Minister goes back to school with road safety message

Environment Minister, Edwin Poots, visited Killowen Primary School, Lisburn, to launch his Department’s road safety Teaching Aid Calendar.

The calendar is a visual teaching tool distributed, free of charge, to every classroom in nursery and primary schools across Northern Ireland. It features cartoon character Skooter, who has a road safety message for each week of the school year.

The Minister said: “My Department first introduced the Teaching Aid Calendar in 1972 and since then it has become a focal point on the walls of classrooms across the province, acting as a key teaching aid for highlighting a range of road safety messages.

“By now all nursery and primary schools will have received their calendars and I would urge teachers to make good use of the teaching notes and curriculum links, contained on them, which reinforce my Department’s road safety messages. By using the Teaching Aid Calendar every week, teachers will be helping children to develop the skills they need to become safe road users.”

Fiona Corry, Principal of Killowen Primary School in Lisburn said “The road safety Teaching Aid Calendar is a well established resource in primary schools and assists teachers in raising pupils’ awareness of the dangers they face on the roads. The calendars are curriculum based and each version is pitched at the right level for the age group targeted, so that teachers can integrate the road safety messages into lessons.”

Notes to Editors:

1. There are now three versions of the calendar produced each year for early years (nursery, P1 and P2), middle years (P3, P4 and P5) and upper years (P6 and P7).

. The Calendar features cartoon cat Skooter.

3. There is a road safety message for each week of the school year and these are supported visually by photographs featuring pupils from primary schools throughout Northern Ireland.

4. The teaching notes and curriculum links are specially written for the calendar by several teachers and provide great ideas for lesson plans.

5. Research undertaken in 2005 showed that 77% of respondents used the calendar at least once a week and 96% confirmed its value as a road safety teaching aid to be good or excellent.

6. All media inquiries should be directed to the Department of Environment Press Office on 028 9054 0003. Out of office hours please contact the duty press officer via pager number 07699 715 440 and your call will be returned.