Dying to Drive with the Fire and Rescue Team

Event: Dying to drive with the fire and rescue team Emma Price

Number of pupils attending: 6

Aim of the Activity

The fire and rescue team alongside the Policing team visited the school today to speak to the students about driving whilst under the influence of alcohol and drugs

• Increase employer engagement
• The workings of a workplace visit
• Raise students’ aspirations
• Raising industry sectors profile and appeal to students
• Linking Gatsby Benchmark 1, 2, 3, 4, 5 and 6.

Activity

The pupils were excited to see the fire and rescue team and policing team come into school and show them what they had to offer; the students engaged with the team of adults before the presentation started. Asking questions about how long they had been in the service, what made them join, what qualifications they needed and how hard was the training.

The answers varied but the pupils were engaged and interested in their responses. During lessons we will look for more information regarding the different services through JED and the National careers service platforms.

We watched a presentation about road safety, how to cross the road, safety scenarios which included awareness of headphones and VR’S headsets and how these can be a distraction.

The next activity included VR sets and headphones, this was to show awareness of driving in fast cars and realising speeding, drinking or taking drugs can lead to life changing injuries or even death.

The students took part in breathalysing scenarios. They drank some strong mouthwash and then be tested. One pupil tested positive. Pupils and staff were amazed by the results, the leading officer explained it was due to the strength of alcohol in the mouthwash.

Next, the students moved into another room for a presentation about Seatbelts and distractions aimed at safety in a car. Emma, the other training officer, explained the reasons why we wear seatbelts. The students then watched a video of crash dummies in a car and the impact of what happens when not wearing a seatbelt.

The session ended with a video about Luke and his friends, a real event where he was dangerously driving when he was younger. They crashed and one of their friends in the passenger seat died and the drive is serving a prison sentence for wreck less driving. This was hard-hitting. The students were quiet whilst they thought about what they had seen and heard.

Impacts of Activity

The students were thoroughly engaged throughout and asked many questions. It helped them realise why everyone needs to be sensible when driving as the end results could be fatal and why wearing seatbelts is so important. It also highlighted why we shouldn’t distract drivers and why you should never drink alcohol or use drugs when driving.

Quotes from Students

What’s the limit for drink driving?
If you fail the mouthwash test, do you get taken back to the police station?
What’s the legal age for wearing a seatbelt?

Impact of Activity

Even though this activity wasn’t set up as a specific carer visit, the pupils not only learnt about staying safe whilst driving, it also highlighted the different types of jobs that are linked to the fire and police services.

It has sparked the pupils’ interests, and they now want to find more information regarding the different roles within the services.

At the end of the course the students used their own knowledge from what they have learnt from the workshops and completed a feedback evaluation from for the team. His showed that they all interacted well with the workshops, this also raised awareness of what could happen if not concentrating on what they should be doing.