Road safety Key Stage 2

The following gives brief details on activities that are, unless otherwise stated, available free-of-charge with staff. For more details on session times and the number of children to get involved, please read our brochure.

Child Cycle training

Child cycle training can be provided for children aged eight and over, and is normally carried out through schools across the county.  There are two courses, a foundation course for children aged eight and nine, and following on from the foundation course, an intermediate course for children aged ten and over.

Both the courses are free of charge and are carried out by our trained cycle instructors.

All pupils taking part in the training must provide their own bike.  The bike has to be roadworthy and suitable (for example, the right size) - for some basic guidance on this, look at our page on bike checks.  A suitable and correctly fitted helmet must also be worn if the course is carried out through a Nottinghamshire County Council school - for some basic guidance on how to fit a helmet look at our page on helmets.

Children under the age of 16 account for 60% of people attending casualty departments for cycle related injuries.  The 11-15 year old age group are at greatest risk of severe or fatal injury.  But we can minimise the risks and cycle training is a vital part of keeping children safe on our roads.

If you would like to know more about cycle training - such as where courses are being held, or how to become a cycling instructor - contact your local road safety team.

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Foundation course

This is usually carried out with children who are in years four and five.  The course usually has three one hour training sessions, and the training is carried out off-road in a playground or similar area.  The course aims to:

• improve the trainee's basic riding skills
• show the trainee how to check that their bike is safe to ride
• introduce the trainee to the Highway Code.

Intermediate course

This is usually carried out with children who are in years five and six, and follows on from the foundation course.  The course consists of two stages.  Stage one usually has four training sessions lasting about 1.25 hours.  And stage two usually has two training sessions lasting approximately one hour.  The course aims to check and develop the trainee's riding skills, mainly on quiet roads, through:

• teaching trainees how to start and stop safely
• teaching trainees how to pass parked vehicles
• showing trainees the recommended methods of turning at junctions
• developing hazard awareness and defensive riding skills
• planning and riding simple routes
• developing the trainee's knowledge of the Highway Code.

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Conspicuity campaign

When the dark nights draw in, it’s very important to make sure that youngsters are seen when they’re out on the roads.  To help make children aware of the need to be seen we run a campaign to highlight these issues.  

In the past this has included giving out reflective items.  We also produce activity sheets for 7 – 11 year old pupils that help them learn about this issue.  This campaign usually runs in October/November of each year.

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Fact file

This project is for pupils in Years 5 and 6

Following a hypothetical road accident, the pupils play the part of accident investigators, using the picture display and written reports of the accident from all those concerned.

The pupils use the information to discover the key messages which are reinforced on conclusion of the presentation.  The key messages are:

• Identifying safe crossing places
• Green cross code
• Crossing with a school crossing patrol
• In-car safety
• The importance of wearing bright, fluorescent and reflective clothing.

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Lesson plans

Free lesson plans to help you include road safety within lessons on literacy, numeracy, PSHE and science are available free online at www.databases.dft.gov.uk/primary

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Transition to Key Stage 3

'The Independent Traveller' is a DVD offering advice on journey planning, safe decision making and peer pressure. It also contains lesson plans and printable activity sheets.

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Road safety quiz

The road safety quiz is offered to all schools across Nottinghamshire for pupils in Years 3, 4, 5 and 6.  Over 38,000 children take part each year.

The quiz has proved to be a successful, effective and fun way of providing road safety education to children aged 7-11 years old.  Every child taking part receives resources to help them learn vital road safety messages.

Pupils are asked a number of questions on road safety and all the questions have three multiple choice answers.

The preliminary rounds take place in schools between January and April.

A maximum of 150 pupils are trained in each session, however, several sessions can be carried out on a single day.

The teams with the highest preliminary round scores are then invited to take part in an area final which is held in June.

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How Far, How Fast?

Used to heighten pupils' awareness of vehicle stopping distances.

Generally an outdoor resource because road safety staff use their cars (stationary) attached to the timing equipment. Therefore access to an off-road area is necessary.

Cool Kids

Short classroom session aiming to teach pupils how best to cross the road, particularly between parked cars

'Way to Go?'

A new resource for teachers' use in the classroom that looks at treating a bike as a mode of transport (instead of a toy) and sensible approaches to journey planning.

Walk to School Weeks

Free resources are available to schools for walking to school events in May and October.