Clued Up Kids Teaches Safety Skills

Clued Up Kids teaches safety skills

After a successful pilot last year, a week-long event aiming to create a generation of Clued Up Kids returns this month.

Clued Up Kids is a multi-agency programme teaching primary school-aged children confidence and life skills to help them stay safe in a range of real-life scenarios. The event was run for the first time in the Nelson Tasman region last year, with 460 year 5 and 6 children taking part in a series of practical activities at the Richmond Showgrounds.

Clued Up Kids coordinator Jo Perrett said the event proved successful last year, with pre and post-event surveys showing a big increase in the children’s knowledge of the safe action to take in various situations, and strong support from the agencies, schools and volunteers involved.

“We have more kids involved this year, with 640 children from seven schools. We’re targeting an age group that are entering a time of greater independence and who are increasingly like to encounter situations where they may not be able to rely on an adult being present to tell them what to do. Clued Up Kids aims to give them the tools to keep themselves safe.”

The hands-on activities include a ‘shaky house’ for practising what to do in an earthquake, a smokey fire simulation teaching children how to react during a house fire, as well as demonstrations on water safety, interacting with dogs, road safety and first aid.

The schools taking part this year are St Paul’s, Te Kura Kaupapa Maori o Tuia te Matangi, Stoke, Mapua, Henley, Birchwood and Nayland Primary. The agencies involved include ACC, Police, Fire Emergency NZ, Civil Defence, the Tasman District and Nelson City councils and New Zealand Red Cross. Rotary and the Richmond Lions provide volunteers.

ACC Injury Prevention Consultation Mark Preston-Thomas said the event emulated a highly-successful programme that had been running in Marlborough for more than a decade.

“In the first five years of Marlborough’s programme, we noticed a significant drop in the number of ACC claims for injuries for young people aged 10 to 18. It’s early days for the Richmond event but we would hope to see a reduction over time in injuries here as well.”

Clued Up Kids runs from Monday 30 October – Friday 3 November.

ENDS

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