By Martin Walker
Everyone was a winner at the County Durham and Darlington Fire and Rescue Service safety carousel in Newton Aycliffe early this week.
All year 6 pupils from schools across Durham and Darlington, approximately 8,000 children, attend the safety carousel where they learn about First Aid, internet safety, electrical safety, road safety, fire safety in the home and the dangers of arson.
This year they will also benefit from watching videos warning of the dangers of arson produced by media students from New College Durham.
The students were taking part in a competition organised by the Fire and Rescue Service and were required to make a short film that would engage 10 to 14 year olds whilst passing on vital safety messages.
Director of Community Protection Stuart Errington is pictured above with DVD competition winner Craig Loughlin.
Go to our Video Vault to see a video feature of the Safety Carousel from earlier in the week
The Service’s Senior Community Safety Officer Andrew Allison said: “Everyone involved in this scheme is a winner.
“The Fire and Rescue Service and the public wins because this multi-agency event will help make our communities safer; the children win as they are now less likely to become a crime statistic or an accident casualty; the media students win as they can add to their CV the valuable experience of working with a large organisation to provide a finished product within strict timescales and using limited resources.”
All of the media students were awarded certificates of achievement by the Service’s Director of Community Protection Stuart Errington and the producers of the winning film also received an engraved trophy.
Andrew added: “We are continually striving to improve the learning experience for the children so that they carry these safety messages with them into adulthood.
“Using media students to produce the films gives a fresh perspective and will hopefully appeal to the children.
“The films feature realistic scenarios and highlight issues such as bullying and peer pressure as potential contributors to children putting themselves and others at risk.
“This initiative has been a great success and we intend to build on that success in the future with similar projects.
“We must give a big thank you to New College Durham and the other agencies who deliver during the safety carousels.”
Click here to see our original story about the Safety Carousel from earlier in the week (Tuesday).