Green, pink, blue and red bikes sit in a row

UCI Cycling World Championships 2023: events programme gets underway with free activities for children and families

Posted 04.08.23 by Alice Hinds

As thousands of professional cyclists from around the world arrive in Glasgow for the UCI Cycling World Championships, families can also get involved, via a free programme of events running until 13 August

Designed to promote cycling and wellbeing to children and young people, and encourage healthy and active lifestyles across sport, culture and the arts, the citywide GO LIVE! programme features everything from “come and try” sessions to trail races, as well as book events at local libraries.

Making cycling more accessible for the local community, while inspiring children to get on their bike and have active fun, here’s just a few highlights of the programme, all of which can be enjoyed for free:

Tollcross, Saturday 5 August

Open from 11am until 5pm, this family-friendly event has activities for all ages and abilities, including Play Together on Pedals (click here for more) sessions for pre-school children, music workshops, a family sports zone, and stunt performances. Plus, there will be a free bike repair service to get your wheels ride-ready.

Family Football Fun with Danny Scott, 10 August

Pop along to Baillieston Library, where Scotland Stars FC author Danny Scott (click here for more) will give a talk on the beautiful game and read an extract from one of his books, while interactive challenges, quizzes and penalty shootouts keep children engaged. Suitable for children aged six to 10.

Cathkin Braes, Saturday 12 August

As well as more “come and try” sessions and live entertainment, Scottish Cycling (click here for more) will hosting the Ride The Worlds Pump Track Finals, which sees youth riders up to the age of 16 compete for the series title.

Official fan zone, George Square, every day until 13 August

George Square will be a centre of excitement, hosting road race finishes, medal ceremonies, live music, cycling taster sessions, and lots of other sporting activities – perfect for getting children interested in active fun.

With around 2,700 riders competing for rainbow jerseys across seven disciplines and more than 200 world titles, the UCI Cycling World Championships is a “first-of-its-kind mega event", which organisers hope will encourage people of all ages to get on their bike.

Bailie Annette Christie, Chair of Glasgow Life, said: “Building on the legacy of previous sporting events that also offered complementary cultural and activity-based programming, GO LIVE! gives us an opportunity to support, grow and develop cycling in our communities.

“The free performances, events, activities and ‘come and try’ elements of the programme widen the appeal of the UCI Cycling World Championships and let us host more local, community-led, events in wards across the city. The festival atmosphere in the city is going to be amazing and I would urge everybody to get involved.”

For more information on the free events available across the city, click here to visit the GO LIVE! website: www.glasgowlife.org.uk/sport/go-live-glasgow

#AndSheCycles Festival 2023: Charity announces new funding for essential equipment

Posted 15.06.23 by Alice Hinds

Launched as part of Scotland’s annual #AndSheCycles Festival, running from 17-25 June, groups, schools and charities can now apply for specialist funding to help get more teenage girls into cycling.

Awarded by Sustrans, the charity making it easier for people to walk and cycle, up to £2,000 is available for organisations that wish to implement new projects, covering the cost of purchasing bikes, lockers, helmets and other essential equipment.

Applications for the first round of funding are open now until 29 June 2023, with successful projects receiving the investment in August/September.

Groups working with teenage girls and young women in Scotland can also download a resource pack to help plan activities during #AndSheCycles Festival, which kicks off on Saturday 17 June with an in-person event in Inverurie, Aberdeenshire. The free event, designed for girls aged 13 to 18, will include led bike rides, obstacle courses, games, and even a smoothie bike, as well as practical advice for everyone from novice riders to experienced cyclists.

People taking part in #AndSheCycles Festival activities are also encouraged to share photos of them while cycling, tagging @and_she_cycles on Instagram for the chance to win £500 worth of bike shop or Ticketmaster vouchers.

With many teenage girls in Scotland facing challenges that prevent them from cycling, the #AndSheCycles campaign and yearly festival aim to break down barriers by widening access, changing attitudes, and normalising cycling.

Tremaine Bilham, delivery manager for education, young people and communities at Sustrans, said: “Through the #AndSheCycles campaign, we hope to empower teenage girls to take control of their movement without shame or stigma.

