and off-road training.
- 9 whole school cycling projects which all led to a sustained increase of at least 25% in cycle to school figures.
What company achievements stick in your mind?
“It’s been rewarding to know that Outspoken has given staff the opportunity to excel and receive personal recommendations for their achievements.
Testament to our amazing instructor team, many of them have received personal awards. This includes Chris Lee and Anna Hay winning Bikeability Instructor of the Year awards and Rob Archer winning an Triumph over Adversity Award. All thoroughly well deserved.
Another highlight was our former Instructor Trainer, Stuart Meadows, who delivered a whole school cycling project in Peterborough. Not only did this lead to an award for Best Behaviour Change campaign at the Cycle Planning Awards, more importantly it led to a significant increase in the number of pupils consistently cycling to school across 5 primary schools. Exactly what we have been striving to achieve across the company.
And personally, I was really proud of a former instructor, John Levesley. I’d mentored John when he started as an instructor. Credit to his dedication and hard work, he enabled a Year 6 child to overcome their disabilities and a perception that he wouldn’t be able to cycle on the road to then go on to achieve Level 2 and win the Bikeability Trainee of the Year. Great teamwork from both of them!”
What was your proudest personal achievement?
“In the early years, I had an opportunity to deliver some one-to-one cycle training with an Autistic child. He had been cycling to school independently, but the school had been notified of some near misses and had some concerns about his cycling ability. He also hadn’t managed to independently demonstrate the Level 2 outcomes during the school’s Bikeability training.
I really enjoyed planning and delivering sessions with him. We started with some Level 1 cycle handling games so we could get to know each other off-road. We then progressed to some Level 2 training to get him familiar with the types of junctions, roads and cycling infrastructure he encountered in his rides. This helped me to plan and adapt his route to and from school to make this more manageable for him. We rode this together several times with him making the decisions to build his confidence and familiarity until the school and I were happy he could do this independently.
He continued to cycle every day and the rewarding part was our morning commutes crossed paths. Occasionally I would see him from across the road demonstrating excellent cycling skills and enjoying his ride to school.”
Is there anything else you would like to say?
“I would like to take this opportunity to thank all present and former colleagues for their support and work over the years. You have made a massive contribution to how enjoyable and fulfilling my roles with the company have been. Collectively you manage to deliver life-changing work which has positively affected the lives of many people. This has motivated and enthused me throughout my time with Outspoken. Thank you for this.
I am sure you will continue to go on to accomplish amazing results. I look forward to seeing what Outspoken achieves in the future.”
Good luck Kieron!
