Youth and Community

Braking the Cycle is our volunteer driver mentor program designed to support learner drivers without access to a supervisor or registered vehicle to complete their logbook hours. The aim of the program is to provide young people with increased employment opportunities, community connection and driver education.

Participants are matched with a specific volunteer from our extensive and experienced driver mentor network. Mentors provide encouragement and help young people improve their self-esteem and develop positive road safety attitudes.

With the support of government, community and corporate partners, Braking the Cycle is currently offered at 33 PCYC clubs across Queensland. Since its inception in 2012, Braking the Cycle has received 19 awards from the Australian Road Safety Awards, Queensland Reconciliation Awards and Regional Achievement & Community Awards, and most recently won a silver award in the 2017 National National Crime and Violence Prevention Awards.

Our Bicycle Education and Safety Training is designed to be challenging, educational, rewarding and enjoyable. The programme has been designed to accommodate Year 4 to 6 students.

The programme involves a three step process:

Step 1: Our road safety instructors will visit your school to introduce themselves and talk to your children about general road safety, which lasts approximately one hour. This step usually involves a Police Officer accompanying our trained staff.

Step 2: The students attend the Redcliffe PCYC facility, where our trained instructors deliver a programme supported by our Police Officers. The programme aims to improve the students bicycle skills and most importantly teach road rules & safety.

Step 3: Your students demonstrate their new abilities and knowledge on our road simulation bicycle track, which has working traffic lights, street signs and markings; all within the safety of the PCYC fence line.

Bicycle Education & Safety Training is designed to highlight:

• Safe bicycle riding
• Scanning – Look, listen & think
• Road sign identification and understanding
• Road rules and regulations
• Reaction time & stopping distance
• Helmets & the importance of wearing them
• Planning & reactive riding
• Personal responsibility and legal obligations
• Public transport safety
• General road safety

Prep and Year 1: Little voices, big choices

Focus on pedestrian safety

Topics covered:

• Road signs
• Crossing the road
• Passenger safety
• Bicycle safety
• Stop, drop and go

Year 2 and 3: Watching you, watching me

Focus on bus safety

Topics covered:

• Bus safety
• Crossing the road
• Road signs
• Safe journeys
• Blind spots

Short practical exercises to practice following road rules at road signs

The State Youth Leadership Program (SYLP) is a multi-stage training program designed to develop young people aged 14-25 into leaders. This is achieved through adventure based learning and engaging challenges and offers young people a chance to step out of their comfort zone, challenge themselves and develop skills useful in school, community, work and life.

PCYC Queensland Youth Management Teams (YMT) are a social and leadership development group for high school aged young people who wish to improve their leadership skills and to give back to and connect with their communities. YMTs meet regularly within the clubs, volunteer their time and establish and drive their own projects within the community.

PCYC is Queensland’s largest provider of The Duke of Edinburgh’s International Award, a multi-stage self-development program available to young people ages 14 to 25 that encourages them to set their own goals and challenges, work towards achieving them, and then be recognised at the end for sustaining the commitment they have made.

For further information on how to get involved please contact PCYC Queensland’s Duke of Edinburgh’s Award Coordinator on 07 3909 9501 or email [email protected] 

This program is for young people who are disengaging from school or are needing help with job seeking. The initiative is to teach life skills – job skills and a work ethic. This prepares young potential school leavers for a job and a career. This program has had great success in re-engaging young people back in to education/school or in to employment. You will gain work experience, a Certificate 1 in Vocational Pathways, and some amazing friends along the way!

The program runs for 11 weeks, 5 days per week and is for young people aged between the ages of 16-19 years.

If this sounds like something you or someone you know would be interested in, please email [email protected]