Children at Dean Park Primary in Balerno became Roadstars for the day as they helped launch a new road safety learning resource for children, developed by Road Safety Scotland.
Aimed at children aged 3-11, the free online resource is designed to get the youngest road users thinking about road safety in an active and immersive way, with interactive missions to help them practice staying safe around roads and traffic.
Roadstars was developed with input from children and teachers at Dean Park Primary, who shared their thoughts on learning and road safety to help shape the resource.
With the help of three animated superhero characters, Roadstars evolve over the primary school years, tasking children with appropriate missions to develop their road safety skills as they grow and learn.
For the youngest, the Early Years level teaches ELC and P1 children a song and dance outlining the road safety basics.
The First level, aimed at P2-P4, features engaging videos with interactive questions that embed and test children’s learning, while the Second level targets P5-P7 with a series of 360° interactive experiences that challenge older children’s attitudes and behaviours.
The new online resource is available to enjoy in class or at home, and is linked to Curriculum for Excellence.
Debbie Nicol, Assistant Director, Road Safety Scotland, said: “We know how important it is for children to be immersed in positive road safety attitudes from a young age, both in the classroom and at home.
“Roadstars is an important new resource for children at every level of primary school, free for teachers, parents and carers to access online.
“By teaching and reinforcing the importance of staying safe around roads and traffic at a young age, we can provide children with road safety skills that will last a lifetime.”
Nicola Kurth, Head Teacher at Dean Park Primary School said: “At Dean Park we are committed to promoting the Health and Wellbeing of all pupils.
“It has been a fantastic experience for pupils to engage in supporting the development of this new resource. The characters are very engaging, and we look forward to using the resource to enhance our road safety activities.”
Roadstars is launched as part of Scotland’s first Road Safety Week (21 – 27 March), a new annual awareness week by The Scottish Government and Transport Scotland which encourages road users to take greater personal responsibility and work together to make Scotland’s roads safer.
Organisations across Scotland – including Scottish Fire and Rescue Service, Police Scotland, CoSLA and Good Egg Safety – are marking the week by hosting a series of events, from child car seat checks to community action campaigns, to pledge their commitment to keeping Scotland’s roads safer.
In its inaugural year, Scotland’s Road Safety Week will also urge organisations throughout Scotland to pledge their support on social media by posting the message: – Working together to make Scotland’s roads safer. #ScotRoadSafetyWeek.
For more details about Roadstars, visit roadsafety.scot.
#ScotRoadSafetyWeek
