Summary of a major research project in Sheffield and Hertfordshire

A summary

This summary outlines the findings and recommendations of a major research project, carried out over five years, in Sheffield and Hertfordshire, to develop ways of teaching road safety in schools.

The project was initiated following the Government's review "Road Safety - The Next Steps", which in 1987 set a target to reduce all road casualties by one third by the year 2000. The review concluded that education had a major role to play in achieving this target.

In 1990, the secretary of State for Transport sent a copy of his Department's strategic proposals for reducing child road accidents - "Children and Roads. A Safer Way" - to all Headteachers. At the same time, the Secretary of State for Education sent draft Good Practice Guidelines, based on the preliminary findings of the research project, to all Chief Education Officers. This summary reports on the completed project, which has taken account of the many intervening changes in school curricula and management. The project was funded by the Department of Transport.

It is recommended that the guidelines should be adopted by local authorities and that Road Safety Officers should co-ordinate the other involved agencies to develop in-service training (INSET). The schools guidelines are intended for distribution through INSET rather than to schools directly or unsolicited.

The problem

1. Road accidents are a major cause of death for all children aged between 1 and 15 years.
2. The UK has one of the worst child pedestrian fatality rates in Europe.

The causes

1. Large, densely populated urban areas.
2. Too many roads carrying through traffic in residential areas.
3. Drivers going too fast for the conditions.
4. Lack of awareness and training.

The remedies

1. Engineering methods eg traffic calming, cycle lanes.
2. Enforcement - compulsory wearing of seat belts; speed cameras.
3. Education, training and publicity directed at:
4. 1. drivers
   2. all road users, including children, to change the climate of opinion towards road safety.

Progress and the way forward

The government's strategy has been to tackle those areas where most immediate progress could be made in reducing casualties, while at the same time commissioning research into longer term solutions. Traffic calming measures, enforcement and publicity campaigns will be familiar to most people. Great progress has been made but much remains to be done.

The good practice research reported, in 1993, that there were a number of reasons why the development and implementation of road safety education in schools had been constrained: major changes were taking place in the management and organisation of education; there had been no clear statement of the roles and responsibilities of road safety officers, teachers, parents and others involved in teaching road safety; and there had been no framework for them to co-operate to reinforce each other's efforts.

The Good Practice Guidelines address these problems and offer a tried and tested way to make progress in educating children of all ages to be safer road users.

Guidelines for good practice - conclusions

• Road Safety Education enhances the teaching of the core curriculum by providing a context which relates to the every day experience of the pupils.
• Road Safety Education forms an integral part of health education and supports the wider aims of citizenship, environmental education and economic and industrial understanding.
• Road safety can therefore be integrated into many areas of the curriculum.
• Children need to receive small, frequent, regular and purposeful inputs of road safety education throughout their school careers.
• Teachers are best placed to deliver Road Safety Education in schools.
• Road safety Officers should take the lead in promoting good practice in road safety education, in making resources available to schools and maintaining liaison with others who can provide support, such as the local education department, the police, Health Promotion Officers etc.
• Road Safety Education is best advanced by raising teachers' awareness of its breadth of opportunities rather than by using shock tactics about the scale of the casualty problem.
• School based INSET is the most effective way of promoting good practice.

The guideline documents

Four working documents have been prepared (in addition to the research reports, which are published separately):

Organisations

This identifies all those who can contribute to road safety education at a local level and suggests how they can work together. It suggests that the arrangements and agreed activities should be formalised in the local authority road safety plan and that the Road Safety Officer is generally best placed to take the lead in road safety education - but he or she does need to recognise the importance of the contributions from others, particularly the need to involve teachers.

In-service training (INSET)

The in-service training guidelines are central to good practice. They emphasise the breadth of road safety education and the opportunities it provides to support the curriculum. Examples of training for all those who can support road safety education are included: these have been drawn from the methods tried and tested in Hertfordshire and Sheffield.

Primary schools

These guidelines identify the aims of road safety education for primary school children, give examples, and suggest how schools can achieve a comprehensive coverage of road safety education at Key Stages 1 and 2. The examples include topic work, subject support and health education. The guidelines are intended for use by primary school teachers who have received road safety INSET.

Secondary schools

These guidelines identify the aims of road safety education for secondary school pupils, give teaching examples appropriate to Key Stages 3 and 4, and suggest how schools can organise to achieve coverage in every age group. The examples include work in personal and social education, cross-curricular links, support for the core and foundation subjects and the possibilities of drama. The guidelines are intended for use by secondary teachers who have received road safety education INSET.

What help is available?

The guidelines present ideas for setting up INSET and effective alliances; they provide ideas for the use of road safety education in different core subjects and amongst different age groups; and for supporting the development of a sustainable programme of road safety education. A vast library of resource material already exists, usually held by Road Safety Officers, Highway Departments, or other agencies. Rosalind, a database of all resource material, has been developed and is available from Road Safety Officers.

How much will it cost?

The good practice project found that road safety education could be delivered without adding significantly to existing demands on local resources. What is required is the formation of practical alliances to promote the opportunities road safety education provides to teachers.

Where can i get them?

The Good Practice Guidelines are available from Road Safety Officers, who are typically in the local Authority's Highways Department.

Users' views

Teachers found the ideas and resources easily accessible and enjoyed using them. At a time when we are inundated with folders, statutory orders, programmes of study, directives et al, it is refreshing to receive something that can actually be used in the classroom.
Teacher, Hertfordshire

One teacher summed up the usual reaction of teachers after the awareness raising session by saying in her evaluation "You have opened a door into a room I did not know existed".
Teacher, Sheffield

The model does not require expensive resources, and does not burden teachers with extra responsibilities - rather, it enriches what they are already doing. All that is required is a slight re -focus of awareness amongst teachers and road safety officers for them to totally integrate road safety education in a continuous and progressive way with work currently in progress.
Road Safety Officer, Sheffield

As a school governor I am increasingly aware of how some issues can be 'put to one side' if considered to be less important than others; particularly with the current level of change taking place in education. The project, however, has addressed this concern in highlighting the key road safety issues for all of the schools involved. In doing so it has begun to prepare the ground for governing bodies to be in a much better position when formulating their schools' road safety policy.
School Governor, Hertfordshire

"Road accidents are a major cause of death for all children
aged between 1 and 15 years"

"The UK has one of the worst child pedestrian fatality rates in Europe"