North Lincolnshire Council’s road safety team has developed a graduated StreetSmart programme which incorporates a new Early Years scheme for the youngest members of its community.
The main character in the new campaign is Minnie, a black labrador puppet, who visits Early Years settings to deliver road safety messages in a ‘K9 Interactive Puppet Experience’.
The North Lincs road safety team acknowledges the ‘huge benefit parents play in developing safe road users’. They are trailling the use of a comic strip to engage parents and carers with the Minnie story; to bridge language barriers, generate discussions, share messages and personalise the story.
‘Minnie Message Postcards’ are also being trialled to provide short snappy pointers and signpost further reading for parents.
Each story is backed by an interactive sack to create and sustain interest. These bags of items help tell the story and the children are invited up to help the character find the props – developing and improving social, communication, language and vocabulary skills.
Embedded in the scheme are behavioural change strategies that are central to initially helping people form a positive mindset to change. Children are encouraged to buy-in to the story with questions such as ‘hands up who rides in a car? Good you can all help Minnie as this story is about being safe riding in a car!’
The children are encouraged to have a selfie with the puppet to share with their parents and generate discussion about why the puppet came into their setting. A sticker is handed out at the end of the session, again as a reminder of the visit.
Safer Roads Humber provided funding to help purchase the puppet and some props to support the new scheme.
Pre and post session evaluation will be used to deliver an ‘outstanding road safety package’ that stimulates increased focus on everyone getting home safe at the end of the day.
For more information please contact Kate Lonsdale by email.
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