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An innovative new package designed to reduce road casualties and inform young people about road safety is being given to every school across Sussex.
ROUTES – the Teenage Highway Code is described as ‘a 21st Century update on road safety for young people aged 11 – 16 years’. Developed by the Sussex Safer Roads Partnership (SSRP) and the Puppet Broadcasting Company, the package comprises a 15-module lesson pack and DVD.
Using puppets to engage students, ROUTES uses real voices, stories and the thoughts of young people from across the county. Through a blend of humour and poignancy, the stories offer insight into how children use the roads and how they can be made safer.
Ken Seymour, SSRP manager, said: “ROUTES has been specifically developed to fit into the PSVE/PHSE programme.
“But it can be used as a teaching aid in any other National Curriculum subject such as drama, art and design and technology lessons.”
The ROUTES package modules are spread across the five years of secondary school education. Subjects include the full range of safety information that young people will be exposed to, including ‘Signs and Markings’, ’Where’s Your Head At?’ (distractions) and ‘Young Drivers’.
The lesson content is supported by road safety professionals giving interviews on the day-to-day nature of their work.
ROUTES has been evaluated and supported by pilot schools across Sussex. It is expected that every school in the county will receive their copy of the ROUTES lesson pack and accompanying DVD by November.
For more information contact Neil Hopkins, Sussex Safer Roads, on 01273 467425 or visit: www.sussexsaferroads.gov.uk
Having spent upwards of 17 years producing and buying resources and distributing them free of charge to schools I am saddened at the freedom schools have not to offer any Road Safety Education to the young people in their charge, if they so choose. That in spite of it still being the major cause of death in school aged children. I also think it is incredibly inefficient for each LA Road Safety Team to have to work in isolation to try and pursuade schools to take it on board. If Honor is successful then the RS offer for N. Yorks students will be far superior to that in Oxfordshire. Our subject deals with life and death decisions – if ever there was a case for a national framework and recommendations then surely we are it? I believe strongly that the current piecemeal picture is failing our young people.
Mandy Rigault, Oxfordshire.
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For resources to be likely to be used, the subject matter must be a part of the curriculum otherwise it will always be a filler or add on item.
We are currently working with our Children & Young Peoples Service to incorporate Road Safety Education within the curriculum at each key stage. This will be for all maintained schools within North Yorkshire.
It isn’t an easy process and we don’t yet know how it will work out in practice but the principle has been agreed and we are now working on selecting the most appropriate curriculum resources and thence to how we will assess effectiveness and relevance. It can be done!
Honor Byford, North Yorkshire
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Good Comment Mandy, It’s down to us to initially get the resources out there and follow this up with training, theatre in education workshops and effective multi-agency collaboration. You know the saying(The boat won’t go if we all don’t row!!). Welcome aboard and thanks for your support!
George Brown PBC, West Yorks
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Don’t you just wish that giving schools quality resources would ensure they were used?
Mandy Rigault, Oxfordshire
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