WIREDGOV

The story of a schoolboy and his friends preparing for a birthday party will teach hundreds of young children across Scotland how to stay safe at home.

The Birthday Party, a free book which has been produced by the Royal Society for the Prevention of Accidents (RoSPA) will be given to teachers to distribute to their Primary One children from today.

The storybook, part of the Go Safe Scotland initiative to educate children on safety, has been made possible thanks to donations, the largest portion of which was collected at RoSPA’s Occupational Safety Awards Dinner.

The importance of teaching home safety to children has been highlighted by NHS Scotland statistics released last week, which show 2,128 injuries to children under five happened in the home. The biggest causes were falls (891) and poisoning (514), which are both issues covered in the book, along with the potential dangers of looped blind cords.

The Birthday Party, written by award-winning children’s author Linda Strachan, follows Jamie and his friends as they prepare safely for a birthday party, including making and decorating cakes, putting on costumes and tidying up after themselves.

Elizabeth Lumsden, RoSPA Scotland’s community safety manager, also raised funds for the project when she, along with son Donald,walked 50 miles of the West Highland Way in April last year.

She said: “The majority of accidents occur in the home, with a high proportion of those happening to young children, so this is a really worthwhile project. We are hoping the book will reach as many school pupils as possible to educate them on home safety.

“We’ve written to the head teachers of all 2,021 primary schools across Scotland and have had a really positive response so far. Tomorrow we will be distributing the books in West Lothian, as all primary schools there have asked for them.

“RoSPA thinks it’s really important for schools to play their part in teaching pupils about safety, as recent research we conducted with the Children’s Parliament showed that 92 per cent of children surveyed thought teachers had a role to play in providing home safety information.”

The book will be accompanied by a letter of explanation for parents, encouraging them to read to their children at home and start a discussion about improving their safety. Teacher’s notes will also be available from the Go Safe Scotland website.

George Cairns, chairman of the Go Safe Scotland partnership, said: “We’d like to thank RoSPA for their continued support and in particular for their efforts in producing The Birthday Party.

“The publication of the book adds another dimension to the home safety section of our campaign, highlights important key safety messages for both parent and child, and of course it is a great and entertaining story.”

The first story will be followed up by a series of ebooks to explore other areas where children have accidents, the majority of which can be avoided with small changes in everyday behaviour.

SGN has also kindly offered to help distribute The Birthday Party to outlying areas of the country.

SGN stakeholder engagement manager Caroline Lawrie said: "We're delighted to work in partnership with Go Safe Scotland, and assist with the distribution of The Birthday Party to primary schools.

“As the gas distribution network company in Scotland we have depots in various locations across the country, where staff will help to deliver the books to local schools. We're very pleased to play a part in ensuring these important safety messages reach the children."

Entries for this year’s RoSPA Occupational Safety Awards, taking place at the Hilton Glasgow on September 17, are still open.