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CHAPTER FIVE: ROAD SAFETY PROFESSIONALS AND THE CTCS
5.1 INTRODUCTION
A team of road safety professionals across Scotland play a key role in promoting the CTCS to parents, particularly in areas of high deprivation. Road Safety Scotland is responsible for co-ordinating Scotland-wide road safety initiatives and campaigns and as such has overarching responsibility for co-ordinating the CTCS. At a local level, Road Safety Scotland is supported by a network of Road Safety Officers ( RSOs), who are employed by local authorities or the police and have a remit for road safety education, training and publicity within the community. This section explores the current and potential roles which Road Safety Scotland and RSOs could play in promoting the CTCS in areas of high deprivation.
5.2 ROAD SAFETY UNITS
5.2.1 Role of Road Safety Units
Scotland is split into 22 Road Safety Units, with at least one Road Safety Officer employed in each area. In some areas, the Road Safety Unit is administered by the local council, usually within the Roads and Transportation section, while in others it is the responsibility of the Police Force. The Road Safety Unit in each area works to meet government targets for road safety; reduce the number and severity of road accidents; identify accident and behavioural patterns; and provide education, training and publicity to effectively influence behaviours of those at risk of creating or being involved in a road accident.
In most areas, Road Safety Units will work to promote the CTCS, seeing this as part of their overall remit to educate communities about road safety. Although Road Safety Scotland can support the Road Safety Units to promote the CTCS locally, there is no obligation for Units to promote the Club if there are other priorities which demand more attention.
5.2.2 Promotion of the CTCS by Road Safety Units
In order to establish examples of good practice in promoting the CTCS at local level, interviews were held with five Road Safety Units which have worked to increase membership of the Club. All the Units consulted were undertaking general promotional activity for the CTCS, many working with nurseries and playgroups to raise awareness of the resources and encourage membership. In some areas, Units had recognised a clear relationship between low uptake and social exclusion, and had specifically targeted areas of high deprivation.
Promotional activity undertaken by Road Safety Units included:
- Working with nursery schools - many Units had developed close relationships with nurseries and playgroups in their area. Units highlighted that all nurseries and playgroups had been sent the CTCS Nursery and Playgroup Pack, along with registration forms. In some areas nurseries were visited each year to give presentations on road safety, and this was used as an opportunity to distribute CTCS registration packs to nurseries and parents. In one area, CTCS characters were used in the presentation to nurseries, reinforcing the messages of the Club and raising awareness.
Road Safety Officers recognised that in socially excluded areas, it was necessary to put more effort into increasing membership through working more intensively with nurseries and playgroups. However, this was often an aim for the future rather than an activity which was already underway.
Case Study -Working with nurseries in Glasgow
In Glasgow, Road Safety Officers have adapted their approach to promoting the CTCS in recent years. Originally the main method of promotion was through RSO talks to parents at nurseries. However, these were often poorly attended and RSOs believed that they were having little impact on membership levels.
As a result, RSOs now complement these talks through holding short sessions before nursery and at lunchtime breaks, where parents are offered the opportunity to sign up to the CTCS as they drop off or pick up their children.
During these brief sessions RSOs will set up a banner and other promotional materials to attract parents' attention, approaching parents to find out if they are already members. They have found in the Castlemilk neighbourhood where take-up is particularly low, that this approach has been very effective. It allows RSOs to fill out the form on behalf of parents, and gives them an opportunity to approach parents who may lack the confidence to get involved with initiatives or have substance abuse or mental health problems.
Case Study -Working with nurseries in East Ayrshire
In East Ayrshire, the Road Safety Unit has worked to develop relationships with staff at nursery schools. The Unit approached all the nursery schools in the area, suggesting that one member of staff become a CTCS representative. This individual would be responsible for promoting the Club and managing the CTCS materials.
This initiative is in the early stages of development and to date only one nursery has responded to this offer. Once more interest has been generated, the Unit plans to offer 'in-service' training for representatives to familiarise them with the materials and keep them up to date with developments.
- Promotion through local press - in one area, the Road Safety Unit promoted the CTCS through leaflets included in free local papers. This Unit particularly targeted papers circulating in areas of deprivation, and it was believed that this had been successful in raising membership levels in these areas.
- Working with Health Visitors - in some areas, Road Safety Units have worked with Health Visitors to promote the CTCS. This approach appears to have peaked at the time of the launch of the Health Visitors Pack in 1996 which, in some areas, prompted the development of relationships between Health Visitors and Road Safety Units. However, in recent years this approach has become less common, with relationships not always maintained and refreshed over the years.
Case Study - Working with Health Visitors in Fife
Following the launch of the CTCS Health Visitors Pack, the Road Safety Unit in Fife worked intensively to develop relationships with Health Visitors at a local level. In Fife, there are 'local clusters' of Health Visitors, and Road Safety Officers spoke with the leaders of each cluster to establish interest in promoting the CTCS.
