Radfahrausbildung in Cologne: How Bike Training in Grades 3 and 4 and the Fahrradprüfung Work
In North Rhine-Westphalia, bike training is a school task. The state decree on traffic education says the Radfahrausbildung runs in grades 3 and 4 and ends with a learning-goal check in theory and practice, and that schools should work with the traffic safety advisers of the local police. In Cologne, Polizei Köln visits primary schools to support the teachers, and a school can book the mobile Jugendverkehrsschule of Jugendhilfe Köln e.V., which brings bikes and a practice course to the schoolyard (Stadt Köln says pupils take their Fahrradprüfung on that course). The school organises all of this and must inform parents before it starts, so ask the class teacher for the dates and practise balance and braking at home, because Polizei Köln itself says many children around age 10 are still overwhelmed by real traffic.
Bike Training Is a School Job in NRW
In North Rhine-Westphalia, a child does not need a parent to organise a bike course. The state decree on traffic education and mobility education (BASS 15-02 Nr. 5, current in the 2026/2027 school-law collection) puts traffic education on the school as part of its teaching and educational mission. For primary schools it sets three points that matter to you as a parent:
- Bike practice starts early. In the first school years the focus is on safe walking routes and bike practice in a protected space. The decree says this is carried on as a systematic Radfahrausbildung in grades 3 and 4.
- It ends with a check. The decree says the Radfahrausbildung “schließt mit einer Lernzielkontrolle in Theorie und Praxis ab”, a learning-goal check in theory and practice. Everyday language, including the city’s own pages, calls this the Fahrradprüfung.
- Parents must be told. Schools have to inform parents about the aims, organisation and content before the training begins, should give them a chance to help with the practical part, and have to tell them the result.
The practical exercises may take place at a Jugendverkehrsschule (a traffic training ground for children), and the decree asks schools to work with the traffic safety advisers of the local police where possible. In Cologne that means three actors you will hear about.
Who Does What in Cologne
| Who | Role | What the official source says |
|---|---|---|
| Your child's school | Organises the training, informs parents, runs the check | Responsibility under the NRW decree |
| Polizei Köln, Verkehrsunfallprävention | Supports teachers, advises on road safety | Visits primary schools "for many years" to support the Radfahrausbildung; phone 0221 229-6161 |
| Jugendhilfe Köln e.V., mobile Jugendverkehrsschule | Brings bikes and a practice course to the school | Service for Cologne primary schools, run with the Amt für Kinderinteressen; needs a qualified teacher who accompanies the training |
| Stadt Köln | Public practice areas, Jugendverkehrsschule in Nippes | Practice areas in Nippes, Kalk, Sülz and Raderthal |
Polizei NRW describes the same split for the whole state: in grades 3 and 4 the bike training belongs to the lessons, and the traffic safety advisers help the teachers with the practical exercises in traffic. Its school page also mentions a trial course for grade 3 and an intensive course for grade 4 on a protected training ground, where it says teachers and advisers work together when needed.
The mobile Jugendverkehrsschule is the one Cologne-specific piece worth knowing by name. According to the provider, the offer comes to the school: bikes and a practice course are brought and set up, and the provider handles organisation, material, repair, maintenance and transport. The school’s part is a teacher who is qualified to lead the practical lessons. Stadt Köln says pupils can learn cycling on a course with different levels of difficulty and take their Fahrradprüfung there. Whether your child’s school books this service or runs its training another way is the school’s choice, so do not assume. Ask.
What Parents Should Ask, and When
The decree makes the school responsible, but it does not set a single calendar date for the course, and the sources linked here do not publish one for Cologne. A short conversation with the class teacher in grade 3 or at the start of grade 4 clears most questions:
- When does the training run? Over weeks or in a block, and which lessons it takes.
- Where is the practical part? On the schoolyard with a mobile course, at the Jugendverkehrsschule, or on streets near the school.
- What should my child bring? If the mobile Jugendverkehrsschule is used, the provider supplies bikes. Ask anyway, and ask about a helmet.
- Can a parent help? The decree says parents should get the chance to take part in the practical training. Offer help if you have the time.
- How will we hear the result? Parents have to be told.
If your child joins a Cologne school in grade 4 or in the middle of the school year, none of the pages linked here describes what happens to a child who missed the first part. Raise it with the class teacher early, because that is who decides how your child joins the course. For the school-entry side of arriving in Cologne, see school enrollment.
Why Polizei Köln Wants You to Practise at Home
The most useful official text for parents is not about the exam at all. Polizei Köln writes that its advisers often find children at the age when they move from the sidewalk onto bike paths and roads still overwhelmed. Basic demands such as keeping balance, or braking and steering at the same time, take so much attention that a child cannot concentrate enough on the traffic. The police say these motor skills can be trained very well together with parents, using places without car traffic such as schoolyards, paths and squares, and they published a short film with exercises for parents to copy.
Cologne also has public places to practise. Stadt Köln lists these in its page on Verkehrsübungsplätze:
| Place | What to know |
|---|---|
| Nippes, Neusser Straße / Innere Kanalstraße | Practice area since the late 1950s with lanes, traffic lights and crossings; the city's Jugendverkehrsschule is open by appointment (Mon to Thu 8 to 17, Fri 8 to 13); parent and child training for pre-school children; phone 0221 221-29503 |
| Kalk, Ottmar-Pohl-Platz | 25 by 28 metres with traffic situations and signs painted on the ground; always publicly accessible |
| Sülz, Auerbachplatz | About 25 by 35 metres, opened in May 2024; not usable during the Tuesday and Friday morning market |
| Raderthal, Vorgebirgspark | 25 by 45 metres between Raderthalgürtel and Markusstraße; always publicly accessible |
A weekend visit to one of these areas, with a few cones or chalk lines, gives you the same basic practice the police describe: slow riding, braking on command, looking over the shoulder, steering with one hand.
