Case: Fietsschool XS eliminates cycling deficit for 75% of kids
As many as 8% of Leuven children aged 6 to 12 cannot ride a bike. De Fietsschool XS's low-threshold cycling classes help to eliminate that cycling deficit. With success. Because after 4 lessons, 75% of the participants achieve the expected cycling proficiency.
More and more children can't ride bikes properly
Research by De Fietsschool shows that 8% of Leuven children aged 6 to 12 cannot ride a bike. This problem mainly occurs in vulnerable families. These are often families in which the parents themselves cannot, or cannot properly, cycle, do not have a suitable children's bike at home or do not have a safe place to practice. Busy car traffic also deters parents.
This is unfortunate because children who do not travel by bike are often brought by car. As a result, traffic gets busier again. A vicious circle Fietsschool XS tackles this problem.
What is Fietsschool XS?
Cycling School XS is an initiative of De Fietsschool to teach cycling skills to children aged between 6 and 12 without cycling experience and to support parents in that learning process. The focus is on:
- Cycling lessons for children
- Empowerment of parents
- Collaboration with schools and community works
The first lessons of Fietsschool XS were organised with the support of Greenpeace Belgium's Healthy Air Fund.

How does it work?
Cycling lessons for children
Five series of lessons were organised in 2023 and 2024. Each series consisted of four two-hour lessons. the lessons took place on Wednesday and Saturday afternoons, at various locations in Leuven such as the Blauwputplein and the playground of several primary schools. The lessons were adapted to the age of the children:
- 1st and 2nd grade: Basic skills like getting on, driving straight and slalom.
- 3rd and 4th grade: More complex techniques such as indicating direction and reversing.
- 5th grade: Safe cycling on the street, under supervision.
- 6th grade: Cycling safely on the street, independently.
Parental involvement
Parents were actively involved during the lessons. They observed how their children learned to cycle and could apply that knowledge at home to support them further. In addition, Fietsschool XS also organised workshops to teach parents traffic rules and safety tips.
Practical support
Schools and community associations helped to direct participants to the lessons. For families without bicycles, VELOKadee provided children's bicycles. Children received a diploma and a goodie bag including bicycle lights at the end of the lesson series.
A successful approach
What did we learn?
The experiences of Fietsschool XS in Leuven provide a solid basis for working on children's cycling skills in other cities and towns as well. In doing so, there are some key areas of focus that we want to work on:
- Three quarters of the children catch up with their cycling arrears after four lessons. Those who fail to do so did not consistently participate in the lessons.
- Schools can play a more active role in referring children with bicycle arrears.
- Involving parents requires extra effort, especially when parents cannot cycle themselves.

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Together we help children in the saddle
De Fietsschool XS demonstrates that collaboration is essential to tackle cycling disadvantage in children. With targeted outreach, low-threshold cycling classes, and parental support, we can create a generation that can cycle independently and confidently. De Fietsschool is calling on schools, community operations, parents and local governments to help build that future.
Get involved and help every child get on a bike!