Welcome to Road Safety Wales
21/5/10 
Schoolchildren in Rhondda Cynon Taf have received expert advice in a fun and informative way to warn them of the dangers of not taking care while crossing the road. Pupils from Blaengwawr Primary have worked for 10 weeks on the Kerbcraft scheme, which was delivered in their school by Rhondda Cynon Taf Council’s Road Safety Unit.
During the initiative the five to seven-year-olds have been learning about being safe pedestrians, such as crossing the road, being safe – being seen and more.
Kerbcraft is a successful scheme developed by the University of Strathclyde that aims to teach children about safe use of the roads in a practical environment, rather than a classroom.
As such, all of the work completed by the children has been outside, where they have looked at safe places to cross, crossing safely near parked cars or junctions.
As well as expert support from the Road Safety Unit and their teachers, the children at Blaengwawr also benefited from the input of their parents, who volunteered their time to help deliver the course.
Cllr Andrew Morgan, Cabinet Member for Transport and Customer Care at Rhondda Cynon Taf Council said: ““We are all aware of the possible dangers associated with traffic on the road and the sooner we educate children on these hazards, the safer they become.
“Once again, these initiatives manage to inform and educate young children in an entertaining manner which helps them to remember the basic rules of road safety.”
11/1/10
A group of schoolchildren has hit the ice at Swansea's Waterfront Winterland in the name of road safety. The year one schoolchildren from Llangyfelach Primary School were the lucky winners of a road safety colouring competition organised by Swansea Council's Road Safety Team.
The competition was organised as part of the Assembly-funded Kerbcraft initiative which provides practical road safety education to children between five and seven years old.
The prize for the competition winners was VIP treatment at Rocky's Ice Rink alongside Rocky the Road Safety Rooster.
Mike Flynn, Head Teacher at Llangyfelach Primary School, said: "The children had a wonderful day and really enjoyed themselves with Rocky.
"We've had a Kerbcraft coordinator at our school for five years who has helped to pass on vital road safety messages to the children.
"It's a very valuable scheme which will help provide the children with all the skills they need to enable them to keep safe on roads."
The Council is hoping more people will volunteer their services to help deliver Kerbcraft in schools throughout Swansea.
Carys Price, Swansea Council's Child Pedestrian Training Coordinator, said: "Kerbcraft is a really important initiative and we would like to offer it to every school in the city.
"The scheme depends on the help of volunteers and, without their assistance, we would not be able to deliver Kerbcraft training to all our young children."
If you think you can help contact Carys Price or Lindsey Hill on (01792) 636142.
11/1/10
Swansea's new Kerbcraft Training Assistant, Lindsey Hill, started her employment in December. Following her degree in Geography, Lindsey educated children on environmental issues at Penwortham Environment/Education centre and on moving to Wales she continued her educational career at the Environment Centre in Swansea. She is keen to help develop Kerbcraft in Swansea and has already proven to be an asset to the team!
18/12/09
Road safety champions in Swansea have been given a special Christmas thank you by Swansea Council.
The volunteers on the Assembly-funded Kerbcraft road safety initiative are being treated to Christmas lunch as a reward for their hard work and dedication during the year.
The Council's Road Safety Team coordinates the scheme and relies on volunteers to go into primary schools and help children between the ages of five and seven learn all about road safety.
Kingsley McCarthy from Manselton has been helping out by teaching road safety in three primary schools for the last six years.
Kingsley, 73, said: "Kerbcraft is such a vital and worthwhile scheme. This is one of the ways in which we can help reduce the number of accidents on our roads involving children.
"My grandson James volunteered my services a few years ago and I've never looked back.
"We have a really fun time with the children and they all seem to enjoy themselves. We even have a special road safety song which we get the children to sing at the end of the lesson.
"I really hope more people will put themselves forward as volunteers because we need to keep the scheme running."
John Hague, Cabinet Member for the Environment in Swansea Council, said: "I personally want to thank the volunteers for their assistance because it's helped us to deliver road safety education to children throughout Swansea. Without their efforts, we would not be able to run the scheme.
