A new report suggests that budget shortfalls, a lack of resources and qualified staff, and having no statutory place in the curriculum are impeding teachers from sharing road safety information.
The report has been published by Brake, who sought the views of teachers and educational advisers to determine how road safety is currently taught in UK schools, and recommend how resources should be developed.
Statistics show in the UK, more than six children under the age of 15 years are killed or seriously injured on roads every day, mainly while walking or cycling.
Despite this, the report highlights there is currently no statutory guidance for teaching road safety in UK schools. It notes that many schools cover the subject through PSHE or Citizenship lessons – but this inevitably means that the frequency, methodology, quality and effectiveness of how it is taught vary widely.
Brake says an overwhelming majority of participants said they would like road safety teaching to be part of the national curriculum and that they would like more resources to support this.
But they also expressed concerns over the potential for curriculum squeeze, and the lack of time to teach additional subjects.
Sophie Dilley, managing editor at Brake, said: “Road safety is a vitally important subject for schools to teach, because road crashes are a major cause of death and injury among the young, with the risk rising as children reach secondary school age and gain more independence.
“Danger from traffic is also a big factor in whether children and young people can walk and cycle to school, to the park or to see friends, and therefore affects their ability to be healthy and socially active.
“This report shows that there is overwhelming support among teachers and the wider education sector for road safety to be given a place in the curriculum, and underlines the need for teachers to be involved with the creation of new resources that meet their needs and enable them to achieve their learning objectives.”
Brake’s report also includes 12 recommendations that can be used by anyone who is developing resources to teach road safety in schools.
The report recommends that resources should:
- meet curriculum requirements
- state clear learning objectives
- meet teachers’ needs
- easily fit into a tightly packed curriculum
- be engaging and appealing
- provide high levels of interactivity
- follow teaching theory and best practice
- reflect the needs of pupils with Special Educational Needs and Disabilities (SEND)
- provide differentiation activities to support less able pupils and challenge more able pupils
- be produced in collaboration with teachers, pupils, parents and road safety experts
- be compatible with digital learning platforms that schools use
Sophie Dilley added: “We hope that everyone involved in developing new road safety resources for schools will take on board these recommendations so that we can all play our part in engaging children and young people with key road safety issues, and speaking out together about the need for safe and healthy mobility for all.
“Together we can make our communities safer, help children and young people to live active lifestyles, and stop needless tragedies before they happen.”
30 April 2021