Charity launches new innovative safety programme to tackle childhood injury

The Children's Safety Education Foundation (CSEF) has launched a new online safety education programme to help reduce the number of child victims by reaching more children across the UK with vital safety advice..
By: Anne Geddes
 
Sept. 28, 2010 - PRLog -- National charity, the Children’s Safety Education Foundation (CSEF) has launched a new safety tool in the battle against childhood injury.

CSEF Online is a suite of interactive digital safety education programmes that covers a full range of topics from fire, home and internet safety to bullying, knife crime and anti-social behaviour. It combines the full content of a safety event or workbook with the flexibility, convenience and value of digital media.

Accidental injury remains one of the biggest single causes of death in the UK for children, with more dying each year as a result of this than from illnesses such as leukaemia or meningitis. On top of this, around two million children and young people visit accident and emergency departments with an unintentional injury, costing the NHS an estimated £146 million1.

By using the latest in digital technology, CSEF wants to make its safety education and training programmes available to every child in the UK, removing any geographic barriers that previously existed when delivering events and initiatives like this to schools.  

CSEF Online also addresses the widening inequalities faced by areas of deprivation. Figures recently released by research group, Road Safety Analysis, reveals how children in poor areas in the UK are more likely to be road accidents victims than those living in rich neighbourhoods2.

In addition, children of parents who have never worked or are long-term unemployed are 13 times more likely to die from accidental injury and 37 times more likely to die as a result of exposure to smoke, fire or flames than children of parents in professional occupations3.

CSEF Online allows young people to encounter real-life scenarios at the push of a button on a platform that they interact with on a daily basis. It is easily accessible, engaging and helps promote effective learning within the classroom. The product also helps the charity and schools to take direct action against their carbon footprint by reducing the amount of paper they use.

John McNamee, Chief Executive, CSEF comments: “As one of the UK’s leading children’s safety charities, we understand that it is not always possible to reach every young person with important safety advice, particularly in more remote areas and in areas of deprivation. To address this, we developed CSEF Online to allow us to reach every child in the UK with crucial safety advice.”

“The educational landscape is changing rapidly and we all need to consider innovative and impactful methods for teaching that offers better inclusion and easier dissemination of information. By offering online versions of events such as Junior Citizen, which are organised in partnership with the Metropolitan Police Service and attended by over 50,000 children across London each year, lots more schools and young people can have access to advice and expertise which was once unattainable. We are delighted to be using digital technology to deliver child safety education in the UK.”    

CSEF Online uses a recognised educational format that can be easily used by teachers in the delivery of their Personal, Social, Health and Economic Education (PSHEE) lesson. Information can be accessed via the internet or downloaded onto a desktop. Using digital images, sound, video, text and hyperlinks, students will be able to explore the key messages through the use of discussion-based exercises, simulation and improvisation.  

A trial of the CSEF Online safety programmes, Junior Citizen Online and Respect Online can be accessed at www.csef.net.
   
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1 & 2. The Audit Commission and Healthcare Commission, 2007, Better safe than sorry; preventing unintentional injury to children 3. Road Safety Analysis, Child Casualties 2010; A study into resident risk of children on roads in Great Britain 2004-08

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CSEF is a charity committed to reducing the number of child victims through the provision of interactive safety education. It strives to ensure that every child has access to safety education so that they can make informed choices when faced with danger.
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