Safety Through the Circle

'Safety through the Circle' is an on-going project to explore the opportunities of using Circle Time to teach pupils important life skills that will help them to assess and manage risk in their everyday lives.

As part of 'Safety Through the Circle' the PHASE project is working on a teaching resource containing appropriate safety education messages in a series of class Circles supported by other teaching materials.

Each circle contains ideas for structured class circle times based on the 5 stage circle model focused on a key safety message. The resource also includes follow up activities and ideas linked to the National Curriculum in the appropriate Key Stage and to non-statutory guidelines for PSHE/Ct..

Circles currently written include:

WHY SAFETY THROUGH THE CIRCLE?

The project is linked to my belief that safety education is not about rote learned rules and admonitions to be careful but an important life skill that is based on an understanding of risk and very much linked to a child's emotional health and well-being. It is an important area of inequality. Children in more deprived areas are much more likely to be injured - especially as pedestrians and in house fires.

Add to this the fact that for schools joining the healthy schools scheme Criteria 8, Safety, is the least popular criteria. Although take up is not helped by the rather dry and dull tone of the criteria itself!

'Safety through the Circle' is intended to increase teachers' interest in safety education by tapping into the increasing interest in Circle Time in schools; a need for more ideas for circles for teachers experienced in Circle Time and the opportunities for linking safety education with a wider risk approach that includes drugs and SRE.

By its very nature as a way for children to develop their self-esteem and personal and social skills Circle Time is a perfect vehicle for teaching the skills I feel are likely to have an impact on unintentional prevention.

I used the project as the basis for my dissertation in the course in Unintentional Injury Prevention I have been doing with the Child Accident Prevention Trust and the University of Newcastle which gave me the opportunity to research the theoretical background alongside developing the practical materials. My researches have convinced me that this is a good avenue to explore.

If you would like to know more about the 'Safety through the Circle' project or would like to help trial the resource please get in touch. I'd be delighted to here from you.