Hard hats and goggles hammer home school safety
School kids across Sheffield will be donning hard hats and safety gear in the coming months for the biggest safety campaign the city has ever seen. The huge `Stay Safe in Sheffield’ campaign, run by Sheffield Homes, will target children aged 5-11 in a bid to warn them of the dangers of playing on building sites as work starts on a £1bn, five-year council home improvement programme, the biggest of its kind in England.
"Children’s safety is paramount to us," said Steve Jenkinson, Director of Investment for Sheffield Homes. "Around 50,000 council houses are being upgraded in the biggest refurbishment programme of its kind in England. It means a lot of scaffolding, skips and materials around as well as an increase in building sites and storage areas. A nine year old child died in Yorkshire last year playing around a storage area and statistics show six children have died and 551 have suffered major injuries on building sites in the past five years, so obviously we felt it essential to get the safety message across to young
people before the summer holidays start."
Contractors are visiting every primary school between now and the end of the summer term. Presentations include:
- A hard-hitting health and safety video called `Game On’
- Talks by contractors on the serious dangers of playing on and around sites
- The chance for kids to dress up in hard hats, safety vests, shoes and goggles
- Booklets, introducing a character called Digga, with puzzles, stories, competitions and information
- The launch of a city-wide poster design competition
Presentations have already been given to tenants and parents and more are planned for pre-school and secondary school children in a high profile health and safety drive which will span the life of the entire refurbishment project. The massive refurbishment work is part of the Government’s `Decent Homes’ programme. Sheffield Homes qualified for funding for the project after gaining the maximum three star rating from the Audit Commission as a quality service provider.
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Editor’s Notes:
- Stay Safe in Sheffield and the Decent Homes Standard project is being mounted by Sheffield Homes in conjunction with five contractual partners: Connaught, Keepmoat, Kier Sheffield LLP, Lovell and Mears
- At present, five areas, containing around 25,000 council homes have been earmarked for the work
- Other areas will be receiving inspections and coming on stream as the project progresses
- Sheffield Homes operates as an Arms Length Management Organisation (ALMO). The status helps it to qualify for Government money
Press contact: Neil Anderson on 0114 225 7080 or 0777 929 2212