London Borough of Lewisham

St Winifred's RC Primary School

Gold accredited

TfL Pioneers Road Safety Obstacle Course

TfL Pioneers Road Safety Obstacle Course

About this activity

Suitable for secondary schools.

NB: We’re bringing together all the TfL education programmes, including STARS, under one exciting new umbrella programme called TfL Travel for Life. They will be the same great programmes, but with a new name and a new look, easier online process and dedicated support team. STARS for primary schools will be renamed TfL Explorers. STARS for secondary schools will be renamed TfL Pioneers.

Do you want a practical way to show your pupils the effect of being distracted on the roads?

Run a road safety obstacle course in your school to demonstrate how being distracted can affect your ability to complete straightforward tasks.

Use the TfL Travel For Life  Road Safety Obstacle Course package to help your pupils understand the dangers of using mobile technology on the roads. Complete with teacher plan, score sheets and a presentation you will have all you need to complete the course (see resources).

How it works

Pupils complete an obstacle course in two teams; once with no distractions and once whilst writing a text message. Penalties are incurred for obstacles being missed, touched or knocked over and in the second race, for mistakes in the text message. The greater the number of penalties, the more severe the consequences.

With your pupils compare the sets of data to illustrate how a straightforward task can be made much harder when distracted by mobile technology. You can then relate this to real-life situations, reinforcing the message of how being distracted by technology, friends or surroundings can pose an increased risk of danger from traffic.

What you’ll need

  • A large open space such as the school hall or gym
  • Large obstacles (bollards, rounder’s posts, hoops, benches, cones)
  • Two stopwatches
  • Two mobile phones
  • Sponge balls and a bucket
  • Score sheet

How to evidence your activity

  • Involve your borough officer: Share your ideas, agree your targets and discuss any challenges you face
  • Record the feedback from your pupils
  • Add your story to the TfL Travel For Life website. Explain the activity, add photos and include pupils’ feedback and any risk assessments

This activity supports the Vision Zero target to eliminate death and serious injuries on London’s streets.

Activity steps

1
Start planning
Ensure you have a suitable space to carry out the obstacle course
2
Promote
Ask your TfL Travel For Life Champions to promote the initiative
3
On the day
Carry out practical exercise using the TfL Travel For Life Road Safety Obstacle Course package (see resources)
4
Evaluate
Compare data and discuss outcomes and relate to real life situations
5
Check for success
Ask your pupils how they found the activity. What key messages did they take away and what did they find useful?

Tags

  • Walking
  • Independent travel
  • Road safety

This activity counts towards:

  • Travel activity

How it helps

  • Introduces key road safety messages
  • Encourages road safety and awareness