“Cycling not only promotes health and wellbeing but also builds confidence, independence and a sense of adventure. By encouraging more teenage girls to cycle, we help them to feel safer when on their bike for everyday journeys.”

For more information, click here to visit the #AndSheCycles website: ibike.sustrans.org.uk/andshecycles

Booking opens for unique online Learning Week

19 February 2021

Booking is now open for our first ever Children in Scotland Learning Week. Our unique five-day online event will bring together a range of experts and organisations to share ideas, perspectives and possible solutions to some of the biggest challenges currently facing the children’s sector.

The week-long series of events will take place from Monday 22 March to Friday 26 March offering five days of sharing, learning and connecting.

Karin McKenny, Learning and Events Manager at Children in Scotland said:

“We know how much our Annual Conference is valued across the sector and we were deeply disappointed to not be in a position to deliver this key event in the calendar during 2020.

“With the restrictions around public gatherings still in place, and likely to remain so for some time yet, we have had to be innovative in how we continue to provide top-class learning, training and CPD.

"The result is our Learning Week which we hope strikes the balance of providing the quality event we would usually be delivering in person, but with added flexibility to engage around other commitments and time pressures.”

The programme has been designed around five key themes:

Mental Health Monday
Together Tuesday
Wellbeing Wednesday
Transforming Thursday
Family Friday

One ticket gives access to all content produced as part of Learning Week, including live sessions and pre-recorded content. Delegates are encouraged to attend events live, but all sessions will be recorded allowing access at a later, more convenient time if preferred.

Tickets are from £55 per person.

Click here to find out more and book your place

Spring training and events

View all our forthcoming webinars and training events on our Eventbrite hub

Click to browse the programme

Children in Scotland magazine - Issue 200

Our anniversary edition is available now to read, download and share for free

Click to read the magazine

To support children in the fight against Covid-19, we need your voices, knowledge and expertise

27 March 2020

In response to Covid-19, Children in Scotland is emphasising its role as a representative body for the children’s sector that can unite people to support children and families.

We are also announcing improvements to our membership offer, and urging our wider network to contribute ideas, resources and experiences as we collectively adapt to the impact of the virus.

Children in Scotland’s CEO Jackie Brock said:

“The pandemic means Children in Scotland’s core organisational qualities of representation, dialogue and convening power must be brought more strongly to the fore.

We want to concentrate on listening, amplifying what our members and wider network have to say and sharing the best possible opportunities, resources and learning to support children and families.

This is a time where we should be drawing on our best democratic instincts but also engaging in constructive challenge when decisions are made that fail the needs of children and families.

As I said in a statement last week (click to read), the response to the pandemic must be articulated and experienced as a collective effort. Preserving dignity and rights, and continuing to amplify young people’s voices, will be fundamentally important.

Strengthening skills and sharing your views

We remain totally committed to strengthening skills in the sector to improve childhoods and support families, so our learning programme is temporarily moving online.

We’ve converted many of our events into webinars and will be launching a special guide to the full range of these learning opportunities next month.

A new series of webinars led by our staff, and digital consultation about our Manifesto for the 2021-26 parliament, is also being developed.

A big part of ongoing engagement will be about using our channels to broadcast the experiences and views of our audience, building dialogue and signposting our collective strength.

Please email our communications manager Chris Small (csmall@childreninscotland.org.uk) if you would like to share your experiences through a 25 Calls campaign response, a blog on our website or, if you are a member, in our new weekly members’ update, launching next week.

This will be a space to share informed perspectives and resources, but also ideas about what we want to take forward as learning from the experience of Covid-19.

Update on our services

Our services remain a vital part of our offer to families and communities.

The Enquire helpline is open for written enquiries and our dedicated team is ready to help any parents or carers understand how the new coronavirus laws affect the education of children with additional support needs in Scotland. The website will be updated daily as new education legislation and guidance is published.

Referrals to the My Rights, My Say Children’s Views service are being dealt with on an individual basis. Advice and information about all parts of the service are available on the My Rights, My Say website.

Our mediation service Resolve is currently in discussion with local authorities about what their needs may be and what can practicably be offered. We will provide a further update on this as soon as we can.

