The first National Standards Cycle Instructors are being trained in Cardiff with funding from The Welsh Assembly Government. (Taken from CTC)

The first 12 instructors will qualify on 19 March and will begin training children in Wales to cycle using the new official system for cycle training.

The Minister for Environment, Sustainability and Housing, Jane Davidson, said: "The Welsh Assembly Government is committed to getting more people to cycle; we want to see more of our children on their bikes and cycling to school."

Gwenda Owen, CTC’s Cycle Training Development Officer for Wales, said: "The National Standards gives parents and children the confidence to make their daily journeys by bike under real conditions. These12 instructors will lead the way to more children cycling making healthier, happier children and fewer cars on the school run in Cardiff."

The cycle training National Standards have already been adopted by a small number of local authorities in Wales, but the funding for 110 instructors and the partnership with CTC - the UK’s national cyclists' organisation will help ensure all children across the whole of Wales have access to the highest standard of cycle training.

Working with CTC – the UK’s national cyclists’ organisation and the Sports Council, the £250,000 funding over three years will be used to get the National Standards adopted across Wales alongside the successful Bikeability brand – which is cycling proficiency for the 21^st century.