Safety Awareness event hailed a success

12 December 2014

1,400 pupils from the local area heard about the potential dangers of alcohol, knives, railway crossings, traffic, the sea and a range of other issues; as well as how to prepare and deal with situations in the future.

There was guidance from Tendring District Council’s (TDC) Emergency Planning Team along with a series of role-play exercises. Alcohelp aired a five minute film showing pupils exactly what alcohol does to the brain, with brain imaging technology being featured.

The aim was to help the 10 and 11 year olds get ready for when the step up to secondary school and how to cope with possible peer pressure.

Lynda McWilliams, TDC’s Cabinet Member for Health and Wellbeing, went along with TDC Chairman Val Guglielmi and High Sheriff of Essex Nicholas Charrington to find out more.

“It was interesting to listen to the youngsters’ views at the start of the sessions and then how they had learnt so much from the experts by the end,” said Cllr McWilliams.

“There was also some fun involved but the main messages were serious ones which will stand the children in good stead as they move up to a new school.

“It can be a difficult time but hopefully this will give them a bit more confidence – as well as the ability to spot potential danger and problems along the way.”

The annual Crucial Crew event ran during November and was organised by TDC’s Community Safety Team with the support of a number of organisations.

In addition to Alcohelp, these included Essex Police, Essex County Fire and Rescue, RNLI, British Red Cross, Only Cowards Carry, British Transport Police, and Essex County Council’s Road Safety team.

Terry Martin, trustee and co-founder of Alcohelp, said:

“We’ve participated in many Crucial Crew events over the years and they never cease to be a fantastic way to reach young people at just the right age. Prevention rather than cure is always much better; for our young people as well as society in general. By providing some invaluable advice on how to stay safe is worth all the effort; it quite literally saves lives.”