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CHAPTER THREE DESKTOP REVIEW

3.1 Overview

3.1.1 This part of the study comprises a description of the existing S1/S2 PSD Road Safety Education resource and how it relates to current school based resources produced by Road Safety Scotland; a description of selected good practice examples of road safety resources for this age group; a consideration of the future curriculum changes in Scotland, notably the Curriculum for Excellence (CfE), and a summary review of road accident casualties involving children in Scotland (the full report of which is provided in Annex 2).

3.2 The existing S1/S2 RSE resource

3.2.1 Teachers working with pupils in Scottish primary schools and in the first two years of secondary education are guided by the recommendations of the 5-14 national guidelines on teaching and assessment. The S1/S2 PSD Road Safety Education was launched in 2002 and designed to support the 5-14 curriculum at levels D and E ⁸. The teachers' notes state clearly the resource links to the Health Education 5-14 National Guidelines.

3.2.2 The pack consists of teachers' notes, lesson plans with extension ideas and pupil worksheets that can be copied easily by teachers. At level D, there are four key activities - accidents, travel risks, road safety behaviour, and child deaths. At level E there are three key activities - cycle helmets, laws and moving from primary to secondary school. In addition, the pack includes support materials for the Roddy Hogg play, plus a copy of the script.

3.2.3 The eleven activities are all designed to support the attainment outcome Responsibility for Heath and with the exception of activities five (physical health) and six (social health), they are aimed at the emotional health strand. Annex 1 provides a summary of all the teaching and learning activities in current school based resources produced by Road Safety Scotland.

3.2.4 Six of the activities are based on the pupils completing a worksheet, which is generally introduced with a discussion activity. Where ideas for plenary activities are provided, they are based on a discussion of the results of the class worksheets. Other learning and teaching approaches include writing a newspaper report, a class debate, a discussion on posters and a role play activity based on the Roddy Hogg play.

3.2.5 The road safety focus is varied and provides a degree of flexibility, but the activities tend to follow a similar format, especially for the worksheet based activities. The suggested discussions do not present varied learning and teaching and there are no alternative ideas offered. Much of the information is stated and there are limited opportunities for pupils to explore their own ideas or opinions.

3.2.6 Where accident data are used as a basis for a worksheet activity (Travel Risks) it is general and refers to the whole of Great Britain. It is not specific to the age group and asks pupils to assess simplistically the most 'dangerous' modes of travel. The figures may therefore lack relevance to the age group and to Scotland.

3.2.7 In terms of practicality, the activities in the resource can be photocopied and there is flexibility and choice for teachers who only want to make use of one or two of the activities. The teaching ideas provided in the Roddy Hogg support material are best used if pupils have seen the play, which limits their use. The Roddy Hogg support materials encourage greater pupil interaction than the classroom activity sheets.

3.2.8 Since the development of this resource, the use of technology in schools has moved on apace and the current limited presentation would certainly be enhanced by the approaches similar to those used in other road safety resources, such as Streetsense and Crash Magnets (see below).

3.3 Review of the resource in the context of other RSE resources in Scotland

3.3.1 Road Safety Scotland produces resources for different year groups. Streetsense ⁹ is designed for use in primary schools and Crash Magnets ¹⁰ for S3/S4. A website, Streetwise Guys ¹¹, is also available for 8-14 year olds; and another resource, a2bsafely ¹² is aimed at young people with mild to moderate additional learning needs. Further information on these resources can be accessed through the Internet links given in the footnotes.

3.3.2 The S1/S2 materials attempt to fulfil two functions, that of a standard classroom resource and the provision of support activities for the Roddy Hogg play. On reviewing the resource it appears that the original function was to support the play and that the classroom materials were developed as an addition. This view was supported by feedback from the Road safety Officer workshops

3.3.3 The S1/S2 resource shows little progression in terms of the types of learning and teaching activities to those provided in Streetsense. The activities for P7 would appear to stretch pupils further than those in the S1/S2 resource (particularly the worksheet tasks). There is overlap in the road safety topics offered in Streetsense, but this resource has a brighter and more updated presentation than the S1/S2 resource.