"We're committed to creating safe environments in communities and especially near schools. Kerbcraft training complements these physical measures and ensures our children are safe on the roads."
To volunteer for Kerbcraft and help children be safe on our roads contact Carys Price or Lindsey Hill on 01792 636142.
24/11/09
Sioned Richards has recently been appointed as the Child Pedestrian Training Assistant in Cardiff. She will be working in eleven new primary schools, expanding the successful Kerbcraft training programme to children in year two.
She has been working with children since she was 16 years of age and completed her degree in Early Year’s Development and Education at the University of Glamorgan in 2007.
Having passed her degree, Sioned worked as a teaching assistant in many different schools in South Wales, a job she thoroughly enjoyed. She also has experience in working in play schemes and with children with special needs.
Sioned is delighted to have been offered the post of Child Pedestrian Training Assistant and cannot wait to start! This is a career that she has always wanted to pursue.
Sioned can be contacted at the Road Safety Centre
23/11/09
Pauline Thomas has worked as volunteer in the Monmouthshire Kerbcraft scheme, and latterly, as a fully fledged member of the Road Safety Team in her role as Pedestrian Training Assistant.
Pauline has been no fair weather friend either. As anybody in Road Safety knows, getting wet and getting cold is all in the job description. Her grasp of local knowledge and her work with teaching children road skills, have been a great asset to the team.
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Pauline Thomas - back row, third from left |
Pauline is also involved in the School Travel Planning at Chepstow Comprehensive where she is a governor.
...and also a Cycling Instructor training children at both Chepstow St Mary’s and Thornwell Schools.
She will be hugely missed but hopefully, she will not slip off the road safety radar altogether.
We all wish Pauline well as she dedicates more time to her nursing career.
6/1//09
These are some of the children and volunteers from Archbishop Rowan Williams School in Portskewett, Monmouthshire who received their Kerbcraft certificates for taking part in the Kerbcraft Road Safety Scheme.
The children have been out and about in their local area with trained parent volunteers, making decisions on where to cross the road safely and coping with parked cars and junctions.
The Kerbcraft scheme is a national scheme funded by the Welsh Assembly Government and managed by Capita Symonds for Monmouthshire County Council.
9/10/09
Pupils at a primary school in Llanbradach have been rewarded for taking part in a successful road safety scheme that gives children lifesaving lessons at the kerbside.
Primary and infant schools across the Caerphilly county borough are taking part in the 'Kerbcraft' initiative which involves specially trained staff taking pupils onto the streets for practical road safety lessons.
Coed y Brain Primary School in Llanbradach recently completed the scheme and all the children and volunteers attended a special event this week to receive their certificates and gifts.
Cllr Rob Gough, CCBC cabinet member for transportation and planning, said, "Kerbcraft is proving to be a great success and we would like to thank everyone involved, especially the volunteers and schools. The scheme teaches children how to be safe pedestrians by providing them with practical roadside training and to develop good behaviour patterns that will hopefully keep them safe."
The scheme is currently funded by the Welsh Assembly Government who realised the importance of the scheme and have set a target of reducing child pedestrian casualties by 50% by the year 2010.
Tracy Plant and Jessica Dix are the council's Child Pedestrian Training Co-ordinators for CCBC who manage the Kerbcraft project. They have five assistants, Adele Phelps, Andrea Williams, Jeanette Aldridge, Vicky Knight and Judith Gould.
To help the project continue in each school the council needs to recruit volunteers (eg parents and grandparents). If you feel that you would like to help save children's lives then please do not hesitate to contact Jessica or Tracy on 01495 235078/235427 for more information.
16/12/08
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| Malpas Court Primary School |
Kerbcraft, the pedestrian training scheme aimed at Key Stage 1 pupils, is progressing extremely well in Newport.