The Health Visitors were 'very keen to help out' and groups of Health Visitors were brought together for one or two hour sessions to raise awareness of the CTCS. This involved discussion about the aims of the Club, and Health Visitors were all given resources and registration forms.
At first, Health Visitors worked to promote the CTCS to parents. However, since this initial contact the Road Safety Unit has not maintained these relationships. The Unit anticipates that as the last contact was some years ago, most Health Visitors are now likely to have forgotten about the Club or to have moved on. The Unit recognises that these relationships will need to be refreshed as it is felt that this type of approach worked well.
- Promotion at public venues - a number of Road Safety Units have promoted the CTCS through stands at public venues such as supermarkets. This approach has often targeted areas of high deprivation, and has given parents the chance to register their children, with assistance for parents not confident about completing the registration form. In Glasgow, this approach has been extended to involve a range of public venues and events.
Case Study - Public promotion in Glasgow
In Glasgow, the Road Safety Unit spent three months in 2005 focussing strongly on promoting the CTCS in areas of high deprivation and low membership. Road Safety Officers have hosted many sessions at nurseries, family days and public events. These sessions have focussed on assisting parents to complete the form and then posting them on their behalf.
The Unit believes that this approach has been extremely successful, and has seen a substantial increase in CTCS membership in deprived areas within the city. In addition, where RSOs from Glasgow have done promotional work at large public events such as Family Fun Days, CTCS membership levels have increased.
This approach is seen as highly effective in achieving an important objective. However, the Unit stresses that it is a labour intensive method which is not really sustainable in the longer term due to the range of other priorities for RSOs.
- Appointment of a dedicated CTCS officer - in one area, the Road Safety Unit temporarily recruited an individual with the specific remit of increasing CTCS membership. This approach has been successful in raising membership levels in the area and developing more effective partnership arrangements with local nursery schools.
Case Study - Dedicated CTCS officer in North Lanarkshire
In mid 2004, North Lanarkshire Council employed a part-time RSO whose role was solely focused on the promotion of the CTCS in order to increase membership and usage of the materials in the North Lanarkshire area. The role was created when it was identified that there were low levels of uptake in the area, with extremely low levels in particular postcode areas.
The RSO focussed strongly on developing good relationships with nurseries in the area. Soon after coming into post, the RSO sent out letters with enrolment forms to all the nursery schools in the area to give to parents who were not registered. A monthly competition for nursery school children was also launched, which required the children to complete a traffic-themed colouring-in picture. A requirement of the competition was for all entrants to be members of the CTCS, meaning that many children have joined the club in order to be included in the competition.
This competition has been a key factor in raising uptake levels in the area. Over the period of the last competition (November-December 2005) membership of the Club increased by 14 per cent.
While promoting the CTCS across North Lanarkshire the RSO came across nurseries (not attached to schools) which were not aware that the road safety team existed. Now the RSO has regular contact with these nurseries, and nursery staff across the region often contact her directly to come and speak to the children.
In terms of making further improvements, the RSO emphasises the importance of having more time and 'being able to go out and talk to parents'. Other suggestions included setting up workshops for parents to use the materials with their children, more materials in languages other than English and the introduction of mother and toddler sessions where parents with literacy problems could be assisted with the materials. Above all, the RSO emphasised the importance of 'going out on a more personal basis'.
- Distributing CTCS resources prior to registration - in Castlemilk, the Glasgow Road Safety Unit piloted an approach which involved distributing the first CTCS book to parents along with the registration form. This meant that the parents could view the resources prior to registration, with the aim of encouraging a higher uptake level.
Case Study - Distributing CTCS Book 1 in Glasgow
From November 1999 to January 2000, the CTCS set up a trial in the Castlemilk area of Glasgow designed to tackle the comparatively low uptake of membership. The trial involved sending out the first CTCS book with the registration pack to determine whether seeing the materials encouraged parents to register their child.
Over the three month period, 2,733 children were invited to join the CTCS as part of the trial and a total of 965 enrolled. This meant that membership levels during the pilot period were 36 per cent -slightly lower than the CTCS uptake level prior to the pilot. This remained significantly lower than the average Greater Glasgow uptake at 52 per cent.
In addition to having a negative impact on uptake levels, the sample book resulted in another unexpected outcome. The registration forms that were returned were sent back over a much longer time period than normal. Normally, almost all parents who join (99 per cent) register within three months of receiving the registration form. However, for families in the trial area only 72 per cent registered within three months, with some taking up to 12 months to register. It is anticipated that this was due to parents beginning to use Book 1 and forgetting to return the registration form. 18
The Road Safety Unit in Glasgow believed that the pilot had not been successful in increasing membership, and that it would be much more beneficial to concentrate resources on personally assisting parents to register with the Club.
5.2.3 RSO views on CTCS registration process and resources
Discussion with Road Safety Officers also identified a number of potential barriers to parents in areas of high deprivation joining the CTCS. Many believed that issues such as literacy, alcohol, drugs and mental health greatly impact on parental awareness of the CTCS and their ability to complete the registration materials. Others suggested that higher mobility of families in deprived areas may also impact on receipt of the registration materials.
