13 February 2003 00:00 Good safety education helps make half-term fun

East Midlands Electricity is sending out a special half-term safety message courtesy of its updated educational website – be aware and keep safe.

EME’s revamped www.powerdiscoveryzone.com contains a new teacher’s section with step by step guides which point out a range of dangers to pupils, as well as offering an online competition to win vouchers for educational CD-Roms.

And the hope is that the new improved website will help cut electricity-related injuries, with school holidays traditionally being a time when accidents can happen.

Jerry Carnell, EME’s safety adviser, said: “Across the UK, over 350 people, many of them children, are hurt each year through misuse of electricity and failure to recognise associated dangers.

“In addition to injuries resulting from household appliances and domestic wiring, electricity accidents can also occur outside. These may involve simple every day things like kite-flying and fishing near overhead lines, but trespassing inside electricity substations can also place children in serious danger.

“The fact is that good safety education saves lives and the whole idea behind the website is to communicate electrical safety messages to children in a fun way. Mf

“So the message we want youngsters to take home from the website this half-term is: ‘Be aware and keep safe’.”

The new teachers’ section of the site features ideas for hands-on classroom experiments, safety spotter activities, bright spark factfiles and creative work projects, as well as a jargon buster and useful weblinks.

Other additions include an interactive question and answer section, games, jokes and regular competitions.

“The changes that we’ve made are making a good site even better. The material continues to support the National Curriculum for science at key stages one and two and the new teachers’ site will help children learn about all aspects of electricity – including power generation and distribution, safety and circuit theory –in the classroom,” said Jerry Carnell.

The www.powerdiscoveryzone.com website is part of EME’s ongoing safety campaign and is run in conjunction with the power discovery bus – a mobile exhibition centre and workshop provided as a free educational resource to schools.

Ends

Notes to editors
Ten CD-Rom vouchers are up for grabs in EME’s online competition. To enter, children must visit www.powerdiscoveryzone.com and correctly answer an electricity-related question.
To find out more about the power discovery bus, or to book a place, visit www.powerdiscoveryzone.com.
For further information, contact: Janet Morrow on 024 7642 5779