Herefordshire Council is marking Walk to School Week by continuing to educate children on the importance of road safety, equipped this year with a new national guidance booklet.
‘Tales of the Road’ is a useful guide for young people to help keep themselves and others safe on the road, provided by the Department for Transport’s THINK! initiative. It provides advice on the various ways to ensure safe crossing of roads, remaining visible to road users, the green cross code, cycling safety and even a handy guide to road signs.
‘Tales of the Road’ can be downloaded from the THINK! website.
Road safety education is offered to all Herefordshire primary school pupils in years 2, 3 and 6. The lessons aim to increase pedestrian safety through class discussions and practical real-life training. For younger children we discuss why it is important not to cross the road on their own, who to cross with, the importance of holding hands and the meaning of STOP, LOOK, LISTEN. For older pupils we discuss the Green Cross Code.
As part of the ongoing series of school visits to promote road safety, this week, Herefordshire Council visited St Francis Xavier Primary School to conduct pedestrian training at the roadside.
St Francis Xavier pupil Tobias, who took part in the training, said: “I enjoyed learning how to cross the road safely and going out to practice the Green Cross Code made it feel real.”
Walk to School Week runs from 19-23 May.
Julie Freeman, Road Safety Officer at Herefordshire Council said: “We work year-round with schools to promote the importance of walking safely to school, and ‘Tales of the Road’ is an excellent new resource to help us get that message across. I would encourage local children to get involved with Walk to School Week through their schools, try walking to school if this can be done safely, and remember always to follow the Green Cross Code.”
For more information, including how to request school road safety support, please email roadsafety@herefordshire.gov.uk