Some Road Safety Officers believed that there could also be a higher degree of suspicion and concern about providing a name and address in areas of high deprivation. Parents may be worried that this information would be used by other agencies to track households, or passed on to advertisers which would result in junk mail. Parents may also believe that there must be a catch to the 'free' offer of resources.
Road Safety Officers were all very clear that, while there are clearly difficulties with the registration process, the resources are viewed very positively by children, parents and professionals and do not require significant adaptation. One RSO stressed that children respond very positively to the characters and clearly recognise them, meaning that parents must be using these resources at home.
5.2.4 RSO views on increasing membership in areas of high deprivation
All Road Safety Officers had ideas about the way in which CTCS membership could be increased in areas of high deprivation. There was a strong focus on working jointly with others to promote the CTCS - "we can't do this on our own… we need to bring in other people". The core partners identified by RSOs were Health Visitors and nursery schools. Many RSOs felt that although work with Health Visitors had taken place in the past, these relationships needed to be reinvigorated.
Some also felt that relationships with nursery schools could be further developed to ensure that all are using the resources and encouraging parents to join. Some RSOs commented that road safety was not a priority for nurseries as it does not fit neatly under any one of the broad areas they are statutorily required to address. As a result some RSOs suspect that the nursery packs are forgotten about or under-utilised.
It was felt that the offer of free resources would encourage nurseries to work in partnership with RSOs. One RSO suggested that the development of a 'story sack', which includes books, toys and games and which each child gets for one night, might be a useful way of raising awareness of the Club.
One Road Safety Officer suggested that focussing on promotion of the CTCS as a 'club' may be an effective way of increasing children's interest and awareness. It was suggested that a few forms could be distributed to children at nurseries, so that children can give a form to their friends and be in the Club together. Promotion of the Club at fun days and family events was also seen as a positive step.
5.3 ROAD SAFETY SCOTLAND
5.3.1 Road Safety Scotland and the CTCS
Road Safety Scotland ( RSS) is responsible for overall co-ordination and strategic direction of the Children's Traffic Club in Scotland. The CTCS contributes to the aims of RSS through promoting road safety education to young children and their parents. RSS commissions dbda, the consultancy which developed the resources, to provide CTCS services across Scotland. The current contract with dbda expires in 2008.
5.3.2 Views on the CTCS
As co-ordinators of national road safety initiatives in Scotland, Road Safety Scotland has a strategic vision for the future direction of road safety education for pre-school children. Overall, the concept of a club for young children is viewed positively by RSS and is something which they wish to ensure is retained in future years. However, a number of changes to the way in which the Club is promoted are already planned:
- Health Visitors' Pack - following research undertaken across Scotland, which identified that Health Visitors simply do not have time to use CTCS resources with their clients, RSS has taken the decision not to renew the use of the Health Visitors Pack in Scotland. However, RSS would wish to continue to develop relationships with Health Visitors to ensure that parents are encouraged to join the Club.
- SureStart Scotland - this initiative has been established by the Scottish Executive and aims to provide support for families with very young children. The aim is to ensure that support is targeted to vulnerable families and those in more deprived communities. This initiative therefore has already been identified by RSS as offering potential opportunities for promotion of the CTCS in areas of high deprivation. As a result, RSS have begun working with SureStart Scotland to explore the potential of developing a CTCS pack which would promote the Club to SureStart clients. This is in the early stages of development but is seen as a key area of focus for the future.
Road Safety Scotland is also beginning to consider its position post 2008, when the current contract with dbda expires. At present, there are some concerns about the materials and staff believe there may be a benefit in moving towards a simplified, more user-friendly resource for parents.
5.4 SUMMARY OF CHAPTER 5
- Road Safety Scotland has overall responsibility for co-ordination of the CTCS and receives support at local level from a network of Road Safety Units across Scotland
- Road Safety Units undertake a range of activities to promote the CTCS in general, and in deprived areas in particular
- Individual Road Safety Units have promoted the CTCS with varying degrees of success through:
- Working with nursery schools and Health Visitors
- Promotion in local press and at public venues
- Appointment of a dedicated CTCS officer
- Distribution of Book 1 at point of registration
- Road Safety Officers were positive about CTCS resources and indicated that children, parents and professionals also gave positive feedback
- There was a strong view that there was a need for more partnership working between Road Safety Units, nurseries and Health Visitors to promote the CTCS in areas of high deprivation
- Road Safety Scotland is committed to the CTCS until 2008 and, until then, a key focus will be linking with the SureStart Scotland initiative to promote the CTCS to vulnerable families and those in areas of high deprivation
- Road Safety Scotland is considering its activities post 2008 in relation to road safety education for young children. There is a desire to continue some kind of club for children, but to introduce a simplified and more user friendly resource.
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