Case Studies
Public Safety
Public Safety
At first, the term 'educational safety' may not sound exciting but ScottishPower EnergyNetworks has developed an innovative programme which demonstrate our commitment to public safety and educating children on how their behaviour around electricity can keep them safe. The programme, based around three core initiatives, conveyed vital electrical safety messages to over 117,000 school children in 2007.
Classroom Education Programme
'PowerWise' Classroom Education Programme is our pioneering safety programme aimed at teaching primary school children aged four to eleven years of the potential dangers of electricity in the home and outdoors environment. In 2007 more than 55,000 school children in our operating areas of central and southern Scotland and Merseyside and North Wales received important electrical safety messages through the programme, taking the total to over 180,000 children in the four years we have been running the programme.
Engaging the children are a team of professional teachers, glamorously assisted by Sparky the puppet, a clued-up crow, who together visit primary schools and use a captivating way to explain the dangers of electricity both in and out of the home, including everything from avoiding frayed wires to not playing around substations.
At the end of each session, teachers are presented with a comprehensive PowerWise Resource Pack - aligned to the National Curricula, and crammed full of lesson plans, classroom activities, and all the resources needed to reinforce the ScottishPower safety messages.
Very positive evaluations from the schools and enthusiastic feedback from the children themselves reassures us of the effectiveness of the programme. A recent quote from the Deputy Head Teacher at Ysgol y Trath, Barmouth, "Every aspect of the presentation was of the highest quality. The children thoroughly enjoyed the session and commented afterwards on some of the things they have done such as (...) take plugs out of sockets without switching off first, which they will never do again".
And a recent quote from a pupil at Gwynedd Primary, Flint, "It helps you learn not to touch thing(s) that are dangers and to stay away and keep safe".
Crucial Crew
Educating children about safety risks doesn’t stop there. Crucial Crew is a national experiential learning event facilitated by local emergency services aimed at children in the final stages of primary school education.
Children are brought on organised school trips to local venues to take part in a range of fast-paced scenarios designed to raise awareness of the inherent dangers associated with electricity and other common hazards.
In 2007, EnergyNetworks presented important electrical safety messages to over 10,000 children at eight Crucial Crew events across our operating areas.
Safety Education Centres
EnergyNetworks also continue to support two innovative, dedicated Safety Education Centres operated by local public authorities within our network areas; DangerPoint in North Wales and The Risk Factory in Edinburgh, and, until it closed in June 2007, The Child Safety Centre in Priesthill, Glasgow.
Designed to educate and raise awareness of accidents, personal safety and injury prevention in a safe and controlled environment, these centres provide realistic settings, specifically designed for children and young people, as a background for safety education through hands-on experiences in the home, on the roads, at the farm or in the country, and on building sites.
To enhance and compliment the electrical safety messages contained in the safety scenarios at the Centres, EnergyNetworks created a realistic sub-station and overhead line feature which was fitted at each centre. Independent pre and post visit evaluations show improvement in the children’s knowledge of safety issues – sometimes by as much as 42% in just one visit to a Safety Education Centre.
The centres attract large groups of children on organised school visits and members of the public are invited to visit the centres for a nominal entrance fee. Support of the safety education centres allowed EnergyNetworks to extend electrical safety messages to in excess of 14,000 children in our operating areas in 2007.
Since the closure of The Child Safety Centre in Glasgow, EnergyNetworks has continued to support the work of Glasgow Community and Safety Services by sponsoring Safety Strolls for primary school children, to which over 800 children participated in 2007.
PowerWise Website
We compliment our three core safety education initiatives with an interactive website called PowerWise. The site, which can be accessed at www.powerwise.org.uk is packed with lesson plans, interactive games and electricity information that both teachers and parents can use. Ollie and Sparky, two loveable characters from ScottishPower’s safety team, help five to eleven year old children to learn the dangers of playing near to live electrical sources, discover how electricity reaches the home and teach them some interesting facts about its’ history and science.
For secondary school children, PowerWise focuses on the scientific aspects of electrical safety by encouraging older children to think logically about electricity and take part in a number of interactive programmes such as designing and building a wind farm; or planning and delivering a rock concert.
In 2007 the PowerWise website received over 38,000 hits.
At ScottishPower EnergyNetworks we pride ourselves on placing health and safety as a core value within our business operations and in 2007 our PowerWise efforts were rewarded by being recognised with the national IOSH Zurich Municipal Supreme Safety Award 2007 and also the international DuPont Safety Award for Innovative Approach as one of the most significant projects in safety.
