Thursday, 01 October 2009 12:23

With the new school year now firmly upon us, many parents will be considering walking their children to school or nursery for the first time.

The new academic year is an exciting – and sometimes daunting one – for all concerned.  For children, it’s the opportunity to make new friends; for parents, it can be the first time that they’ve had to wave their children off into another person’s care for more than a few hours. 

Many parents are also concerned about getting their children to school safely and will be walking through their local town.  Not only is this a good opportunity to reduce the number of cars on the road, but it’s the perfect time to introduce road safety concepts to this vulnerable age group.

The Sussex Safer Roads Partnership (SSRP) has developed a road safety guide for parents and young children entitled Bump to Five.  The guide follows the journey from a mother’s pregnancy to the time when a child is becoming more independent on the way to school, and offers advice on a wide range of topics from the correct wearing of a seatbelt to a ‘Learn Together’ module detailing safe places to cross the road.

Neil Hopkins, Communications Manager for the SSRP, comments:

“Bump to Five has been developed in conjunction with school travel advisors and experts in child care to tackle many of the important safety issues surrounding parents and young people throughout Sussex.

“Key messages include correct use of child safety restraints, pavement etiquette and the Green Cross Code.  The guide will be especially useful for any parents with both school age children, and younger toddlers who will be accompanying them on the school run.”

In other instances, parents will choose to drive their children to school – and the SSRP is urging them to consider how and where they park when they arrive.

Neil Hopkins continues:

“All too often, roads become congested with the school run, and some drivers choose to leave their vehicles blocking lines of sight from junctions, parked out from the kerb or on double yellow lines.

“Blocking a line of sight or obscuring school gates can be exceptionally dangerous, and we’re asking all school run drivers to ensure that they don’t cause a potentially dangerous obstruction on our roads.”

The Bump to Five booklet is free to download or, if you would prefer a hard copy, please call 01273 465175.