3.3.4 In contrast, there is a clear difference in approach used in Crash Magnets, a resource which has been developed much more recently. The resource covers mainly driving issues and includes driver distraction, speed, the cruise culture, and drink and drug driving.

3.3.5 The use of technology in Crash Magnets is one of the major differences, as well as the absence of worksheets for the pupils to complete. The presentation and format also reflect a more relevant and modern approach to resource provision. Streetsense and Crash Magnets make use of technology in the provision of web sites. The Crash Magnets website is very interactive and proposes a range of games and activities for pupils to do as well as providing information. The activities are combined with online DVD clips. There are worksheets that can be photocopied in this resource and information and activities can be printed out.

3.3.6 Unlike Streetsense and Crash Magnets, the title of the S1/S2 resource is not memorable.

3.4 Some examples of other available resources in Great Britain

3.4.1 The Department for Transport (DfT) provides lesson plans for English schools which are intended to support a range of subjects, including personal and social education ¹³. There is a website is aimed at teachers, who can download the road safety support materials. At key stage 3 (National Curriculum for England for age 11-14), there are four lesson plans: Risks on the Road; Researching the Risk; Giving Advice and Mentoring Year 6. With the exception of Risks on the Road, which is worksheet based, the lesson plans outline ideas for pupils to undertake research on road safety topics and then to develop and present their findings.

3.4.2 Other resources are available commercially, for example Young Voyager transition resources developed by two London Boroughs and produced and distributed by DBDA (Dawn Boyfield Design Associates) ¹⁴. This resource is aimed at primary pupils transferring to secondary school and is presented in a ring binder (A4). The teaching pack includes black and white photocopiable worksheets, A5 coloured coping strategy discussion cards plus a two-colour workbook with 45 A5 pages to be completed by pupils. In addition, there is an A4 booklet for parents. The artwork is drawn and some is in full colour, but the black and white drawings can appear simplistic.

3.4.3 A recent resource, developed primarily for Manchester schools for key stage 3 (National Curriculum for England for age 11-14), and in particular fourteen year olds, takes a much more hard hitting approach and also makes use of multi media technology. Time-Out was developed as part of the Neighbourhood Road Safety Initiative funded by the DfT ¹⁵. A website provides outline lesson plans for teachers that are discussion and activity based. Ideas are given for starter and plenary activities as well as taking into account differentiation (the matching of work to the differing capabilities of individuals or groups of pupils in order to extend their learning). A DVD was also produced for use in schools or to be shown by youth agencies. The presentation of the DVD is modern, urban and quite 'edgy'. It uses realistic film and does not make use of any cartoon graphics.

3.4.4 Time Out is a hard hitting drama that is realistic and deals with the consequences of disregarding road safety. It portrays the main characters and their relationships to each other, highlighting how roles can be reversed if care is not taken. The main story is followed by four short monologues from four of the characters, conveying how their lives have been affected by previous events in the story. A further example of a multi-media resource is Keeping Myself Safe, produced by Learning Curve Software ¹⁶ in partnership with Lothian and Borders Police and the City of Edinburgh Council. Keeping Myself Safe explores personal safety issues that affect the lives of young people. The resource uses a design based on a graphic novel genre. The stories, which portray events affecting the personal safety of young people, combine photographic images within fast moving animated sequences. Each story is narrated by a young person and the scenarios are designed to promote discussion and raise awareness of safety issues at all stages of secondary school. Although there are no specific road safety issues included in the resource, the program is based around 10 scenarios which address key aspects of personal safety:

• Safety at parties and nights out
• Knife crime
• Peer pressure and the use of drugs
• 'Grooming'
• Using technology
• Internet safety
• Domestic violence
• Teenage depression and suicide
• Sexual abuse
• Sexual assault

3.4.5 The program contains a Teachers' Guide and materials to support learning and teaching, including a dedicated web site providing personal safety information and advice.

3.4.6 The example resources above reflect both the traditional and more progressive approach to safety education. While it is easy to be enthusiastic about multi-media resources, it is also necessary to bear in mind that good teaching ideas can also enthuse teachers who may not have easy access to the necessary technology in the classroom.

