Caithness & North Sutherland Safe Highlander 2016
Over 270 local primary seven pupils across Caithness and North Sutherland will be looking forward to taking part in the forthcoming ‘Safe Highlander’ event which is being coordinated by a local steering group on behalf of The Highland Council, Community Planning Partners and the many other organisations involved.
The popular annual event, which takes place this year on the 6th and 7th September, is designed to give the pupils a positive, interactive experience increasing their knowledge in community safety, health and crime prevention.
Over the hour and a half that the pupils and teachers are in attendance, they get to safely experience a number of potentially hazardous situations in simulated exercises which is then followed up by discussions and practical advice as to how the pupils can prevent the experience transferring into real life. The pupils learn about life saving skills, fire and water safety as well as safety on the roads. And with the increasing use of internet access – the pupils also learn about internet safety and how to be responsible online.
Thurso Councillor and Chair of the Caithness Committee, Councillor Roger Saxon, who will officially open this year’s event said: “Safe Highlander is such an important date in the calendar for local primary schools so it is great to see this really positive event happening again this year.
“There is rightly a lot of emphasis placed on online safety these days but it remains so important for children to understand the day-to-day risks associated with things like water, fire and road safety and I believe this is exactly what ‘Safe Highland’ delivers.
Councillor Saxon continued, “The fact the pupils also get to learn about the dangers of building sites, electricity and other issues like substance misuse means this is an extremely rounded session for the pupils, leaving them with a great message to take away from the event that we hope will not only help them in the here-and-now but into their future as well.”
The Safe Highlander event for Caithness and North Sutherland schools takes place at the Assembly Rooms in Wick between 6th and 7th September with other events having taking place across the Highlands in areas such as Inverness, Fort William, and Portree.
The Steering Group are indebted to the number of partners who have willing given up their time to take part; namely The Highland Council, Police Scotland, Fujitsu, SSE, Fire Scotland, Marine Coastguard Agency, Youth Action Team, Hi-Mats and Galiford Try.