Practise safety at start of school year
WITH the start of the new school year looming, Brighton Beach SAP communications officer, Captain Louise Le Roux has issued the following guidelines to assist parents and guardians in providing a safe environment for children:
* Keep a current photo of the child; this will help the police with tracking in emergencies.
* Ensure the transport used to take children to and from school conforms to the Road Traffic Act
* Children should immediately enter their school premises when dropped off and not be left loiter outside, as this exposes them to criminal elements.
* Teach children not to deviate from transport arrangements as set out by their parents or guardians.
* Contact details for parents or guardians and that of another person should be recorded in the front of a child’s homework book.
* Confirm current information is updated on school records to allow the school and police to easily contact parents or guardians in emergencies.
* Keep a list of the child’s friends, their contact details and that of their parents.
* Encourage children not to talk to, take lifts from or accept anything from strangers or even people known to them while travelling to and from school.
* A letter should be sent to the school if a child needs to take any medication, which should handed in to the school’s office for administration to the child.
* Conduct random checks for signs of drug use.
* Be aware of places the child visits and the company kept and maintain open dialogue.
“By applying basic safety principals you can support schools and the police in creating safer school environments for children, “ said Cap Le Roux.