Currently eight schools are involved in the scheme, however, this number will soon increase as a new Assistant, Tracey Bushell, joins the team to support Cath Levy, the scheme's co-ordinator in Newport.
At a recent training session at Malpas Court Primary School the children were joined by Pudsey Bear, who was very impressed with the road safety knowledge of the children who have been involved in the Kerbcraft Scheme.
12/12/08
Currently 23 schools in Gwynedd participate in Kerbcraft, with over 400 children taking part in the scheme.
Congratulations are extended to Aberdyfi and Beuno Sant, Bala who will be joining the scheme in the new year, thanks to assistance from PCSOs Mark Hughes and Natasha Jones.
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A pupil from Ysgol Dolbadarn receiving her certificate from Gwynedd Council’s Road Safety Mascot Careful Carys.
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| Children from Ysgol Gwaun Gyfni receiving their Kerbcraft certificates at the end of the scheme from Gwynedd Council’s Road Safety Mascot Careful Carys. |
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Auntie Brenda a long established volunteer in Ysgol Dolbadarn.
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11/12/08
At the end of the Kerbcraft training programme in each school in Cardiff, every participating pupil is rewarded with a special Kerbcraft goody bag containing a selection of activity books, road safety stickers and a Kerbcraft pencil case. Last year, over 430 pupils in 13 schools across the city received a goody bag from Cardiff's Kerbcraft co-ordinator.
This year, new special individual awards were introduced to recognise outstanding performance by the children during the Kerbcraft programme.
The awards for 'Most improved boy and girl' and 'Best behaved pupil/s are voted for by the valued volunteers who help to deliver the training to the children in each school.
Pupils are presented with a certificate and a 'Stop, Look, Listen' clock featuring Cardiff's own road safety character, Roadie, at a presentation ceremony in school.
The awards have gone down extremely well at each school.
Congratulations to the following pupils who are the first recipients of the new awards.
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| Coryton Primary pupils (L to R) Ben, Jordan, Bethan and Eleri |
Coryton Primary Most improved boy Jordan Jones; Most improved girl Eleri Holmes; Best behaved pupils Ben Yarwood and Bethan Evans
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| St Mary The Virgin Year 2 |
St Mary the Virgin Primary Most improved boy Donte Day; Most improved girl Charly Murray; Best behaved pupil Sharif Hamood
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| Tongwynlais Primary (L to R) Tomas, Mrs Davies - Headteacher, Olivia and Lewis |
Tongwynlais Primary Most improved boy Lewis Mist; Most improved girl Olivia Smith; Best behaved pupil Tomas Fish
5/11/08
Kerbcraft is a road safety education programme, funded by the Welsh Assembly Government, designed to teach children (aged 5-7) by means of practical roadside training.
Kerbcraft teaches three core skills to children over a 12-18 month period, with between four and six training sessions being given in each skill. Training is progressive, with each skill building on the foundations laid by earlier skills. The three core skills taught are:
- recognising safe versus dangerous roadside locations
- crossing safely at parked cars
- crossing safely near junctions
In line with the UK-wide target, the Welsh Assembly Government is committed to reducing child Killed and Seriously Injured (KSI) accident rates in Wales by 50% by 2010 (against the average of 1994 to 1998 rates). This represents a drop in child KSI numbers from 289 to 145.
By 2006, the child pedestrian fatalities had reduced to 0.6 child pedestrian fatalities per 100,000 for 0-14 year olds for Great Britain, and to 0.4 for Wales, lower than any other country in the UK, which is a reduction of 68%.
Almost 10,000 children were trained in the last school year and this magnificent achievement is thanks to the scheme co-ordinators, their assistants and the many dedicated Kerbcraft volunteers.
Download the latest Kerbcraft In Wales Progress Report
13/10/08
The 2,000th child is about to learn the importance of road safety through a scheme run by Torfaen County Borough Council. This term will see the landmark total in the Kerbcraft scheme. And thanks to extra funding and an additional officer dedicated to the cause, the initiative is set to rollout to more primary schools in the County Borough.
