Road Safety In Schools – and how you can help
Road Safety In Schools – and how you can help
The thought of a child being involved in in a car accident is enough to fill any of us with dread.
According to Brake, the Road Safety Charity, between 2017 and 2018, the number of child fatalities (aged 0-15) in Great Britain remained unchanged at 48.
During this period, the total number of child casualties decreased by 9% to 14,266, the lowest total on record. The majority of child fatalities are mainly pedestrian (28) or car passengers (15).
While the statistics show that things aren’t getting worse, clearly any fatality or casualty is one too many.
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Parents, caregivers and road-users all have a responsibility to protect children from harm. Road Safety Education is a crucial strategy to reduce the risk of injury-or worse and schools have an important part to play here too. In fact, Road Safety falls within National Curriculum requirements. It can be linked to subjects such as Geography, Science and Maths which enable key Road Safety skills and knowledge to be reinforced.
The learning objectives for each Key Stage are set out in the curriculum guidelines and are a good benchmark to understand what your child should understand at each age.
Foundation / Early Key Stage 1
Understand the difference between the footpath and the road.
Understand that pedestrians walk on the pavement and vehicles travel on the road.
Know to walk with a grown up and hold hands when walking near a road.
Understand the Stop, Look, Listen and Think sequence.
Ride a bike (with stabilisers)
Know to travel in a car wearing a seatbelt and a car seat if under 135cms tall.
By the end of Key Stage 2
Know the Green Cross Code including recognising safe crossing places on the road side.
Have an understanding of road signs and pedestrian crossings.
To be able to identify when they feel at risk as a passenger and develop a strategy to speak out
Understand their responsibilities as a passenger in a car to wear a seatbelt and behave sensibly.
Have an increased awareness of the Highway Code.
Ride a bike and have participated in some Cycle Training.
Be able to plan a safe journey to secondary school
By the end of Key Stage 3
Understand their responsibilities as pedestrians or passengers.
To travel independently to and from school either as a pedestrian, cyclist or on school transport (where local conditions allow).
To understand what is acceptable behaviour on public transport.
To be able to plan and make longer journeys using a combination of transport modes safely.
To understand risk and the effect of behaviour on safety.
To develop strategies to cope with potentially dangerous situations caused by the behaviour of a driver they travel with.
By the end of Key Stage 4
Understand their responsibilities as pedestrians, passengers and drivers.
To be aware of the training requirements for drivers
Have an awareness of issues affecting young drivers such as peer pressure, speed, drugs and alcohol and inexperience.
To be able to travel independently and understand the benefits of sustainable travel.
The Roadwise website provides useful resources for teachers to help them deliver both practical and classroom-based lessons either in a primary or secondary school setting.
To enhance understanding, games and activities suitable for age groups 0-11 and 12-16 respectively, are also available from the website.
Appointing a Junior Road Safety Officer (JRSO) in school is another excellent way to promote awareness of the relevant issues. The role responsibilities might include:
Maintaining a notice board and making sure the road safety information is up to date
Talking in an Assembly or in Class on road safety themes
Arranging competitions
Awarding certificates
Using the JRSO website
Helping to appoint next year’s JRSO
Each primary school is encouraged to appoint two JRSOs from Year 5.
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Road Safety education which begins at an early age and continues throughout a child’s school years is key to the development of good road sense.
After all, ‘safety doesn’t happen by accident’.
https://www.roadwise.co.uk/wp-content/uploads/2015/09/Road-Safety-in-the-Primary-Curriculum.pdf
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