Curriculum 2000 : Opportunities for Safety & Risk Education
by Jean McEntire
A New Curriculum
The revised National Curriculum took effect from September 2000. In this article we look at how this new curriculum, and other related guidance, address safety education in primary and secondary schools.
Safety education is not necessarily about isolating children and young people from all potential hazards but is about equipping them to deal with situations safely. We aim to identify where in the curriculum we can teach the safety skills and knowledge they will need.
Where in the curriculum can we teach safety skills and knowledge?
Risk assessment skills
The National Curriculum includes some general teaching requirements which relate to all age groups from 5 to 16 years. One of these is a requirement to teach about health and safety. It applies to those subjects where pupils carry out practical activities and use tools and equipment. This means in science, design and technology, information and communication technology, art and design and physical education.
What does this teaching requirement for health and safety include?
Pupils should be taught:
- about hazards, risk and risk control
- to recognise hazards, assess consequent risks and take steps to control the risks to themselves and others
- to use information to assess the immediate and cumulative risks
- to manage their environment to ensure the health and safety of themselves and others
- to explain the steps they take to control risks
The ability to transfer this learning to other areas of their lives should also be an aim of safety education. For example, being able to apply risk assessment skills learned in physical education lessons to their leisure activities outside school.
Personal and social skills
Knowing how to assess and manage risks is not the end of the story. Safety education is also about understanding factors which influence attitudes and behaviourto do with safety. Children and young people need skills to deal with pressures and stereotypes that can encourage risk taking. Peer pressure to play "chicken" on busy roads or media stereotypes about fast driving are examples. Personal and social skills like assertiveness are useful in situations where pupils need to ask for help or ask someone to stop doing something dangerous. Health skills such as emergency aid procedures also need to be taught and practised. The new curriculum includes a framework for personal, social and health education which outlines how skills should be developed from age 5 to 16 years.
Examples of personal and social skills to be developed between 5 and 16 years
- to learn and practise safety skills
- to take responsibility
- to be able to ask for help
- to develop the confidence to give advice
- to deal with unhelpful stereotypes and pressures
- to recognise risk and make safer choices
Playing a part in making schools and communities safer places
Safety education should involve children and young people in taking responsibility for social and moral issues. Discussing safety issues to do with their school playground, dining hall or routes to school, for example, can lead on to agreeing new safety rules or designing safer ways of doing things. Presenting their suggestions to policy makers like school governors or getting involved in campaigning or bidding for funds helps them to understand how decisions are made and how democracy works.
This kind of work is included in citizenship in the new curriculum. For primary schools there are guidelines for citizenship along with the framework for personal, social and health education. For secondary schools there are teaching requirements for citizenship which becomes a new National Curriculum subject from August 2002.
Examples of citizenship skills to be developed between 5 and 16 years
- to understand the need for rules
- to take part in making and changing rules
- to research and discuss local and topical issues
- to consider social and moral dilemmas
- to participate in decision making
Understanding the work of safety professionals
Discussing the roles of safety professionals can help children to understand the importance of safety issues. Identifying the responsibilities and skills of the school crossing patrol, firefighters or trading standards officers, for example, can be the basis for thinking about their own safety skills and knowledge. Reflecting on their own skills in this way is an important aim of careers education/career–related learning .
Aspects of career – related learning are addressed in the National Curriculum framework for personal, social and health education for all ages from 5 to 16 years. Secondary schools also have a statutory duty to provide a planned programme of careers education during years 9 to 11.
Examples of career – related learning to be developed from 5 to 16 years
- to meet and talk with people with a range of work roles and skills
- to identify their own skills and achievements
- to think about ways to develop these skills further
Contexts for Safety Education
Safety issues provide excellent contexts for the development of these personal and social skills. But in a crowded curriculum we need to make sure that the range of important safety contexts are covered – home, school, work, road, rail, water, leisure – and that they are introduced and developed to match the age and ability of children and young people.
A Planned Approach to Safety Education
Identifying opportunities in the new National Curriculum is a first step towards developing a planned approach to safety education for the 5 to 16 age group.
In future issues of the Safety Education journal we shall suggest curriculum plans for each age group, describe recommended approaches and activities, and discuss how schools and safety professionals can develop the curriculum together. We will also look at curricula for other parts of the UK.
The National Curriculum Handbook for primary teachers in England (QCA/99/457)
The National Curriculum Handbook for secondary teachers in England (QCA/99/458)
QCA Publications Tel: 01787 884288
National Curriculum web site at www.nc.uk.net
This article is taken from the Safety Education Journal (Spring 2001).
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