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Keeping safe in the school holidays
Every year teachers dismiss their classes for the long-awaited summer holidays, a time when they're likely to have lots of fun — and get into lots of scrapes! Some hazards are a potential risk for children at any time of year, but that risk is likely to increase when there are many hours to be filled, without the safety and discipline that school brings. Why not focus on some of these hazards in class? That way, perhaps more children will stay safe this summer.
Sun safety
Students may not be fully aware of the consequences of sunburn. Wired
for Health has plenty of suggestions for skin protection, together with fact files and
lesson activities for primary and secondary schools. Resources on skin
cancer are available from Cancer Research UK, while the Department of
Health's Sunsafe website provides worksheets for indoor and
outdoor activities.
Water safety
Water is great fun, but can be very dangerous. Most young people drown
when swimming when and where they shouldn't: in unsupervised lakes, rivers
and canals, when warning flags are flying, or after drinking alcohol. Wired for
Health's resources for students at Key
Stage 4 and Key
Stage 3 include recommendations from the Royal Life Saving
Society and a beach safety flag game.
Road safety
Students may spend more time on roads during the holidays:
whether walking, cycling, or in cars. Make sure they know what's
involved if they're intending to learn to drive or ride a moped. A cycle helmet can reduce
the risk of head injury by 85 per cent: how much do your students know about safe
cycling? The Department for Transport provides lesson plans and support
material on all aspects of road safety, including for pedestrians and passengers.
Play safe
Most sports injuries happen in informal situations such as street
football games, or because young people don't have the right
protective gear. Make sure your pupils know the score. Accidents also happen when young people are
tempted to play in dangerous areas, such as railways and quarries.
Substances
The extra leisure time the holidays bring may also increase
opportunities for experimentation. Wired for Health provides
drugs-awareness activities for pupils at Key
Stage 3 and Key Stage 4, focusing on health and legal issues. For
further support material take a look at the Alcohol Concern fact
sheet on young people and alcohol, and the Wrecked website.
Stranger danger
During the holidays children are likely to spend more time
unsupervised outside the home or on the internet. Help them to develop
strategies for coping safely with potentially risky situations involving
strangers.
-
Metropolitan Police: street safety
Guidelines for safety on the street and when using public transport and taxis. -
Miss Dorothy
Tips on personal safety on the Internet and on the street. -
IT OK
Advice on Internet and chat room safety. -
TeacherNet: using ICT
Safeguards to help ensure that pupils will not be exposed to unsuitable content or people over the Internet.
Safety at work
A lot of young people find jobs in the holidays and this can be a good
way of acquiring valuable work experience. However, many of them end up working
illegally or have accidents when working. This may be partly because they are
unaware of their rights. Find out more about young people, jobs and the law.
First aid
Would your students know what to do in an emergency? What if they were
the first to arrive at the scene of an accident? Get them to brush up on their
emergency drill with role plays and games. The first
aid area of the BBC health website provides facts, safety tips and an
online first aid course. Should your students want to take it
further, both the British Red Cross Society and St John Ambulance run
training courses.
Emergencies
Meanwhile, prepare for the start of the autumn term by visiting the
TeacherNet emergencies area, which provides comprehensive advice on
safety within school. Get to grips with personal safety and security issues, including dealing
with trespass and assault, check procedures for reporting accidents and consult a range of useful resources including risk assessment tools and
guidance on managing crises. This area has an extensive planning section, with information on First aid, and also includes advice on educational visits abroad.
This article was commissioned by TeacherNet's
editorial team, independently of DCSF policy teams.
Last updated: 31 July 2007
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