Associate feature: Road safety learning for life

Road Safety Scotland’s (RSS) activity is aligned to Scotland’s new Road Safety Framework to 2030 in partnership with the road safety community and key stakeholders.

The Framework sets out a vision which aims to reduce death and injury on Scotland’s roads, with the ultimate goal of a road network where no-one is killed.

Collaboration is key to successful road safety outcomes. RSS promotes road safety learning as a skill for life and work, and works in close partnership with key stakeholders.

There are also excellent networks of road safety activity and support within many schools and the wider communities.

It’s therefore important that teachers, early years staff, parents, carers, road safety teams, police officers, continue to work in partnership by engaging children and young people through active and experiential learning.

RSS’s high-quality road safety learning resources are available for all ages and stages of a child’s learning.

All resources, available online, have been co-produced by teachers and linked to Curriculum for Excellence. Early intervention is key to shaping a child’s life chances, and adults must strive to lead by example.

‘Go Safe with Ziggy’ provides that early intervention and role-modelling. Ziggy is the start of the road safety learning journey, a journey continuing through the school years and beyond, equipping our young people to become life’s good role models.

Many schools across the country incorporate road safety learning into curriculum work very effectively.

However, for this learning to be meaningful, it has to continue outside school. As adults, we need to take on the responsibility of leading by example and demonstrating to our young children and young people that what they’ve been learning at school can be easily put into practise on the pavement, crossing the road, cycling to school, in the car.

Children will copy what they see and hear, and repeat those behaviours.

So, let’s make these behaviours good, positive ones, making good role models for our children and young people.

This article was sponsored by Road Safety Scotland (RSS).