A week in the life of the Road Safety Training team
Being a Road Safety trainer is role where every day is different! The trainers play a huge part in influencing people’s travel behaviour, in support of our Vision Zero 2040 strategy. The strategy aims to eradicate fatal and serious road crashes by 2040. Our Road Safety trainers mostly work with schools in areas where data tells us they are most at risk of road injury.
The trainers deliver road safety and sustainable travel lessons to a variety of age-groups and work with the children to demonstrate and teach safe road-user behaviours. Each day also involves risk assessments of the local area, planning with school staff, completion of records so we can track delivery and supporting schools to achieve Modeshift STARS accreditation.
The life of a road safety trainer would vary week to week depending on the school’s needs and the time of year. However, a typical week as a Road Safety Trainer would look something like this:
Monday
After loading the team van, we’re off to Pool C of E Primary School with Councillor Anderson to celebrate the new 20mph zone that’s being introduced in the area. The morning started with an assembly where we presented replica street sign prizes to those who submitted their artwork to be displayed on the 20mph signs around the area.
Later in the afternoon, we used the SID (Speed Indicator Device) to measure the speed of vehicles passing by the school. We were accompanied by PCSO Barron, who helped the pupils and made a note of any cars going over the speed limit. He assured the children that he will be sending warning letters to those who passed through the road going at higher speeds. The children were thrilled with this!
Year 6 were also on task with a traffic survey, counting those not wearing seatbelts, using a mobile phone or impaired by other distractions.
Tuesday
Today we’re working in Beeston. In the morning, we did a pedestrian training session with Year 2, where we went outside for a roadside session in small groups. As part of this, pupils practise crossing a road near their school, under careful supervision, and are taught to use a trusted adult to help us cross the road.
Lunch time!
After lunch, it’s time for Year 4 pedestrian training, which builds on the skills pupils will have learnt in Year 2. We looked at more complicated places to cross and how to deal with challenges such as parked cars and t-junctions. This helps to prepare pupils for walking to school independently.
Wednesday
We’re back at the same school today to work with different classes!
In the morning, we started with Reception and Year 1 leading our ‘Safety Street’ lesson – a storyboard session where we follow ‘Sam & Sunita’ on a journey where they must use road safety skills such as holding hands with a grown up and the Green Cross Code. This was followed by ‘Teddy Takes a Tumble,’ a short story where Billy and Teddy learn the importance of using child car seats and seatbelts.
The young children loved the sessions and were able to explain why we must wait for the green man and why it is important to use a car seat.
In the afternoon, we worked with the Year 3 children on our ‘Danger Family’ lesson. Using a model car, figures and a ramp, we showed the importance of wearing a seatbelt and the consequences of not wearing one. The children asked some really interesting questions about seatbelt laws, advice on wearing a seatbelt and how many children are allowed in the car at one time.
Thursday
Today, we’re in Roundhay, working with a school that comes back to us year after year for our Year 6 ‘Transition’ lesson…
This lesson helps prepare pupils for their journeys to secondary school, which they are likely to be doing by themselves in the next academic year. Pupils identified some of the key issues and decisions they may have to make before starting these journeys and looked at different journey planning tools they could use such as Google Maps, WY Metro and Waze. Pupils had discussed potential hazards and distractions and suggested lots of ways to overcome these challenges.
The afternoon is spent as an advanced practical training session – with a walk to the school that most of them will be going to from September – really exciting!
Friday
We finished the week in Harehills with Years 3 and 5 who are taking part in our very successful ‘Scooter Training’ sessions. As a Road Safety Trainer, we always encourage the children and adults that we work with to use more active and sustainable travel options. One of those choices comes in the form of scooting, which has become more and more popular over recent years. During the session, we practise scooting in different directions, stopping safely and gliding. We also emphasize the importance of sharing pavements considerately, as well as checking for vehicles turning into and out of driveways and how to cross the road when scooting.
Year 5 get to go out of the school grounds to put these skills into practice in the local area. Next week, we’ll be back here to work with a group of SEND pupils, using our adapted equipment and in smaller groups, to meet their differing needs.
“I love my job working as a Road Safety Trainer for Leeds City Council. It’s such a rewarding job, giving children the opportunity to ride a scooter; potentially for the first time! This is such a lovely feeling to see the happiness and joy on their faces throughout their scooter training sessions. Seeing the children having zero confidence at the start of the session and much more by the end is fantastic! At the end of the day hearing children telling their parents about the scooter training and even asking for their own scooter is very heart-warming.
“As we visit certain schools each year it’s lovely seeing the same children progress so much, and it’s lovely when the children remember me and remember the lesson we did previously. If I save one child’s life by getting across the importance of wearing a seatbelt or by being a sensible pedestrian, then I’ve done my job.”
Harriet Baird – Road Safety Trainer
