Childsafe

The CHILDSAFE programme for schools is part of a range of educational activities provided by Lancashire Fire and Rescue Service. Collectively, these activities are referred to as Developing Young People.

The CHILDSAFE programme is an educational package that has been designed to change the behaviour of children and their parents/carers by:

•          Increasing their knowledge about the risk that fire presents;
•          Generating awareness of the actions to be taken in the event of a fire;
•          Raising awareness of Year 6 pupils of the consequences of making hoax calls and deliberate fire-setting;

CHILDSAFE sessions are delivered by operational crews of fire-fighters from the local fire station or, in more rural areas, by Community Fire Safety Practitioners who have been specifically trained to deliver fire safety programmes in the community. Within each academic year, CHILDSAFE is delivered to all Year 2 and Year 6 pupils in all primary schools in the Lancashire Fire and Rescue Service area. This includes the unitary authorities of Blackburn with Darwen and Blackpool.

The target is to deliver a CHILDSAFE lesson to all Year 2 and Year 6 pupils within the Lancashire Fire and Rescue Service area in each academic year. In certain circumstances, by special arrangement and in order to address identified risks, the programme may also be delivered outside the school environment, for example, to groups of children who are ordinarily educated within their own home.

CHILDSAFE contributes to the overall delivery of a planned school Safety Education programme. By raising the awareness of the pupils in terms of what action needs to be taken in the event of fire it not only promotes safety conscious behaviours, but also enables even young children to look out for risk factors. By asking them to take that message home it has a wider impact on families and the community as a whole.

Year 2

At Year 2 the aim is to enable pupils to explain, and also to demonstrate through interactive play, what to do in the event of a fire at home. Using an age appropriate DVD called ‘Freddie and Filbert’ the session covers the purpose of smoke alarms, and how to get out of the house safely in the event of a fire and the need for a Fire Plan.

At the end of the session, each Year 2 class teacher is given one copy of the ‘Frances the Firefly’ storybook and two ‘Frances the Firefly’ height charts for the classroom. The reverse side of the height chart details the Safety Rules for Children that can be reinforced by the teacher. Both can be used as the starting point for a range of follow-up activities.

Year 6

The aim at Year six is to provide a slightly ‘harder hitting’ message. The session enables pupils to explain in detail what to do in the event of a fire at home, the importance of smoke alarms is further reinforced and pupils learn how to make Fire Escape Plans. Use is made of age appropriate DVD/video material to show how quickly fire spreads. However, through our booklet ‘For Pete’s Sake Jake!’ the central character introduces the more serious issues of hoax calls and the consequences of deliberate fire setting to pupils in this age group. For more information on 'For Pete's Sake Jake' please click on the link.

Both groups are given leaflets on home fire safety to take home to parents with an invitation to apply for a FREE Home Fire Safety Check.

Additionally, the National Community Fire Safety Centre has developed a range of Fire Safety Education materials and resources for teacher delivery to pupils from Foundation Stage to Key Stage 4. To access these visit: www.firekills.gov.uk/education.