Schools across the region can now take advantage of special coach hire rates to visit SafeWise centres in Bournemouth and Weymouth thanks to a new partnership between the charity and Damory.
Damory recently transported St Mary’s Primary School from Wareham to SafeWise Bournemouth to test out its new Junior Citizen programme, which is set to be rolled out to thousands of pupils from September.
SafeWise Chief Executive Rob Hattersley thanked Damory for their support:
“I’m delighted that Damory is on board with our Junior Citizen primary schools programme and we really appreciate their support.
“I would urge businesses to join with Damory and get in touch to find out how partnering with SafeWise can benefit their business,” he added.
Damory General Manager Adam Keen said: “Damory is extremely pleased to continue providing competitive travel to the Safewise centres in Bournemouth and Weymouth for local school children.
“The work that the staff deliver at these centres is invaluable and the road safety aspect is particularly pertinent to us, given that we are a significant user of Dorset’s roads.”
St Mary’s is the last of five Dorset schools to trial and feedback on the new tours, which focus on equipping children aged five to 11 with skills for life, at SafeWise centres in Bournemouth and Weymouth.
Year two pupils spent four hours at SafeWise Bournemouth’s indoor safety village testing out a range of interactive scenarios based around fire, road and water safety plus healthy choices, online safety, journey planning, first aid and more.
Class Teacher Mr Leyman-Hobbs said: “The children have enjoyed a superb day at SafeWise.
“The new tour represents a really good step forward, such as the clever voting system, real car which the children can get into as well as other situations where they recognise danger and deal with it.
“It’s a nice, secure environment for the children to learn in and all the helpers are really down to earth, so the pupils feel confident asking questions and are not afraid to have a go and try different things around the centre.”
SafeWise Bournemouth Manager Elise St.Hill is pleased with how the centre’s tours are shaping up: “I’d like to thank all the schools which have visited to test out our new Junior Citizen programme, they have provided invaluable feedback which we will use to fine tune the tours,” she said.
“The Junior Citizen schools programme aims to provide realistic and immersive learning experiences to equip children with the skills, knowledge and confidence to live active, fulfilling and safer lives in the real world.
“It is essential that we deliver engaging, value for money tours which meet the needs of schools, so the visit of St Mary’s and the other schools is critically important,” she added.
For more information about SafeWise opportunities for business go to www.safewise.org/partner or school tours go to www.safewise.org/discover
Background information
The Junior Citizen tours for Key Stage one and Key Stage two pupils are the first of a series of programmes set to be introduced to equip visitors with a wide range of essential skills for life.
SafeWise celebrates its 20th anniversary this autumn after starting as StreetWise. SafeWise charity now runs centres in Bournemouth and Weymouth with a third set to open in Swindon in 2020.
SafeWise is supported by police, fire and health services and local councils as well as corporate sponsors.