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CHAPTER FOUR SCHOOLS' SURVEY FINDINGS
4.1 Postal Survey of schools
4.1.1 As discussed in section 2.3, questionnaires were issued to all high schools and special schools in Scotland that educate pupils of S1/S2 age. A total of 150 responses were received from mainstream secondary schools and 14 from special schools. This included schools from less and more deprived areas, as well as a geographic spread.
4.1.2 The survey returns represent a relatively low sample of schools, therefore while the results provide an indication of use and opinion, it is not possible to generalise the findings with confidence to the wider school population. In particular, there was a low response rate from special schools, and, unless otherwise stated, the following analysis focuses on mainstream schools.
Key subject areas covering Road Safety Education
4.1.3 Schools were asked to indicate the key subject areas that cover road safety education. The responses are summarised in Table 4.1. A total of 183 answers were provided, as respondents were able to indicate more than one key subject area. The vast majority, around two thirds, indicated that road safety formed part of the PSE curriculum. Just over one in five referred to a talk from a Road Safety Officer ( RSO) or the police, and a small number said road safety was covered in the general curriculum or school assemblies. However, there was no information about the context of these sessions. A small number of schools indicated that road safety education was covered in other areas of the curriculum, such as drama or geography, or in the context of initiatives such as Safer Routes to School or Active Schools. A few schools indicated other subject areas, notably drama and geography. Almost one in ten schools surveyed reported that road safety was not included in the S1/S2 curriculum.
Table 4.1: Key subject areas covering Road Safety Education
Key Subject Area | Number of Schools1 |
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PSE (Personal and Social Education) | 99 |
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Road safety talk from Road Safety Officer or Police | 33 |
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Not used | 13 |
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Drama | 7 |
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Safer Routes to School/Active Schools | 7 |
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Other | 5 |
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General curriculum | 4 |
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Geography | 2 |
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School assembly | 2 |
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No response | 11 |
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Total | 183 |
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1 Base = 150 secondary schools
Resources used to teach Road Safety Education
4.1.4 All schools were asked to indicate up to 3 resources that are used for teaching road safety education in S1/S2. Table 4.2 sets out responses by resource used. Schools identified an average of 2 resources, with just over half of those in the survey (53%) reporting use of the Roddy Hogg play and over a third (38%) indicating the use of the S1/S2 PSD Road Safety Education Resource. Around 1 in 5 schools reported having a visit by a Road Safety Officer ( RSO).
Table 4.2: Resources used to teach RSE (all resources reported)
Resource | Number of Schools1 |
|---|
Other road safety educational resource materials | 105 |
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Roddy Hogg Play | 80 |
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S1/S2 PSD Road Safety Education Resource | 57 |
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RSO visit | 29 |
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Not used/no response | 29 |
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1 Base = 150 secondary schools
4.1.5 Seven in 10 schools surveyed identified using other road safety materials. It should be noted in this respect that these other resources may have been used as well as the Roddy Hogg play and/or the S1/S2 PSD Road Safety Education Resource. The other responses include general descriptions, for example an old video or materials developed in-house. A minority of the responses involved specific references to identifiable resources and these are set out in Table 4.3. It can be seen that Crash Magnets is by far the most commonly used other resource in S1/S2 classes.
Table 4.3: Resources used to teach Road Safety Education (other resources reported)
1 Base = 150 secondary schools
Frequency of use of resource materials
4.1.6 Teachers were asked to indicate when various activities in the resource were most recently used individually for S1 and S2 classes. Table 4.4 summarises the responses for both S1 and S2. It should be noted that these responses rely on the memory of the person completing the form, which may affect the reliability of the answers.
