Road safety in primary schools

The Road Safety Team works with primary schools to educate young children of the dangers around the roads. ‘Crafty the Fox’ is the road safety mascot who helps to deliver the road safety message to this younger audience.

Junior Road Safety Officers (JRSO)

Junior Road Safety Officers are pupils who are elected within each primary school from Year 5 and Year 6 who promote and encourage safer, healthier and greener ways to travel to and from school. Each school receives a ‘Crafty the Fox’ newsletter each term with activities and advice for them to promote to other pupils.

The JRSO’s job role includes:

• Promoting road safety campaigns to pupils and the school community
• Promoting walking/cycling and public transport to/from school rather than car use
• Encouraging pupils to do more exercise
• Helping to look after the environment
• Designing and maintaining a display board
• Running competitions within the school
• Delivering assemblies
• Working in partnership with Wirral Council's School Travel Plan Team
• Helping to organise 'Walk to School' weeks, 'Park Away Days', 'Bike to School' weeks etc.
• Surveying the school community

Walking Bus

A Walking Bus consists of parents/staff volunteers escorting children to school in a crocodile formation. There is a ‘driver’ leading the group, a ‘conductor’ at the rear and other volunteers in between.

They follow a pre determined route (planned with the school/volunteers) picking up other children along the route at selected stops. Walking Buses have proved to be safe, healthy and an enjoyable way for children to walk to school.

The aim of Walking Buses is to ease car congestion outside the school. By offering an alternative drop off point for car users, it should reduce the traffic around the schools gates. Parents who have to be at work for 9am have used the Walking Bus to drop off earlier and been able to get to work earlier. Parents are also more than welcome to walk with their children without having to commit to anything.

Volunteers who run the Bus need to be trained and safety checked; the school normally carries these out through the CRB system. Although no volunteers will be alone with any of the children, some parents have found it reassuring for background checks to be undertaken on volunteers and in some cases it may be required to ensure peace of mind. Volunteers are given guidelines on operating the Walking Bus, together with advice on walking and crossing roads safely with large groups of children.

The route is risk assessed by a member of the Road Safety Team and they also supply fluorescent tabards (hi-vis jackets) with reflective strips to all children and volunteers on the Walking Bus. The Bus is covered by public liability insurance.

Speed Guns

Speed guns are available for schools to use to highlight the speed of traffic around their school.

For further information on Walking Buses, speed guns or our work with schools contact Streetscene.

Year 6 session 'Arrive Alive'

The ‘Arrive Alive’ sessions cover issues about the transition from primary to secondary school and the risks associated with this; car safety, planning safe routes to school, pedestrian safety, travelling on buses and cycle safety.

Transition from primary to secondary school

The change from year 6 to year 7 can be a daunting experience for many children. To help children feel confident about their travel choices and arrangements, advice and tips on walking, cycling, using public transport and travelling by car are available in the leaflet ‘How to get to secondary school’

Take some time to discuss this advice with your child and help them to plan their new route to school. The correct choices can increase their self confidence and independence whilst also helping to maintain a healthy and sustainable lifestyle.