Buster helps set the scene for safety

Thu, Jul 7th 2005, 11:00

Buster the Bear joined members of the emergency services during Crewe and Nantwich Safety Scene Week to raise children's awareness of health and safety issues.

Children from eight primary schools visited an exhibition at Coppenhall High School in Crewe as part of National Child Safety Week to learn how to recognise danger and how to cope in an emergency.

While officers from the fire, police, school nursing, school crossing patrol, network rail, RNLI and environmental health were on hand to explain their work, Redrow's health and safety mascot, Buster the Bear, and one of the house builder's health and safety officers also attended to warn children about the potential hazards on construction sites.

Karen Murdoch-Hollies, Home Safety Co-ordinator said: "I am really pleased Redrow joined part of the community safety partnership to deliver critical safety messages regarding the potential dangers of building sites. The importance of playing safe and staying safe is a key issue especially with the oncoming summer holidays.

"After visiting the exhibition children will have a better understanding of important safety issues such as road safety, dealing with dangers and emergencies in the home, water and railway safety, and how to respond when approached by strangers. A serious message was delivered in a gentle, fun way and the children all enjoyed saying 'hello' to Buster Bear."

Buster distributed copies of his specially designed pack, 'Buster Rules OK', which is filled with jokes, puzzles and activities, to help children learn about the potential hazards on construction sites. There was also an opportunity for the pupils to try on safety equipment such as high visibility jackets, goggles and helmets.

Natalie Crawford, Redrow's health and safety assistant, said: "Health and safety is a top priority for Redrow and as such we thought it was important to raise children's awareness about the dangers of playing on building sites, especially as our development The Sidings is currently under construction in Crewe. We're coming up to the long summer holidays and this is often a time when children are tempted to stray into areas where they really shouldn't be.

"Although the presentation was about a serious subject, Buster and his activity packs are a light-hearted way of enabling us to pitch the issue of health and safety to the level at which children can understand, making it a fun way of learning."

Redrow has extended its commitment to education even further by launching the Redrow Learning Web, an on-line resource which includes a teachers' area to help plan lessons and guide their pupils, meets with National Curriculum requirements and has been accredited by the National Grid for Learning.

The Learning Web is split into two modules - 'The House Detectives', aimed at primary school children aged eight to 11, and 'Plan It Build It', which is targeted at secondary school pupils aged 12 - 16 as part of their citizenship studies.

'The House Detectives' enables children to compare and contrast their own community with others around the UK, while 'Plan It Build It' challenges pupils to research, plan and 'build' a new development taking into account a full range of issues such as housing supply, planning policy, environmental concerns and sustainability. For more information about Buster and the Redrow Learning Web visit www.education.redrow.co.uk