Children from Cooper’s Edge Primary School were given a lesson in how to be street smart at Gloucestershire’s SkillZONE, as part of National Road Safety Week.

The Brockworth school was invited to attend a unique session at the interactive centre for community safety by Gloucestershire Road Safety Partnership, with a focus on the risks associated with crossing the road, using public transport and avoiding distractions in a busy town centre. 

SkillZONE proved to be the perfect place to teach vital road safety messages, using its state-of-the-art village setting to make the children aware of the greatest risks to their age group. The youngsters were then asked questions about the safety advice they were given.

Sian Hamlett, Year 6 teacher at Cooper’s Edge Primary, said: “Road safety is something that children need to be made aware of from an early age and the scenarios at SkillZONE really bring home the risks if youngsters aren’t aware of their surroundings. 

“Our classes had a great time taking part in the challenges. It’s so much more memorable if the children can see examples of the dangers at first hand, but in a safe environment such as this.” 

Police casualty data from 2007-2011 shows that a quarter of all pedestrians injured on the county’s roads were aged between 10 and 19 years old.

More than 90% of the casualties took place in an urban setting and more than 80% occurred during daylight hours.

Andre Bovington, Road Safety Team Leader at Gloucestershire Road Safety Partnership, said: “SkillZONE has already proved to be a fantastic talking point for schools and groups in the county because it is such a unique way of teaching children these very important safety messages.

“It is great fun, but all the lessons learned relate to real-life situations that many young people find themselves in.”

Cllr Will Windsor-Clive, Gloucestershire County Council cabinet member for community safety said: “Road Safety Week highlights the many organisations and agencies that are working together to keep local residents safe and we pride ourselves on our safety record in this county. However, one casualty on the road is one too many and so sessions such as these are vital.”