Schools across Lancashire are working with the county council’s road safety team to implement a series of initiatives designed to reinforce safe travel habits.
Pupils and staff at St Chad’s CE Primary School have created a dedicated school road safety webpage, aimed at pupils, parents, and the wider Poulton Le Fylde community.
The webpage provides one clear, accessible place for families to find guidance on walking, cycling, parking, and travelling safely around the school’s busy local roads.
By sharing updates on school initiatives, local campaigns, and key messages, such as safe crossing near the school site, responsible parking, and encouraging active travel, the hope is that St Chad’s can strengthen communication and support its commitment to pupil wellbeing.
The page also aims to help the school meet its safeguarding responsibilities and promotes a safer, more considerate environment at drop‑off and pick‑up times while supporting the school’s values of care, responsibility, and community.
Road safety education through the performing arts curriculum
Meanwhile, as part of the Year 9 Performing Arts curriculum, students at Millfield College of Science & Performing Arts have been taking part in a dance-based project titled The Waiting Room.
In this unit, they have been exploring the stimulus of a car crash and its impact through a range of choreographic actions and devices.
This work then links to another unit on docu-drama, where students are studying a variety of texts by Mark Wheeler, including Too Much Punch for Judy. This documentary explores the emotional impact of a death caused by drunk driving.
Students are then devising their own performances on a topic of their choosing, presenting their work in either a Theatre in Education or verbatim theatre style.
Pupils and staff create a road safety action plan
Finally, pupils at Dallas Road Primary School, Lancaster, have created an action plan to build early awareness of road risks. Early awareness is shown to reduce impulsive behaviour and improve hazard recognition in young pedestrians.
By identifying risks and proposing solutions, the Dallas Rd children will be able reinforce safe behaviours (e.g., Stop, Look, Listen, Think; using crossings properly; wearing seatbelts and helmets). These habits, once learned early, are more likely to persist into adulthood.
Being involved in creating an action plan is designed to give the pupils ownership and confidence. The aim is that they will become better at assessing situations, choosing safer routes, and making informed decisions without adult prompting.
Creating a plan also encourages pupil participation in school improvement and community safety.
The children have been learning how unsafe adult behaviours (speeding, poor parking, distractions) affect safety, and action plans can include ways to influence positive behaviour change among parents and the wider community.
Their action plan has highlighted issues like unsafe crossings and parking problems, improving safety not only for pupils but for families and the wider community.
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