Dealing with distraction (educational resource)

Hertfordshire County Council developed this educational resource to combat the problem of children being distracted while walking.

The resource, ‘Dealing with distraction’, was developed by Hertfordshire’s Safe & Sustainable Journeys in Schools (SSJ) team on the back of research which shows that children are being distracted by mobile technology while walking, which in turn is resulting in accidents.

The research indicates that children aged between 10 and 12 are particularly vulnerable. This is often when they are beginning to travel independently, but rather than their full focus being on their safety it is often on their phone and friends.

The resource, which is available to Hertfordshire schools on request, comprises a learning pack which includes a DVD and downloadable resources – “everything a teacher needs to run a successful distractions workshop”, according to the SSJ team.

The team initially trialled ‘Dealing with distraction’ at selected schools before developing a complete package for use by all of the county’s schools.