Road safety mascot, Iolo the Zebra, helped pupils from Penygarn Primary School celebrate the success of the scheme.
Lesley Rosser, the Council's Pedestrian Training Co-ordinator, said: "We are delighted with the success of the scheme and that it is continuing to grow. Since 2002, 1,741 children have passed through the scheme and this term the 2,000th child is due to learn about road safety. We are also hoping to increase the number of primary schools involved from 15 to 20.
"It is clear that the roads are becoming busier so it is especially important to teach our young children good road sense."
Kerbcraft is a national training project funded by the Welsh Assembly Government. Money funds the employment of a co-ordinator who finds and trains volunteers who, the Council says, are crucial to the success of the initiative. They then teach five to seven year olds at the roadside.
Key skills taught include recognising safe versus dangerous roadside locations, crossing safely at parked cars and crossing safely near junctions. Bags, colourful literature and stickers are given to children to reward them for their efforts.
Martin Jones, deputy headteacher at Penygarn, said: "It's an excellent scheme because learning about road safety helps save lives. We notice a marked improvement in the children's knowledge and understanding when they come back into class after finishing a Kerbcraft session."
Councillor John Cunningham, Executive Member for Operational Services, said: "We are fully committed to this scheme as it is a fun way of getting a serious message across."
According to figures released by the Welsh Assembly earlier this year, Torfaen recorded the second highest drop in Wales in the number of road casualties since 1994-98.
If you have a morning a week to spare during term time, and are interested in becoming a volunteer for Kerbcraft phone 01633 648435.
2/7/08
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Actress Manon Ellis with the pupils of Ysgol Glan Cegin, Bangor as they learn about road safety.
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Keeping to simple but important rules - that was the message recently shared with the pupils of Ysgol Glan Cegin, Bangor as they received road safety certificates as part of the Kerbcraft scheme.
As they completed part of the Kerbcraft road safety course with the support of Gwynedd Council's Road Safety Unit, Ysgol Glan Cegin pupils were paid a visit by actress Manon Ellis who plays Michelle in the popular Welsh TV show, "Rownd a Rownd".
After going out and about with the pupils, Manon Ellis presented the children with their well deserved certificates. As part of the Kerbcraft scheme, the children have gained understanding and knowledge by going out in the local area to learn how to stay safe on the side of the road, and the certificates acknowledge their hard work.
23/5/08
On Wednesday 21st May 2008, a Kerbcraft event took place in the Lord Mayors Reception Room, the Guildhall Swansea.
The presentation was arranged in recognition of the childrens’ efforts in a colouring competition and also an opportunity to share the good news of Kerbcraft in Swansea. An array of people attended, including Councillors, Head Teachers, Teachers, Mums, Dads and Volunteer Trainers.
The Child Pedestrian Co-ordinator, Anna Matthews welcomed everyone to the presentation.
Anna spoke about the success of Kerbcraft in Swansea. The scheme is currently taking place in 9 schools, with a total of 347 children receiving training.
Anna talked about the 3 main reasons, why she thinks Kerbcraft is such a success.
Firstly, due to the fact that each of the nine schools have embraced the scheme, by welcoming Anna and the Volunteers into the school each week. Kerbcraft has become embedded in the ethos and fabric of the school.
Secondly, the children are so enthusiastic and eager about going out on their Kerbcraft session each week.
Thirdly, The Volunteers, Anna gave recognition to the dedication and commitment of all the volunteers, explaining that Kerbcraft would not succeed without their support.
A brief video was shown which mirrored a day in the life of Kerbcraft in Swansea.
The 33 children who were invited along to the event as finalists, waited in anticipation to see who would scope the 1st Prize. Laura Hughes-Dowdle a pupil from Crwys Primary School had plenty to smile about when she was called up to receive a prize as the overall winner of all 9 schools.
The event was a great success; the children were delighted with their prizes and thoroughly enjoyed the magic show at the end of the morning.
