Member Article

Local experts back child safety campaign

Sunderland-based IT, fire, health and safety experts are putting their support behind National Child Safety Week this week. PCI Services are sponsoring safety CD-ROMs to be sent to hundreds of youngsters aged between 5 and 11 across three of the region’s schools, as part of the Government-backed Safety Watch scheme.

The Safety Fun CD-ROMs contain sections for parents, teachers and pupils and cover a wide range of safety issues facing today’s children, from online safety, stranger danger and bullying to racism, drugs and road safety. The children’s section is made up of games and activities that tackle a range of everyday dangers that children could encounter, and how they can deal with them.

Eddie Cairns, director of PCI Services, said: “Child safety figures are horrendous - in 2006 around 250 children and young people were killed in accidents, and every day around 300 are admitted to hospital with injuries. We all have a responsibility to do something to reduce those figures and the games, activities and questions on the Safety Watch CD-ROMs help children to remember important safety messages and recognise dangerous situations.

“We are delighted to be involved in the Safety Watch scheme, which is an ideal way to get serious messages across to young children without scaring them and in a way that they can easily understand. “It’s important to take fire, health and safety awareness into the community as well as into businesses, and it’s never too early to start educating youngsters about potential dangers. If this campaign helps just one child to avoid a hazardous situation or potential injury then it will have been worthwhile.”

This was posted in Bdaily's Members' News section by Ruth Mitchell .