Case Studies
Sparky Makes Crucial Point
Sparky Makes Crucial Point
Teams of child-friendly health and safety experts are helping keep thousands of school pupils safe and sound.
Energy Networks have been taking the safety lesson into schools the length and breadth of the country.
Their aim is to remind children how their behaviour around electricity can keep them and others safe.
Be Safe with ScottishPower is a classroom based safety education programme teaching primary school children aged four to eleven years the potential dangers of electricity in the home and outdoors environment.
During this third year of the programme, 50,980 children in 254 schools across England , Scotland and Wales have received important electrical safety messages.
Over the three years that the programme has been running over 129,000 primary school children have received important electrical safety messages via the classroom with the help of Sparky - a puppet crow in a hard hat.
A team of schoolteachers take Sparky along on visits to primary schools to explain the dangers of electricity and how to avoid risks both within and outside the home.
Their message includes everything from not playing around substations to avoiding frayed wires and overloaded sockets at home. By investing in this education programme we hope to reduce public safety accidents.
The education programme extends to an interactive website called PowerWise. This site, at www.powerwise.org.uk is packed with lesson plans, interactive games and electricity information that both teachers and parents can use.
"Informing and educating the next generation in a fun and familiar learning environment really helps drive home our safety message into the communities," says Andrew Sharman, Health and Safety Development Manager.
Educating children about safety risks doesn't stop there. Crucial Crew is a national experiential learning event facilitated by local police forces and fire services aimed at children in the final stages of primary school education. Children are brought on organised school trips to local venues to take part in a range of fast-paced scenarios designed to raise awareness of the inherent dangers associated with electricity and other common hazards.
Over the past twelve months Energy Networks has presented important electrical safety messages to over 15,000 children at 10 Crucial Crew events.
Energy Networks support three innovative, dedicated safety education centres operated by local public authorities within our network areas. Centres are based at Priesthill in Glasgow ; DangerPoint in North Wales ; and a brand new centre called The Risk Factory in Edinburgh , which opened in January 2007. Designed to educate and raise awareness of accidents, injury prevention and personal safety in a safe and controlled environment, these centres provide realistic settings, specifically designed for children and young people, as a background for safety education through hands on experiences in the home, on the roads, at the farm or in the country, and on building sites.
These centres attract large groups of children on organised school visits and members of the public are invited to visit the centres for a nominal entrance fee.
During the last year over 22, 000 children have received electrical safety messages through these centres. The breakdown is as follows:-
- Priesthill in Glasgow : 14, 635 children
- Risk Factory in Edinburgh : 1, 200 children (opened in January 2007)
- DangerPoint in North Wales : 7, 000 children
If you are involved with local school or youth groups and would like an electricity safety resource pack, drop an email to ensafety@sppowersystems.com