19/5/08
Kerbcraft learners at the presentation ceremony. Also pictured are Karl Napieralla, Director of Education (left) Councillor Arwyn Woolcock (right) and Road Safety Manager Joy Smith (right)
Dedicated Neath Port Talbot volunteers who help youngsters learn the dangers of the roads, have been learning themselves. And now they have been presented with certificates after successfully completing a unique training scheme developed in the county borough.
The 15 volunteers have been studying the equivalent of an NVQ in Child Pedestrian Skills.
The qualification was developed by the Kerbcraft Co-ordinator in conjunction with the Open College Network and Neath Port Talbot Lifelong Learning Service and is unique in Wales.
The Kerbcraft scheme, which has been operating in Neath Port Talbot for the past six years, currently involves 29 schools and is aimed at providing on-road training for children aged between 5 and 7.
Because of their success with the children the volunteers were offered the chance to gain the qualification and now they have received their certificates.
Road Safety Manager Joy Smith said: "We are delighted with the achievement of our volunteers.
"They selflessly give up their free time to train our vulnerable young people and remain cheerful and upbeat whatever the weather. The nationally recognised qualifications they have achieved further enhances our Kerbcraft scheme and goes a small way to repay them for their dedication and hard work."
19/5/08
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| Year 1 Pupils from Ysgol Llanelltyd learn about road safety |
Primary school children from some of the Meirionnydd area schools in Gwynedd have been learning about road safety as part of the Gwynedd Council administrated Kerbcraft scheme.
As part of the scheme locally, Gwynedd Council's Road Safety Officers have been working with colleagues from North Wales Police to extend the scheme to more local schools.
Under the supervision of Cheryl Morgan, Gwynedd Council's Young Walkers Training Co-ordinator, Mark Hughes and Lona Davenport, Police Community Support Officers, promote Kerbcraft in three Meirionnydd schools - Ysgol Llanelltyd, Ysgol Edmwnd Prys in Gellilydan and Ysgol Bro Cynfal, Llan Ffestiniog.
Cheryl Morgan, Gwynedd Council's Young Walkers Training Co-ordinator said:
"Gwynedd Council is very happy to work in partnership with the Police to promote the Kerbcraft scheme - a scheme which plays a key part in educating primary school children about road safety.
"We hope that more Community Support Officers from show an interest in the scheme and work with us in partnership to develop similar schemes in other areas across Gwynedd."
Year 1 pupils from Ysgol Llanelltyd have recently started the Kerbcraft scheme under the supervision of Mark Hughes from North Wales Police. The pupils have already gained from the experience as they have been out and about in the community learning how to keep safe at the side of the road.
Mark Hughes from North Wales Police added:
"I was very happy to have the chance to come out to the community with the young children to teach them how to keep safe at the side of the road. It is a very positive and valuable experience for myself and the children. My hope is to extend the scheme to other interested schools in the area."
Kerbcraft is a National Strategy to Promote Safety for Children as they Walk. The scheme is funded by the Welsh Assembly Government.
14/6/07
Year 5 pupils at Raglan VC Primary School, were asked recently to recall principles they learnt nearly five years ago.
When the Kerbcraft Scheme was set up in Monmouthshire, these were some of the first children to be trained. At 5 and 6 years of age, the children were shown where to find safer places to cross the road. In the absence of these safer places, they were shown the correct way to cross more safely near parked cars and junctions.
The question was - would they still remember all this five years later? Members of the Road Safety Team, Kerbcraft Volunteers, and of course, the veteran group of Kerbcrafters were put to the test.
The children’s task was to get the grown-ups safely back to base by negotiating a safe route through the village and back to school. Along the route, as well as having to negotiate parked cars and traffic, they also rescued a puppy that rushed out from a garden and was about to run onto the road. Digging deep into the recesses of their mind, they recalled all the principles they had learnt half a lifetime ago; they problem solved, risk assessed and planned their route, arriving safely back at base with the adults in their charge.
Mission accomplished!