3.5 The Curriculum for Excellence

3.5.1 The Scottish curriculum is currently going through a national review, the Curriculum for Excellence (CfE) ¹⁷, with the aim of developing a streamlined curriculum for 3-18 year-olds and implementing new approaches to assessment. The purpose is to enable all young people to become successful learners, confident individuals, effective contributors and responsible citizens. The new CfE guidance will eventually replace the 5-14 national guidelines.

3.5.2 At secondary level it is intended that there should be greater scope for different approaches to curriculum design, with greater clarity about the purposes of learning. There is also a focus on raising expectations for attainment, especially in literacy and numeracy and in areas such as health and wellbeing, citizenship, enterprise and creativity.

3.5.3 It also proposes that expectations for learning within the curriculum areas should be gathered under these headings:

• Expressive Arts
• Health and Wellbeing
• Languages
• Mathematics
• Religious and Moral Education
• Sciences
• Social Studies
• Technologies

3.5.4 Within the Health and Wellbeing curriculum area there are a range of contexts. Although road safety is not specifically listed, it falls within the personal safety context and also links to other contexts, such as:

• Health - mental, social, emotional and physical
• Physical education and physical activity including sport
• Eating for health, and safe, hygienic practices
• Drugs, alcohol and tobacco
• Relationships, sexual health and parenthood
• Planning choices for school and beyond

3.5.5 To support the health and wellbeing aspect of the curriculum it is clear that CfE demands more from pupils and teachers than the completion of worksheets:

"Approaches to learning and teaching need to emphasise participation in experiences as well as achievement of outcomes. Activities should be appropriate to the needs and stage of development of each child and young person. Personalisation, critical thinking, active learning and the development of practical and performance skills and practical abilities should be features of the learning and teaching in health and wellbeing programmes." ¹⁸

3.5.6 This more active approach to learning and teaching has been supported by findings of research into drug education:

"In particular, drug education using highly interactive methods and social influences approaches, specifically including resistance skills and normative education elements, is consistently shown to be more effective." ¹⁹

3.5.7 The research also indicated how materials need "…to take into account the different experiences of the young people and the communities in which they live. Consequently the guidance also needs to be flexible and responsive to different circumstances".

3.6 Key issues to take forward

3.6.1 Future road safety education resource development will need to take the above approaches on board if the resources are to be acceptable to both teachers and pupils, and to support curriculum delivery. In summary, future resources will need to be:

• Relevant to the target group
• Age and ability appropriate
• Current and accurate
• Practicable and relevant to teachers
• Supportive of the curriculum in schools
• Encourage interactive rather than passive education

3.6.2 The above considerations formed the basis of the development of the topic guide for the teacher interviews and the S1/S2 focus groups, which explored three key areas: views of the existing S1/S2 resource; the road safety context relevant to this age group and the learning and teaching approaches that should be adopted to support both pupil development and future curriculum demands.

3.7 Review of road accident casualties

3.7.1 The purpose of the review was to provide an analysis of road accident casualty data involving children aged 5 to 15 years and in particular over the period when they move from primary to secondary school. It was considered important that education resources for this age group are justified by and aligned with observed involvement of this age group in road accidents. A full analysis is provided in Annex 2 to this report. The key findings are:

• The number of casualties increases as children move from primary to secondary school: 30% more children are killed or injured in the S1/S2 years than in the P6/P7 years.
• The number of child casualties occurring on journeys to/from school is very highly peaked around the age of 12, increasing almost threefold from the age of 10 to the age of 12. This peak is not observed for non-school journeys.
• The increase in the number of pedestrian casualties accounts for 82% of the rise in all casualties and 92% of the rise in killed and seriously injured ( KSI) casualties.
• In S1/S2 boys are more likely than girls to be injured as pedestrians and cyclists.
• In S1/S2 the number of pedestrian casualties is higher in the winter months than at other times of the year.
• In police road accident reports, the pedestrian 'failing to look properly when hit' and being 'careless, reckless or in a hurry' were key factors contributing to road accidents involving pedestrians of S1/S2 age.
• Car passenger casualties rise as boys approach the age of 16. By the age of 15 more than half of these casualties occur in cars driven by drivers aged 17-20.

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