Road Safety
Education (RSE)
Secondary
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North Ayrshire Road Safety Education offer a full road safety educational programme which compliments the resources already being used in secondary schools.
Road Safety Presentations are available for S1 to S6. The Young Driver presentation is especially popular for S5 and S6 pupils or perhaps you would like a Road Safety Officer to attend your Health & Safety Event.
If you would like any help or advice on any road safety matter, please see contact details in introduction.
Resources
The Streetwise Guys website is aimed at 8 to 14 year olds in primary and lower secondary. In particular, it targets children in the transition period from primary to secondary, when they are most at risk.
The website uses interactive games to educate young people about road safety in a fun way. It can be used in the classroom, whilst teaching road safety. There are curricular links to Information and Communications Technology and Health Education 5-14 National Guidelines.
Belisha, Sprocket, Amber, Bumper and Gutter (the dog) are the Streetwise Guys. They have been designed to be cool, funky and appealing to young people. You visit them first at their gang hut. Once inside the hut, you can find out interesting things about keeping safe. There are also games like 'dog on the run' and 'on yer bike'.
S1/S2 PSD Road Safety Education
A pack containing PSD materials for road safety education in S1 and S2 has been developed. It contains teachers’ notes, suggested lesson plans and pupil activities for Levels D and E. It also contains support materials and a script for the S1 road safety play “The Nine Lives of Roddy Hogg”.
The pack is aimed at S1 and S2 pupils, who are amongst the most vulnerable using the roads. Scottish Health statistics show that road traffic accidents cause the majority of accidental deaths for 10 to 14 year olds. The picture is worse in Scotland, compared to other parts of Britain, with more children being killed or seriously injured on Scotland’s roads
‘Crash Magnets’, a road safety tool box for secondary schools, is a classroom resource developed by RSS. It engages students in their mid to late teens and encompasses Health and well-being, Citizenship, Peer Education, Futures Education and Personal and Social Development.
For many young people aged 15–18, road safety is a subject that they associate with primary school and no longer of relevance to them. They perceive themselves to be more at risk from hazards other than those involving cars. Crash Magnets seeks to engage young people by making this subject relevant to their lives and experiences; multimedia in style, image-conscious, diverse and most of all, enjoyable.
It was distributed to in 2006 to all mainstream schools, colleges and special schools in Scotland. This provided schools with the opportunity of partnership working with Local Authority and Police Road Safety Officers in supporting the delivery of the resource.
Road Safety Education is vitally important in shaping opinions and attitudes to: speeding; drink-driving; drug-driving; and in-car safety. Crash Magnets targets young people before they pass the driving test, to try and ensure their wellbeing on the road by encouraging them to make the right decisions for themselves, and others, in the same way that they would on any other health issue.
Additional teaching materials stretching to 10 lessons can be selected from the ‘Crash Magnets’ tool box. These include situation cards and case studies to stimulate discussion and inform debate. Curricular links include:
Health - Health and mental well being, making good decisions for themselves and others, raising self esteem.
Citizenship - Taking responsibility, identifying the importance of penalties, influencing change.
Peer Education - The DVD, which is pivotal to the resource, includes footage of young people who talk to camera giving, views, opinions and personal experiences. This helps to inform debate and stimulate class discussion.
Futures Education - Crash Magnets encourages young people to look beyond the here and now and speculate what might change; in cars, the law, roads?
PSD - Much of the substance of the resource concentrates on the social and emotional influence of relationships. Peer influence, the desire to be liked, the pressure to conform and the need for a more independent life style all contribute to make young people more vulnerable when out with friends, in cars.
Crash Magnets tackles all these issues and more, in allowing young people to explore their own feelings and attitudes. It also acknowledges that, at their age, driving a car has great benefits in developing independence and giving the freedom to go where you want, when you want. The car has status and 'pulling power' that, for some people, defines them as an adult, but this must be balanced with an understanding of the dangers of behaving irresponsibly at the wheel.
Passing the driving test gives you the right to drive, but with that right comes responsibilities.
We have to instil in young people the right attitudes towards road safety and safe driving. This is a very worthwhile event that will give senior secondary pupils in North Ayrshire the opportunity to realise the importance of driving within their capabilities and experience. Driving too fast doesn't always mean going over the speed limit. It can also mean driving at a speed which is not safe for current road conditions."
North Ayrshire pupils get the opportunity to attend a Road Safety event aimed at making secondary school pupils aware of the dangers of speeding called Reckless Drivers Wreck Lives. The event differs from the usual road safety messages as it shows the aftermath of a real life accident.
The youngsters watch a film where a real accident involving four teenagers is re-enacted. At different stages throughout the viewing representatives from the various emergency services interrupt the film to give their account of what they faced at the scene of the accident. Finally, the parents of one of the teenagers killed in the accident speaks to the audience to tell how their lives have changed after losing their child.
The event is funded and organised jointly by the Safer Communities Partnership and Roads Services.
Theatre is an effective means of conveying information and exploring concepts with road users of all ages. Every year the Scottish Road Safety Campaign organises theatre tours for secondary schools throughout Scotland.
'The Nine Lives of Roddy Hogg' targets first year secondary pupils who, in the transition stage from primary, are at an increased risk of involvement in a road accident.
The play 'Friends Disunited ' targets the S5/6 age group and explores the consequences of speeding.
Resources
Support resources are being developed for these plays, to cover pre-performance and post-performance work. Resources link to national educational guidelines and include teachers’ notes, suggested lesson plans and pupil activities.
Allocation of Theatre Tours
Performances of the plays are allocated to venues via the Road Safety Officers. The number of performances in each area is generally based on population size, number of schools etc. For details of tour dates in your area please contact the road safety unit.
Other Road Safety Links
a2bsafely
www.getinlane.com
www.roadsafetywestscotland.com
www.baldybane.org.uk
www.thinkroadsafety.gov.uk
www.highwaycode.gov.uk
www.passplus.org.uk
www.dsa.gov.uk
www.bhit.org
since 10th August 2007
