Consumer Press Releases
Electrical Safety Council makes learning fun
30th January 2008
The Electrical Safety Council (ESC) has launched a new Educational Fun Kit as part of its campaign to raise children's awareness of the dangers of electricity. The kit, aimed at children of five to eight, is being sent to the 24,000 primary schools in the UK as well as each local education authority and is designed to educate children about using electricity safely.
A survey of parents, commissioned by the Electrical Safety Council, last year found that as many as 1 in 3 children were unaware of the basic dangers of electricity around the home. Sticking a knife into a toaster, cutting an electric cable, touching electrics when wet and playing with electric sockets were amongst the potentially fatal actions that children did not understand were dangerous, according to their parents.
The Electrical Safety Educational Fun Kit, an electrical safety themed board game and stickers, comes as part of a pack with a range of interactive materials to aid classroom discussion of electrical dangers and includes an electrical safety poster, a 'spot the hazards' colouring sheet, reward badges and 'design a poster' competition. And, the kit has been designed so that it can be used over and over again by different classes.
The fun kit will also direct children and teachers to the Electrical Safety Council's interactive website, www.switchedonkids.org.uk which includes games, information and safety advice for children. For teachers, the website offers a series of lesson plans, ranging from raising children's awareness of everyday electrical appliances and alerting them to their associated dangers, to investigating and testing electrical circuits and materials.
Phil Buckle, Director of the Electrical Safety Council comments: "Our core aim is to protect people from death and injury caused by electricity. We want to support teachers by providing them with the tools to deliver potentially life saving electrical safety messages so that the children can carry these messages with them throughout their lives and which someday may help prevent an electrical-related accident."
Teachers can download the lesson plans free of charge from www.switchedonkids.org.uk and parents and teachers can order copies of the Educational Fun Kits by emailing schools@esc.org.uk.
Top 5 safety tips for children from the Electrical Safety Council:
- Always turn off electric games and equipment when they are not in use or when you go to bed. It is safer and also kinder to the environment.
- Don't try to get toast out of the toaster whilst it is still plugged in, especially not with a knife, or you could get an electric shock.
- Never put water or other liquids on or near electrical equipment. This is a fire hazard.
- Always dry your hands before you use and electrical equipment or you could get an electric shock.
- Never take mains powered electrical equipment, such as radios or hair straightners into the bathroom or you could get an electric shock.
