Road Safety Week Wrap-Up
May the 5th through to the 12th is National Road Safety Week. This week is an annual initiative by the Safer Australian Roads and Highways (SARAH) group. The SARAH team partners road safety organisations with the Government. National Road Safety Week aims to highlight the impact of road trauma, and ways to reduce it.
At Aspire Early Education & Kindergarten centres, we use this week to teach the children basic road and car safety. Children are at a higher risk of road incidents, as they are less aware of the dangers of roads. This is why it is imperative that traffic safety education is taught to Aspire’s students. Many of our centres commemorated the week in a variety of fun ways.
Aspire Early Education Cobblebank held many fun activities throughout the centre. The toddler rooms took part in some activities on the road and cars play table. This enhanced their understanding of road safety by identifying road signs, and learning about how roads work.
The children in the Inventors room, 3 and 4-year-old kindergarten, had fun riding tricycles. Young children need lots of assistance from adults to manage the considerable risks associated with road use. They set up a track for the children to ride around on, ensuring they followed road safety rules.
A variety of craft and other similar activities were also undertaken throughout the week. These helped children understand what each traffic light colour means, and how you should respond to them. Knowing when it is safe to stop and go is important for children, especially when they are crossing the road with their parents.
On Thursday the 9th of May the kindergarten children at Aspire Clyde North had an exciting excursion to the local traffic school. They lined up in the morning, bike helmets on head, ready to take the coach to the Casey Traffic School. After arriving at the traffic school, the children rode into a memorable morning of learning car and traffic safety.
Traffic schools are an incredible way for children to gain road sense and learn about traffic safety. With many kinds of roads and obstacles to ride around on, Casey Traffic School is great for children of all ages. The kids had an excellent time riding around on their bikes and scooters, as well as learning about how to be safe on the road.
Teaching children about road safety doesn’t start and end National Road Safety Week. It is important to continue to role model safe behaviour when out and about, and to teach children safe ways to navigate streets.
If you want to learn more about road safety education for young children, check out the excellent resources on the Aussie Childcare Network here.
