Learning about staying safe will be child’s play

AROUND 1000 children across Edinburgh are learning how to keep themselves safe during a four-day personal safety event.

Playsafe 2012, which started yesterday at Drumbrae Leisure Centre, will see P1 pupils from 21 city schools learning how to keep themselves safe.

The scheme, now in its seventh year, uses practical scenarios to help the children learn by experiencing different realistic situations involving the emergency services.

Police and firefighters will be joined by representatives from the Royal National Lifeboat Institute, the Scottish Ambulance Service and the city council to give advice.

The police officers will be taking police motorbikes along, and British Transport Police will have a section of a real railway sleeper to educate the youngsters on the dangers of playing on railway tracks. Firefighters will take the children through key safety messages for the summer, such as the dangers of playing with matches and fire, and around open water.

Superintendent David Carradice, police commander for west Edinburgh, said “Initiatives like Playsafe are invaluable in teaching our young people how to keep themselves safe.

“With the school holidays coming up, this is a fantastic opportunity to not only educate children about the potential dangers of various situations, but also how to avoid getting into harm in the first place.”