RoSPA Press Office : Press Release

January 17, 2005
RoSPA’S ASSEMBLY SONGS TEACH CHILDREN ROAD SAFETY

School assembly sing-alongs can now carry road safety messages, thanks to a new audio CD produced by RoSPA. With a collection of songs aimed at 4-7 year-olds and 7-11 year-olds, the disc has been created to help make children more aware of road safety issues in a fun and enjoyable way.

It is believed that children in this age range are more likely to appreciate safety messages if they are carried out in a manner which is fun, yet understandable. Statistics show that road accidents are the biggest single cause of death for all school age children.

The CD - Road Safety Songs for School Assemblies – is available to all local authorities and schools in the UK. It is complemented by RoSPA’s School Assembly Plans Using Road Safety Themes. This document is designed to help teachers structure an assembly that has a road safety theme, and can be used with the whole school or with individual classes.

Songs for 4-7 year-olds include Be Bright! Be Safe!, Traffic and Crossing the Road. The older age group will be able to listen to Going on a School Trip, Safe Places to Cross and Cycle Safety.

The words and music to accompany the CD can be downloaded from www.rospa.com/roadsafety/songs/index.htm. Teachers can use the lyrics by displaying them on an overhead or projector, so children can sing along during assemblies.

Kevin Clinton, RoSPA Head of Road Safety, said: “As all pupils participate in some form of assembly, which is usually themed, it is a good opportunity to get road safety messages across. The CD is not intended to be the sum total of road safety education within a school, but it can be used to help with the reduction of child road accidents.

“Road accidents account for 25 per cent of all deaths of school children, so we need to find new ways that can help to cut this figure. Hopefully, this CD will be enjoyable for children and will help to reinforce important road safety messages.”

All songs are from School Assembly Plans Using Road Safety Themes, which can be downloaded from www.rospa.com/roadsafety/assemblies. For a copy of the CD, email contact details to kclinton@rospa.com. This RoSPA resource was produced with the support of the Department for Transport.