Press releases

Bus company Arriva has won a top road safety award for its innovative work with schoolchildren.

In an award ceremony in Kenilworth, Arriva’s ‘Getting to School’ pack took the top prize in the ‘Road Safety in the Community’ category at the Brake Fleet Safety Forum Awards for Excellence.

The packs are designed to provide primary school teachers of children at Key Stage 2 (aged 8 to 11) with educational resource material directly linked to the National Curriculum.  The pack’s resources include information to help teachers communicate important messages to children about using buses safely.  They include a range of activities for Mathematics, English, Geography and Personal, Social & Health Education and Citizenship, helping teachers provide exciting lessons for their pupils using bus travel as the stimulus.

Schools have been able to download the pack from Arriva’s dedicated website www.arrivaschools.co.uk and the response from primary schools around the UK has been extremely positive, with hundreds of packs being downloaded in the first few weeks after the launch.

David Shadbolt, marketing manager for Arriva UK Regions, who collected the award, said: “Safety is Arriva’s number one priority and we work very hard with schools throughout the country to promote the safe use of buses.  Arriva recognises the importance that buses play in the local community, especially for young children who are reaching the age where they start to use the bus on their own for the first time.”

The ‘Getting to School’ pack invites children to examine different ways of getting to school, look at the contrast between different environments through the different types of places buses go, learn about money using bus fares and change as examples, learn how to use a bus timetable and discuss the importance of responsible road use.

Brake’s fundraising manager, Katie Shephard, said: “Arriva’s work to help children understand vital road safety messages which help cut the number of injuries and deaths of young people on our roads is a great example of what can be done by working closely with education and safety specialists.  The Brake award recognises that Arriva’s ‘Getting to School’ pack could help save children’s lives.”

Interest in the packs has not been restricted to just the UK however.  David added: “Arriva’s education and safety initiative can now claim to be truly global as packs have now been downloaded by schools from as far afield as New Zealand.” 

In addition, at the same awards Walter Herring, risk manager for Arriva North East, was highly commended in the ‘Road Risk Manager of Year’ category.

Notes: To download a copy of the ‘Getting to School’ pack visit www.arrivaschools.co.uk or for more information about the packs email education@arriva.co.uk