Hundreds of schoolchildren are to receive vital safety messages when Crucial Crew returns to North Norfolk.
Eighteen North Norfolk Schools, around 450 youngsters, are attending what will be the fourth Crucial Crew held in the district.
Coordinated by Norfolk County Council's fire and rescue service the four-day event, which uses ten-minute interactive sessions to teach crucial safety tips, takes place at Gresham School, Holt, this Friday (October 19) and next Monday, Tuesday and Wednesday.
The event features theatre-style, interactive scenarios recreating hazardous situations to which children may be exposed in their everyday life.
Year 6 pupils (10/11 year olds) are placed in situations which simulate potential danger, such as a bedroom fire or bullying, for example. The experiences seek, within a controlled environment, to raise awareness and provide practical and memorable advice on what to do.
The Agencies taking part and the scenarios are as follows:-
1. Norfolk Constabulary – Personal safety
2. Norfolk County Council Public Protection Team – Household Emergency Planning
3. U.K. Power Networks – Electrical safety
4. The Magdalen Group- Jigsaw Project, Internet safety
5. British Transport Police – Railway safety
6. National Grid – Gas safety
7. St John Ambulance – First Aid
8. Trading Standards – Shopping safety
9. Norfolk Fire and Rescue Service – Fire safety in the Home
10. PACT (Partnership Against Crime Taskforce) – Safety in the street and when travelling.
Following this event, the 36th Crucial Crew to be held in Norfolk, some 30,600 young people will have attended the safety events.
Nigel Dixon, Cabinet Member for Community Protection, said: "Public safety remains a top priority and to that end Crucial Crew is an excellent way of teaching young people how to stay safe. We know from feedback from youngsters and teachers alike that the Crucial Crew experience makes a big impression on those who attend. We also know that youngsters go home and talk to their families and friends and share what they have learned. Crucially this means vital safety messages are passed on, helping save lives and prevent injuries across our county."
Doug Underwood, Crucial Crew Co-ordinator for Norfolk Fire and Rescue Service,said: "Crucial Crew is back in North Norfolk. By providing young people with these opportunities we are helping protect a large proportion of the Norfolk community. I would like to thank Gresham School for the venue, Community Safety Advisor Leigh Bagshaw for arranging the North Norfolk event and the Church of Jesus Christ Later Day Saints for help with filling “Goody Bagsâ€."
