Year 5 pupils joined St Helens Council’s Road Safetymand Rangers Teams together with Merseyside Police, British Transport Police, ESafety and St Johns Ambulance at the Crucial Crew event at the Totally Wicked Stadium.
The pupils, aged 9 to 10, acted out a series of safety scenarios and emergency situations. Crucial Crew has seen over 2300 children and school staff attend over the two week period.
The scheme’s aim is to help the children become more aware of their personal safety, make a contribution to crime prevention, avoid being a victim of crime, know what to do in an emergency, foster good citizenship and actively contribute to their own health and that of others.
The Council’s Road Safety Team, who organised the event, delivered information about being safe near and on roads.
Meanwhile, E-Safety covered the importance of being safe online and the tips you can use to help make being online an enjoyable experience and the Rangers discussed safety and awareness in open spaces, in particular water safety when out and about.
Merseyside Police explained to the pupils how to make a 999 call and introduced them to the 101 number as a way of reporting crimes and other concerns that don’t require an emergency response.
The British Transport Police Discussed the importance of staying safe whilst using railways. They also passed on knowledge about the electrification of railway lines within St. Helens and how to remain safe when near them.
St Johns Ambulance covered the importance of first aid and gave the children a crash course in how to put someone into the recovery position when required to do so.
Melanie Burrows, Road Safety Team Leader for St Helens Council, said: “We really look forward to Crucial Crew every year, when we reach thousands of children with a wealth of information to keep them safe in the community and foster good citizenship.
“This couldn’t be achieved without the dedication of all our services, schools and partner organisations, and of course the children themselves who are always attentive and eager to get involved in the range of safety sessions available.”
Steve Leonard, Saints Community Development Foundations Director mentioned:
“”It is fantastic to see so many children come through the doors of the Totally Wicked stadium to take part in such a vital piece of safety awareness.
This town is so lucky to have partnerships as strong as the one between the Saints Foundation and St Helens Council. Working so hard together we can make programmes as vital as Crucial Crew openly available to all our schools so each child can participate in such a hands-on way towards the safety of themselves and of those around them.
Crucial Crew forms part of the annual commitment both the Council and the Foundation have to promote health and safety in a number of different guises to the children of our community.
I hope very much that this programme and the others we jointly deliver can form part of the St Helens skyline and are with us for generations to come. Thanks must go to the Council staff who come along to deliver and support the programme alongside the guys in the Foundation.
Our thanks must also go to the Police, Fire and Ambulance services and many others who give up their time to make Crucial Crew what it is. I would also like to say a massive thanks once again for all the support from the club itself, the Directors and CEO Mike Rush for again having the vision to support the foundation and the council in what we are striving to achieve together.”
