A new safety educational tool designed for Scottish primary school pupils, which covers a range topics, has been launched in Glasgow.
Go Safe Scotland is a new "one-stop-shop safety package" covering a range of topics including road, home, water, outdoor, fire, rail and digital safety. It is hoped early intervention with key safety messages will help raise awareness and reduce child casualties across all areas.
Led by Glasgow City Council, Go Safe Scotland has been developed with input from a number of partner agencies including RoSPA, Fife Council, Police Scotland, the Scottish Fire Service, Scottish Water, Scotland Gas Network, Crimestoppers, the NHS and Network Rail.
Go Safe Scotland has been written by teachers from Glasgow City Council and Fife Council, and overseen by education quality improvement officers. It is believed to be the first and currently only educational resource which allows teachers to deliver a chosen safety subject from one portal. It is fully compatible with whiteboards and computers and parents are also be able to access the Go Safe Scotland website for information on safety-related matters.
Elizabeth Lumsden, Scotland community safety manager at RoSPA, said: “The Go Safe scheme will go a long way in educating children with vital safety messages that will stay with them for the rest of their lives.
“It’s important not to wrap children up in cotton wool, but to equip them with life skills that can help them make informed decisions to avoid common types of injuries. Home is the place where accidents are most likely to happen.”
The make-up of the resource is designed to encourage partnership working in schools and provide the necessary links to the appropriate agencies. The first four topics of water safety, fire safety, home safety and outdoor safety are now live with the remaining topics being launched in 2014.
Councillor Alistair Watson, executive member for Land and Environmental Services at Glasgow City Council, said: “It is vital that we encourage our children to explore their environment and to lead an active lifestyle. However, in doing so we must provide them with the necessary tools to make sure they stay safe.
“We are well and truly embedded in the digital age where children can access all types of information to study and explore their world at the push of a button. This is a resource designed for the whole of Scotland and the partners are working with Education Scotland and other organisations to make sure that every pupil, parent and teacher in the country has access.”
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