Education

This page last updated 2 October, 2008

 

The road environment plays a large and important part in all our lives, both as children and adults. Our young people are more likely to die or be injured as a result of an accident on the road than from any other cause.

Under the Education Reform Act (ERA) 1988, every child is entitled to a curriculum which, among other things, prepares children for the opportunities, responsibilities and experiences of adult life. Road user education attempts to safe guard our children as they make increasing use of the roads and to prepare them for adult life as users, citizens and managers of that environment.

Road safety is too important and complex to be addressed through simple messages given a few times a year.

The aims of road user education:

• provides a real and relevant context for work across the basic subjects of the curriculum;
• makes a significant contribution to the wider curriculum of the school;
• forges links between the school and the community at large - the public services, business and industry;
• meets the needs of pupils in keeping themselves and others safe, now and in the future and
• should be ongoing throughout a child's life at home and at school.

Key questions to ask when planning Road User Education in your school:

• What road user education is already going on?
• Could it be better planned?
• What objectives of road user education are appropriate for your school?
• Are the children's road user needs being taken into account?

The Road Safety Group may be able to help:

• Provide information and advice on a wide range of road user education issues.
• With planning the integration of road user education within existing schemes of work.
• Supplying resources to planned road user education schemes.
• Providing support for staff development.
• Implementation of Lancashire County Council's 'Right Start' pedestrian training programme
• 'Passport to Safer Cycling' modular scheme.

 

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