ALMOST 700 10-year-olds from year six classes across North Shropshire will learn how to deal with a host of everyday hazards when they attend an annual `safety scene’ project.
The week-long North Shropshire Safety Scene gets under way on Monday, October 6 and promotes various forms of community safety to youngsters from virtually every primary school in the district.
RAF Shawbury hosts the event which is organised by the West Mercia Constabulary.
The Safety Scene, masterminded by Market Drayton police officer DC Glyn Teggin over 10 years ago, uses a theatrical village as the basis for various scenarios to `play act’ safety messages to the children.
The valued project is now firmly established and has provided tuition to around 12,000 schoolchildren since its inception.
It stages 15 different safety scenarios including drugs and `stranger danger’ by the police, fire safety and hoax calls from Shropshire Fire and Rescue, health promotion on smoking and healthy living, water safety from British Waterways, a bonfire/fireworks safety scene put on by local Rotary clubs, safety in the kitchen, home safety, using the emergency services, first aid, building site safety, road, farm and rail safety and Trading Standards issues.
DC Teggin said: "The project deals with the day-to-day dangers young children of North Shropshire are likely to come into contact with during their daily lives.
"It gives them a hands-on opportunity to learn about these dangers in a safe environment. Use of the theatrical village also brings an element of fun to the serious messages we are putting across".
Secondary schools in the district also use the Scene to teach their year nine, 14-year-old pupils about dangers, and to consolidate the safety lessons learnt when they attended as primary schoolchildren.
