Here is how can you participate irrespective of your school size or funds availability. Avoid the temptation to think it’s only if you have money you can participate.

1) Organise a Safety Day: This is an event where students, parents and teachers come together to learn about safety. It involves entertaining activities presented by the students and safety professionals as guest speakers to teach on an area of concern. Last year, a school invited me. The students acted a drama on abduction, they had a debate on best safety practices and there was also a picture and song presentation by pupils in the nursery classes. Student participation makes them internalize lessons learned.

2) Safety Training by a Professional: For this, you get a Safety Professional to visit your school and teach either students, staff or both on how to handle a specific safety concern. This can be as simple as a 30-45 minute talk during the week to educate.

3) Internal Safety Education: This means the teacher can find out information on a current child safety concern and teach the students. He/she can get safety education tools (Books, safety posters) as a teaching aid that will help amplify the message being shared. This can be as simple as teaching the smaller kids about the traffic light and the bigger pupils about preventing abduction.

Parents can support by recommending ideas or purchasing safety education tools and donating them to the school. 

Please note that if you cannot afford a big event, you can still do something compact but meaningful. Feel free to reach out with your questions and if you need ideas on what to implement.

Which of these would you implement in your school or recommend in your child’s school?

Intentionally grooming a safety conscious generation.