All posts tagged: National Road Safety Week

‘Tune into Road Safety’ messages highlighted

‘Tune into Road Safety’ messages highlighted

20/11/2013 Skillzoneadmin No comments

Visiting pupils from Cheltenham’s St James Primary School were today given valuable and practical road safety lessons as part of their SkillZONE tour to coincide with Road Safety Week.

SkillZONE is a state-of-the-art safety education centre where students can learn how to recognise dangerous situations in everyday life and how to stay safe.

During their visit the 90 pupils from Year 5 and Year 6 learned about the ‘Tune in to Road Safety’ theme for 2013 – that while it is human to daydream and get sidetracked, on the road distractions can be fatal.

Groups were taught about catching a bus or travelling in a car safely and to think about common distractions, such as listening to music or using a phone while walking and riding a bike. They also got to experience walking in near darkness and discovered how long it takes a car to stop after breaking suddenly.

Lottie Hutton, 10, from St James Primary School says “It was scary and unexpected finding out where the car went to after it brakes. I didn’t realise it would go so far.”

Andre Bovington from the Road Safety Partnership says; “Our main focus at this time of year is about walking in dim light on your way to school and to be aware of distractions. So our message to St James Primary pupils is to stay on the footpath and use safe crossings but to remember that drivers can’t always see you in poor light. If you’ve got an mp3 player or mobile phone, do not use them before crossing the road as they can be distracting.”

Road safety was only one of nine real life scenarios the Cheltenham school covered in its tour of SkillZONE’s life size village. They also got to experience danger in other situations such as in a: house, train, farm and internet cafe.

SkillZONE manager, Donna Potts says; “We are delighted that we can celebrate Road Safety Week together with the Road Safety Partnership in a realistic way that we know young people will remember. This is just one of the many ways we work with our partners to make the people of Gloucestershire safer.”

St James Primary School teacher Sarah Wakefield adds; “I thought the whole experience was really good, giving them the opportunity to do all these real situations and think for themselves.

“The videos were really powerful and a lot of every day hazards came out from the children that they had never questioned before.”

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Launch of Year 7 ‘safer choices’ tour

Launch of Year 7 ‘safer choices’ tour

06/11/2013 Skillzoneadmin No comments

SkillZONE has developed a new tour designed to teach Year 7 pupils to make safer choices on their school journey and in everyday life which will be launched on Monday, November 18th to coincide with national Road Safety Week.

SkillZONE is a state-of-the-art safety education centre where students make decisions about staying safe. The centre allows classes to experience a range of real scenarios in its life size village such as in a; car, bus, house, shop, alleyway and internet cafe.

The package is aimed at Year 7 pupils as for many this year marks the beginning of their solo journeys to school, whether that is catching a bus, cycling or walking. Its other objective is to enhance students knowledge of Year 7 citizenship curriculum topics such as understanding how laws are made and money is managed.

Part of the 2 hour tour will cover the ‘Tune in to Road Safety’ national theme for 2013 so that groups will learn that while daydreaming and get sidetracked is human nature, on the road distractions can be fatal. As part of this pupils will be taught about catching a bus or travelling in a car safely and will be asked to think about common distractions, such as listening to music or using a phone while on their school journey.

The topics included from the Year 7 citizenship programme include;

  • developing an understanding of the role of the law and justice system – using SkillZONE’s own Police Station and Court Room
  • learning about managing money on a day to day basis with practical experience in SkillZONE’s shop and;
  •  discussions about the roles played by public institutions and voluntary groups in society.

Any teaching staff of Year 7 pupils, whether curriculum Leads, PSHE coordinators or teachers, are invited to a free prepratory tour of SkillZONE during Road Safety Week (November 18th – 21st) on Monday, Tuesday or Thursday morning.

The 2 hour tour costs £5 per pupils if coming with a school group and a total of nine scenarios will be on offer. To book or find out more information visit  or phone 01452 834 150.

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Road safety sessions are a class act

Road safety sessions are a class act

20/11/2012 Skillzoneadmin No comments

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.”

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