Thanks for being part of our network.

Remember that by working together we can help to support and represent every child, and every childhood, during this difficult time.”

Click here to follow us on Twitter, Facebook and Instagram to find out about all our upcoming courses, get updates on our news, and hear how our wider network is responding.

Join us in membership

Add your voice to a powerful network working to improve children's lives

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Upcoming webinars

Adapting to Covid-19, we're taking forward learning opportunities online

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25 Calls campaign

Find out how we and 200+ partners think children can experience greater equality and human rights

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Enquire

Find out more about Enquire, the Scottish advice service for additional support for learning

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Changes to spring learning programme announced

20 March 2020

Children in Scotland has announced changes to its learning programme as a result of Covid-19, including the launch of a new webinar series.

Click here to access all of our forthcoming events

Learning & Events Manager Karin Mckenny said:

"Firstly, thanks for all your support and understanding around the uncertainty around our learning programme.

On average, 5,000 of you attend our training every year, so you can imagine the challenge this is presenting to my lovely team. However, we’re the ‘in-house events team of the year (click to read) for a reason – so we’re on it!

We know that the reasons that you’ve requested training remain, and in some cases they’re amplified – so we’re working hard on alternative delivery methods.

Next week we have these webinars, which you can access through these link for a small fee:

26 March, 10.30am – Supporting parenting in the early years
27 March, 10.30am – Vicarious trauma, and self-care

Please try them out, give us constructive feedback, and together we’ll create new, worthwhile opportunities for learning and connecting.

Not for you? Please, please consider taking a credit for future training rather than a refund. All our events are not-for-profit, so all fees are invested back into the work we do for children and young people.

Thank you again for your patience and we look forward to updating next week with our plans for post-Easter events."

Supporting parents in the early years

10.30am, Thursday 26 March. Trainer: Jan Montgomery

Click to register

Vicarious trauma and self-care

10.30am, Friday 27 March. Facilitator: Douglas Sharp

Click to register

Recognition for learning and events programme as team scoops three major awards

Children in Scotland’s Learning and Events team won an unprecedented three awards at last night’s prestigious EventIt E Awards held at Edinburgh’s Assembly Rooms.

The team won Best In-House Events Team 2019 and Best Association Event for our 2018 Annual Conference, while Learning & Events Officer Svenja Schulz won Rising Scottish Event Star.

The accolade follows a record-breaking year of activity for Children in Scotland learning and events.

Over 2018-19 the team delivered 250 events, attended by 5,300 delegates and with 200 contributors from 974 organisations.

Children in Scotland's Learning & Events Manager Karin McKenny said: “I’m very proud of my team and the contribution they make to achieving Children in Scotland’s aims – these awards feel like proper recognition of that work, three times over! I’d also like to thank our wonderful contributors who bring expertise, specialist knowledge and commitment to all of our events.”

Svenja Schulz said: “This is a great honour and a moment I will never forget. I’m very grateful to all of my colleagues who have been so supportive and encouraging since the first day I’ve started at Children in Scotland. Looking at the talent and dedication in our team, I’m sure I won’t be the last one to win this incredible award!”

Children in Scotland CEO Jackie Brock said: “These awards are so well deserved and reflect the fantastic effort the team puts into creating a CPD programme that’s relevant and engaging for professionals and practitioners across Scotland.

“Most importantly it’s testament to the team’s values-driven work to strengthen the knowledge and skills of everyone who works with or for children, with the overall aim of improving children’s lives. Thanks to EventIt for recognising this.”

Click here to browse upcoming events

Browse our events

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Strengthening the children's sector

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UCI Cycling World Championships 2023: events programme gets underway with free activities for children and families

As thousands of professional cyclists from around the world arrive in Glasgow for the UCI Cycling World Championships, families can also get involved, via a free programme of events running until 13 August

Related content

#AndSheCycles Festival 2023: Charity announces new funding for essential equipment

Launched as part of Scotland’s annual #AndSheCycles Festival, running from 17-25 June, groups, schools and charities can now apply for specialist funding to help get more teenage girls into cycling.

Related content