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Here’s why it matters and how you can take action with your students.
Rail Safety Week runs 5 to 11 August. The week is a time to draw attention to the risks around tracks, and the roles we all play to stay safe.
The week is organised by KiwiRail and TrackSAFE Foundation. NZ Transport Agency Waka Kotahi is supporting the initiative.
How students learn to travel safely is strengthened when schools take their local context into account. For many schools this includes awareness of railway tracks and trains.
The NZ Transport Agency Waka Kotahi supports schools with a suite of rail safety educational resources aimed at classroom use. If your school is near the railway lines, take a look.
In Rail Safety Week, we are publishing a new rail safety presentation Keeping safe around trains and railway tracks.
This is aimed especially at Years 5-10, the age band when young people are increasingly making their own way to and from school. It’s an important stage to check their knowledge and help them fill in the gaps.
The presentation is available as either a PowerPoint or PDF.
It has an emphasis on level pedestrian crossings, where people need to stop, look and listen before walking across the tracks.
The resource also includes classroom activities to reinforce the learning. These include designing a poster and writing a report, plus a wordsearch and questions about signs and train facts.
Rail safety presentation and activities
Launched last year, our rail safety song was professionally produced by music teacher Andrew Pennell and sung by Haritoa Waaka.
The song is called Stop Look Listen and Think and features a catchy chorus and actions for students to follow.
You’ll find a music video, printable lyrics and backing music.
“For kids in primary school and above, life has its share of risks which they increasingly need to manage themselves. The idea was to give them the basic skills, the knowledge they need to keep themselves safe as they’re growing up,” says Andrew.
A good first action for Rail Safety Week is putting up these posters around your school. Freshly designed and available in both te reo Māori and English.
You’ll also find posters about cycling safely and walking, scooting and skating safely.
Take the learning deeper in your classroom with cross-curricular lesson plans written by Pam Hook.
These lessons cover English, Maths, Science and Social Sciences with a context especially focused on urban electrified railway lines. That context is wrapped around the big idea that citizens work together to create safe travel for everyone around the electrified rail network.
As Pam puts it… “when you are a citizen you belong, you matter and you make a difference.”
Rail safety curriculum resource
Megan Drayton, Foundation Manager at TrackSAFE Foundation NZ and Dawn Pollard, Senior Education Advisor at NZTA hosted this webinar.
Time: Thursday, 25 July 2024 3:30pm - 4:30pm
What: Megan and Dawn shared resources and big ideas to help you take part in Rail Safety Week 5-11 August 2024.