The Age Rules You Should Know
Section 2 paragraph 5 of the Straßenverkehrs-Ordnung (StVO) sets who rides where:
| Age | Rule |
|---|---|
| Up to the 8th birthday | Must ride on the sidewalk; may also use a bike path that is physically separated from the road |
| Up to the 10th birthday | May ride on the sidewalk |
| From the 10th birthday | No sidewalk exception; the child rides on the road or bike path like other cyclists |
On the sidewalk, children must take particular care of pedestrians and must not endanger or hinder them. Before crossing a road, a child who has been using the sidewalk has to dismount. Our page on the age rules for kids on bikes goes through the details, and Polizei NRW’s school page advises against letting children ride to school before the grade 3 and 4 training has run. That is police advice, not a legal rule, and your school may have its own policy.
If the School Has Not Mentioned Anything
- Ask the class teacher first. The training is the school’s duty, and the decree says parents have to be informed beforehand.
- Ask whether the school uses the mobile Jugendverkehrsschule. Teachers know the booking; you do not need to contact Jugendhilfe Köln yourself, and the offer is described as a service for schools.
- Call Polizei Köln’s traffic accident prevention team on 0221 229-6161 for general questions on child road safety.
- Check insurance questions separately. Our page on accident insurance at Kita and school explains who covers school events, and an answer for your child’s specific case should come from the school.
- If your school street is busy, see school streets and Elterntaxi restrictions for what Cologne does around school gates.
Compliance Note
This page explains the general framework for bike training in NRW primary schools and the Cologne offers described by Polizei Köln, Stadt Köln and Jugendhilfe Köln e.V., current as of October 2026. Individual schools organise the training differently, and dates and offers change. It is not legal or educational advice. For your child’s class, confirm the details with the school.
FAQ & Common Pitfalls
Is bike training in a Cologne primary school mandatory?
It is a duty of the school, not an optional extra. The NRW decree on traffic education assigns it to the school as part of its teaching and educational mission, and it says the Radfahrausbildung is carried on in grades 3 and 4. The decree does not spell out what happens if a family does not want their child to take part, so ask the school directly if that is your situation. The school has to inform parents about aims, organisation and content before the training starts.
Who actually teaches the practical part in Cologne?
The class teacher and the school are responsible. Polizei Köln says it has visited primary schools for many years to support the teachers with the Radfahrausbildung, and the NRW decree asks schools to cooperate with the police traffic safety advisers where possible. A school can also book the mobile Jugendverkehrsschule of Jugendhilfe Köln e.V., which brings bikes and a practice course; the provider states that a teacher qualified to run the practical lessons must accompany the training.
Does my child need their own bike?
Not necessarily for the mobile Jugendverkehrsschule. Jugendhilfe Köln states that it provides the bikes and sets up and removes the practice course. Whether your child's school uses that offer, or runs the training differently, is the school's decision, so ask the class teacher what to bring. For practice at home a roadworthy bike that fits your child is the base.
What is the Fahrradprüfung, and is it a licence?
The NRW decree calls the end of the training a Lernzielkontrolle (learning-goal check) in theory and practice. Stadt Köln says pupils take their Fahrradprüfung on the mobile Jugendverkehrsschule's practice course. The decree and the city pages describe it as a school check of what your child learned, not as a legal permit, and neither source says it is needed to ride a bike. Parents are to be told the result.
At what age can my child ride on the road?
Under Section 2 paragraph 5 StVO, children up to their 8th birthday must ride on the sidewalk, and children up to their 10th birthday may. A child up to 8 may also use a bike path that is physically separated from the road. From the 10th birthday the sidewalk is no longer the place to ride. Polizei Köln points out that this moves children onto bike paths and roads, and that the police advisers often find 10-year-olds still overwhelmed by that.
Can my child ride to school by bike before the training?
Polizei NRW advises against it. Its pages say that intensive bike training takes place in grades 3 and 4, ending with a final ride and a test, and that children should not ride to school by bike before that phase. This is police advice, not a legal rule, and your school may have its own policy, so check with the school.
Where can we practise outside school?
Stadt Köln lists public practice areas in Nippes (Neusser Straße/Innere Kanalstraße, with the city's Jugendverkehrsschule), Kalk (Ottmar-Pohl-Platz), Sülz (Auerbachplatz) and Raderthal (Vorgebirgspark). The areas in Kalk and Raderthal are described as always publicly accessible, and the Sülz area is open except during the Tuesday and Friday morning market. The Nippes site is used by appointment. Polizei Köln also published a short video with practice exercises for parents.
Whom do I call if I have questions about road safety for my child?
Polizei Köln's traffic accident prevention team, which serves Cologne and Leverkusen, lists the phone number 0221 229-6161 on its pages. For questions about the mobile Jugendverkehrsschule, Stadt Köln gives 0221 54600-299. For anything about dates and the exam in your child's class, the class teacher is the first contact.