Children create their own builders to hammer home safety campaign

Over 80 children from across the city who entered a competition organised by Sheffield Homes to create their own builder character, similar to TV favourite ‘Bob the Builder’, will be attending a special awards ceremony on Thursday 19 July.  The competition is part of a campaign to raise the awareness of dangers of playing near to building work, while Decent Homes work is being undertaken to improve around 40,000 homes.

 

Sheffield Homes and its partnering contractors have taken the safety message into schools with fun presentations, videos, puzzles and a competition for school children to work together to design a builder.  Each builder character has their own name and the children can keep their new classmate as a mascot.  Children have used a variety of art and craft skills to make the characters. Winners, families and teachers will attend the presentation ceremony at the Don Valley Stadium.

 

Vouchers of £1,000 are being awarded to the three winning schools:

 

Acres Hill Primary School                     4-6

Stradbroke Primary School                   7-8     

Lydgate Junior School                         9-11

 

Children will be entertained through the day with face painting, jugglers and balloon makers. Some of the safety mascots used in the campaign including Sheffield Homes’ Stanley Stay Safe, Wates’ Ivor Goodsite, Mears’ Mr Menda and Kier’s Kieran and digger the dog will call into see the children. Staff from Sheffield Homes and Decent Homes partners will be there to give their support on the day. 

 

Iain Allott, Decent Homes Programme Manager at Sheffield Homes comments  “I’m really pleased that so many schools have taken part in our competition. We have a duty to protect local children while Decent Homes work is being carried out, which we take very seriously.  Areas where building work is taking place can look like exciting places for children to play, so it’s very important that our campaign gets children involved and thinking about the dangers that exist. “

 

Decent Homes partners have visited 63 schools near to where Decent Homes work is being carried out over the last four months.  Presentations have included: