Safety day a success

9:18am Sunday 2nd September 2007

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DEAF youngsters learned crucial life and personal safety skills at an event held at the University of Hertfordshire.

The event was arranged by Hertfordshire Police and the Phoenix Group for Deaf Children, and saw a group of youngsters taking part in four workshops and a road safety simulation.

It was part of Hertfordshire Police's Crucial Crew series of events, which teach children of school age how to deal with every day situations where their personal safety is in danger.

The group of children aged between eight and 14 from the Phoenix Club spent the day with Welwyn Hatfield community safety sergeant Lara Stevenson at the de Havilland campus of the University of Hertfordshire recently.

They took part in four workshops about stranger danger, fire safety, first aid and road safety, where they used a driving simulator to work out how long stopping distances were.

Lara said: "It was a fantastic day. I really enjoyed working with the young people.

"They were really enthusiastic and a pleasure to work with.

"Crucial Crew events are held regularly to teach school age children how to deal with potentially hazardous, everyday situations, in a safe and controlled environment."

Jane Savage and Jane Shann from the Phoenix Group attended the event to make sure the children and the police officers could communicate easily with each other.

Mrs Savage said: "The Phoenix Group runs workshops on a variety of topics for deaf children and their families.

"This workshop was a great example of what can be done to ensure that deaf children grow up to be independent and confident young people."

The Phoenix Group helps deaf families across Hertfordshire - for more information, email info@phoenixgroup.org.uk