This is an overview of road safety education in the junior years of primary school.
Children at this age begin to understand safe behaviours around road and rail environments but they are:
Parents, whānau, caregivers and teachers will:
The primary learning process involves children:
Case study
Year 1-8 tamariki in several kura worked with their kaiako and publishing professionals to create picture books about safe travel in their community.
Students contributed to the text, took photos, created artwork and developed storyboards and mock-ups. The final outcomes are picture books owned and published by each kura.
At Wilford School, Rongo is the class teddy for bilingual Year 1-2 students. Tamariki chose to feature him in their book with a message to whānau about finding a safe parking spot.
Kaiako Cherie Toatoa says the book project was a catalyst for students to investigate safety in local streets.
“We already had an authentic problem so I invited in the community police officer and she had a kōrero to my kids about road safety. We took them for a walk around the block and looked at some of the dangers.”
Pukapuka pikitia (the picture books)
Case study
Makaraka School, Gisborne, gained its bike track and bike fleet in 2017 thanks to Bikes in Schools. The 130-odd students ride bikes during PE and other times.
Principal Hayden Swann says the bike track provides a long-lasting resource for the school’s curriculum, which emphasises learning through adventure and risk analysis.
For example, the Year 4-5 class led by teacher Mihi Hannah used bike track experiences as the basis for science investigations. Group projects covered safety aspects of the track, from comparing braking distances to testing mirrors for a better view at a track junction.
“The most important thing for students is to learn through their experiences, through a context, and bike riding was right in front of our eyes,” she says.
“Bikes feature all these accessible elements of science like forces and motion in a way that kids can relate to in their investigations. They were able to really take the time and analyse what they had — and that’s part of being a scientist.”