Road safety is a shared responsibility which makes it everyone’s responsibility and everybody’s business.

Sharing this message with your parents/carers now is a valuable opportunity to set your school’s expectations about responsible and legal road user behaviour onsite and in the school zone.

Localise the following sample information to reflect the traffic environment around your school before sharing with your new 2021 families.

• be a positive role model as children learn about being a safe road user from them, e.g. always cross the road in safe places; put mobile phones away; correctly wear a helmet
  
• share road safety advice with grandparents, nannies or other carers.
  
• follow key road safety messages for pedestrians, passengers, cyclists and other wheeled riders
• be safe active travellers to and from school
  
• drive and park safely away from the school and walk to school holding their child’s hand, i.e. park and walk and why this is good for everyone, e.g. reduces traffic congestion, is a great time to talk and practice how to be a safe pedestrian, add more steps to your day
  
• know how your school’s drop off and pick up works and why it’s important to follow the rules of stopping for no more than 2 minutes and remaining within 3 metres of the car
  
• use correct child restraints for size and weight, and why it’s important children are buckled up safely
  
• have a plan B if you are going to be late or it’s raining.
  

Ideas for presenting your information:

• conduct a virtual tour showing school entry and exits points, waiting areas, kiss and drop off zones, bus zone, no stopping and no parking zones, bike racks and so on. Record this and add to your school website.
• video current kindergarten parents on how they keep their child safe when travelling to and from school, entering school grounds and why it’s important that everyone looks out for everyone else and has a shared responsibility for keeping all children safe in the traffic environment
• ask senior students to record a simplevideo about the road safety messages to share with their buddies, e.g. always hold an adult’s hand, where to wait to be picked up, what to do if someone is late to pick them up, how to tell their parents to put their mobile phone away so they can talk together as they walk home
  
• interview current kindergarten students about their experiences when they started school, talk about walking to school with their parents/carers, the colour of the raincoat they wear when it’s raining, sitting in a booster seat, getting in and out of the car on the safety door side
• invite the local council Road Safety Officer to describe how to be a safe road user outside your school
• use Transport for NSW’s kindergarten orientation library bags as a way to engage students and families in discussing road safety in and around the school
• use various communication channels to share your information, e.g. social media, school website, school newsletters, email

Resources available

Order Transport for NSW’s Kindergarten orientation library bags to share with your families. This may be handed out during a visit to the school this year or on the first day back.

Contact your local department Road Safety Education Officer to localise road safety information about safe travel to and from school to provide to your families; such as templates for a:

• Road safety information for parents and carers brochure
  
• Kindergarten orientation road safety information powerpoint
  

Useful links

Department of Education

Starting school resources

Safe travel for parents and carers (translations available)

Road safety education webpages for more information

Early learning advice – Kindergarten orientation and transition 2020-21

Transport for NSW

Back to school tips (translations available)

Safety Town – parent information