Good Morning all I have been asked to undertake a brief Health and safety presentation to a Primary school which our Civil Engineering Company are due to pass in the coming weeks. Is anyone aware of any presentations available to show to the children which will be at their level, I would like it to be about Construction/ Civil engineering Safety if possible. I am used to presenting to Construction sites Not Children, so any help would be appreciated.

Ask Norman and lots more http://www.staysafestayaway.co.uk/

Great description, achrn! I've worked with groups of kids fairly often and can identify with all of the above... The only thing I'd add is to keep a single simple theme in your head and use it to bring the group back on focus when inevitably the kids all start asking questions at once. Good luck, blackhut

And to follow it up, why not run a poster competition? Children love doing things like this and it gives the teacher an opportunity to discuss the issues with them a second time

blackhut Having worked with schools for many years I would contend that most primary schools tend to be well organised - an opposite 'picture' to that suggested by achrn at #4. If you haven't already done so, it's worth checking now with the school about aspects such as the following: what topic/s are you expected to talk/present about, for how long, to how many pupils and of what age range? Also, check aspects such as the location of the venue and availability of parking (if you are unfamiliar with its area - some schools, in dense urban areas particularly, have no car parks so employees and visitors have to find somewhere to park nearby), and of course the date and time. A few days beforehand, do phone or e-mail the school to check that you are still expected - and also to confirm that you haven't forgotten either! Irrespective of venue and audience, the above points are worthwhile ones for any visiting presenters to consider. If you've not done presentations to schools before, be honest and mention this to your contact/s at the school. While discussing and agreeing what aspects you'll be covering, they might offer suggestions about what to cover and in what ways. Also, check that there will be at least one or two teachers present to supervise the pupils during the session, especially if some of them are very keen on asking questions. Can any forum users suggest video clips which might be useful for showing to primary school pupils? One way of stimulating discussion might be to ask the pupils if any of them have parents or other relatives who work in construction/civil engineering and on what sorts of projects. Also, if you're enthusiastic about your subject, you might even inspire some pupils regarding possible future careers. This applies to girls as well as boys because construction & civil engineering are no longer the male preserves they were in the past! Gunner1 at #6 makes a good point about using examples of well known projects - there are plenty to choose from. You could mention that one of the lesser known but important facts about the London Olympic construction project was that it was the first one in modern history in which nobody was killed. Some pupils may well remember this fact, especially if you contrast it with the Channel Tunnel project and the numbers killed. Try and make the examples relevant to the pupils by asking how many of them went to the main Olympic venue last summer or have travelled through the Channel Tunnel. Jane Blunt's suggestion at #7 about a poster competition after your visit is also a good one for stimulating the imagination and curiosity of pupils. Most children of primary age apparently enjoy competitions and seeing their work displayed. Also, the teacher/s will be glad of a theme they can pursue with the pupils after your visit. Can any forum users suggest other types of post-visit activities for the school?

I used to use a video called "SPLAAT!" which went down very well with Primary age children & warned of the dangers of playing on construction sites, but I am not sure if it is still available. I also ran a safety poster competition & went back for a school assembly to hand out some medals for the winners. As part of the presentation, I urged the children to shout out "Splaat!" everytime they saw the logo on the screen (went down like a lead balloon with staff, but kids loved it) & when I came back for the assembly I carried one of the posters with Splaat written on & was amazed when as one they all shouted it!! Zyggy

Primary age pupils, especially the older ones, are generally very imaginative and receptive to ideas I'm told, so giving suitably tailored presentations to them with messages about safety is worthwhile. This aspect may well help to explain why (as I've previously mentioned on this forum) many primary schools arrange for local fire officers to visit and give talks to their pupils. A few years ago one primary headteacher told me that she received complaints from some parents after a class had received a talk from an especially inspiring fire officer. The parents were annoyed that their children had come home afterwards and pestered them about deficiencies, e.g. the need to get smoke alarms, be more careful about cigarettes and matches and to agree a home emergency evacuation procedure. It was great to hear of children educating their parents in this way - and furthermore that the headteacher had told the complainers that she had nothing about which to apologise!

Children can be pretty astute. I recall that part of the "Fun Police" TV documentary some time ago included a scenario about the risk of washing sharp knives and/or breakable glass items with other items obscured by detergent suds in sinks. When several children/young teenagers were shown being asked about this, their responses were that sharp and breakable items should be washed separately. Do other forum users recall seeing this response or have I imagined it? However, if the responses were shown as described, it's just possible that the children/teenagers who made them had been briefed about what to say in order to fit the theme of the programme!