Table 4.4: Recent use of resource materials by year of use (percentage of responses 1)
Resource | Academic year
(07/08) | Academic year
(06/07) | Never used | Don't know |
|---|
S1 | S2 | S1 | S2 | S1 & S2 | S1 & S2 |
|---|
Activity 1: Accidents | 16% | 1% | 14% | 2% | 72% | 4% |
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Activity 2: Travel risks | 17% | 3% | 13% | 3% | 71% | 4% |
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Activity 3: Good and bad RS behaviour | 20% | 3% | 16% | 3% | 70% | 4% |
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Activity 4: Child deaths on the road | 15% | 2% | 13% | 3% | 74% | 5% |
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Activity 5: Cycle Helmets | 11% | 4% | 11% | 5% | 71% | 4% |
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Activity 6: Laws | 8% | 5% | 9% | 4% | 77% | 4% |
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Activity 7: Moving from primary to secondary | 14% | 1% | 12% | 1% | 74% | 5% |
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Roddy Hogg road safety play | 33% | 3% | 31% | 3% | 38% | 3% |
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Roddy Hogg support materials | 21% | 2% | 17% | 1% | 59% | 5% |
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Script of Roddy Hogg play | 13% | 2% | 13% | 2% | 67% | 5% |
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Teaching Notes | 16% | 3% | 10% | 2% | 76% | 3% |
|---|
1 Base = 150 secondary schools (rows will add to more than 100% as responses refer to more than one academic year)
4.1.7 The responses indicate that a majority of the schools surveyed do not use any of the activities associated with the S1/S2 PSD Road Safety Education pack. Indeed, with the exception of the Roddy Hogg play and support materials, between 71% and 76% all schools surveyed indicated that individual resources were not used. A smaller figure of 38% of schools indicated that they have never used the Roddy Hogg play. Although the figures in Table 4.4 are different to those in Table 4.2 (due to a different focus and wording of the question), both indicate that the S1/S2 PSD Road Safety Education resource is only used by a minority of schools surveyed, although the Roddy Hogg play is more widely used.
4.1.8 The majority of use is in S1 classes rather than S2. In S1 the most used resource is the Roddy Hogg play, with one third of schools reporting that they had seen the play this academic year. In S1, the least used resource reported was Activity 6 (Laws) with 8% of schools indicating use this academic year. Other resources have been used by between 11% and 21% of schools in S1 classes this academic year.
4.1.9 The reported low level of use of resources in S2 (compared with S1) is a key observation and may reflect the general feeling from teachers, pupils and RSOs that the resource is not sufficiently challenging for older pupils. This interpretation may also be supported by the relatively high use of the Crash Magnets resource reported above within S1 and S2 classes. Crash Magnets was specifically designed for use in S3-S5 secondary school classes, not S1/S2.
4.1.10 The low baseline numbers responding to the survey make it difficult to report on any differences in use between schools in different areas or by entitlement to free school meals.
4.1.11 Teachers responding to the survey were asked to indicate levels of satisfaction with the individual resources of the S1/S2 PSD Road Safety Education pack. As indicated in responses to previous questions, many of the schools reported that they had not used the resources and this was reflected in a high number who were unable to comment or did not answer. Table 4.5 shows the levels of satisfaction for all valid responses. The reported levels of satisfaction are high at no less than 73% for any aspect of the resource. The levels are particularly high at 85% and over for the Teachers Notes and the Roddy Hogg play (and support materials), with very few teachers indicating dissatisfaction with these. Given the relatively small number of valid responses to this question it would be unwise differentiate between the levels reported for Activities 1 - 7.
Table 4.5 Satisfaction with the current resource (excluding unable to comment/no response 1)
Resource | Number of valid responses | Very satisfied/ satisfied | Neither satisfied nor dissatisfied | Dissatisfied/ very dissatisfied |
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Activity 1: Accidents | 38 | 74% | 18% | 8% |
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Activity 2: Travel risks | 37 | 73% | 16% | 11% |
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Activity 3: Good & bad RS behaviour | 39 | 77% | 15% | 8% |
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Activity 4: Child deaths on the road | 37 | 78% | 14% | 8% |
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Activity 5: Cycle Helmets | 37 | 78% | 16% | 6% |
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Activity 6: Laws | 31 | 74% | 13% | 13% |
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Activity 7: Moving from primary to secondary | 34 | 79% | 9% | 12% |
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Roddy Hogg road safety play | 79 | 93% | 5% | 2% |
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Roddy Hogg support materials | 53 | 85% | 9% | 6% |
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Script of Roddy Hogg play | 48 | 86% | 8% | 6% |
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Teaching Notes | 33 | 91% | 6% | 3% |
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1 Base = 150 secondary schools (percentages based on number of valid responses)
Use by special schools
4.1.12 Out of the 14 special schools who responded to the survey, 10 indicated that they did not use the existing resource at all. The general feeling was that it is not appropriate for pupils with special education needs. These responses are essentially different from those of the mainstream high schools, where lack of use was more likely to be associated with a lack of awareness or of relevance (as opposed to appropriateness) to the schools' teaching plans. Three special schools indicated that they use resources produced for nursery and primary school pupils. The 4 special schools that did use the resource indicated that the activities are adapted to suit the individual needs of pupils.
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