PRACTICAL CHILD PEDESTRIAN TRAINING SCHEME

Much progress has been made over the years in efforts to reduce the number of child casualties involved in road collisions across the country.  The contribution made in this regard by teachers in our schools has been immense through the delivery of general curriculum related work along with various road safety schemes such as the ‘Cycling Proficiency Scheme’.  A more recent addition is the ‘Practical Child Pedestrian Safety Training’ scheme where children have the opportunity to practise what they have learned in the classroom by participating on a supervised walk in the proximity of the school.

Artigarvan Primary School are currently participating in the three year scheme and have been working closely with the Department for Infrastructure (DfI) Road Safety in this regard.  It involves starting with  pupils in Primary 3 (Stage 1) who then participate in Stage 2 the following year, and finally Stage 3 in their Primary 5 year.  The class teacher follows a six week teaching plan which concentrates on specific topics with the scheme devised to increase the knowledge, skills and understanding of children in a progressive fashion - each year building upon what has been taught in the previous stage/s.  

Now into Stage 2, the Primary four children at Artigarvan Primary have been learning about issues such as the Green Cross Code, Safer Places to Cross, and what various road signs mean.  To put the theory into practise, they will soon participate in a walk on roads in the general area of the school where the associated road safety problems will be encountered, negotiated and discussed.  The walk encompasses such issues as ‘safer places to cross the road’, ‘ proper use of the school crossing patrol’, along with lots of opportunities for the children to practise using the ‘Green Cross Code’.

Adequate adult supervision will be provided by school staff with a representative from DfI Road Safety on hand to lead the walk  and help ensure that the exercise is a success. So far the scheme has been successful and there are hopes that it will be extended and offered to other schools in the future.  Any such measure which has a chance of reducing child casualties on our roads is surely to be commended.