Hackney Council’s road safety team recently ran a pilot day for children considered by their schools to require additional assistance to travel independently due to SEND needs.
In partnership with Transport for London and the Metropolitan Police, the initiative was aimed at children aged 10-13 years, but was open to all students in the borough.
Consisting of three elements, the day was designed to help children who had been identified as possibly being able to walk, cycle and use public transport alone given additional support.
The elements were as follows:
- A classroom based workshop discussing the need to remember the basics of safer crossing, the realities of choosing the right place to cross, and the danger of distractions.
- A walk in the locality to practice crossing skills including correct use of pedestrian crossings. As well as looking at ‘best practice’, it took into account the reality of using the roads in inner London.
- A double decker bus ride (not open to the public and taking a tailor made route) that included tips on waiting at the stop, boarding, best places to sit, and how to deal with anything that may arise on the journey.
Due to the success of the day, Hackney Council has plans to offer the workshop on a regular basis throughout the academic year. They wish to express their thanks to the boroughs of Southwark and Tower Hamlets, as well as the TfL education team, who provided guidance for the day.
The road safety team will include the initiative as part of their presentation at the European Transport Safety Council’s hybrid event on 13 November. The presentation will look at Hackney’s ‘Around my school I found’ program.
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