Children's Traffic Club comes to Gwent

The Children's Traffic Club has arrived in Gwent. Invitation letters will arrive through the post at every child's home on or around their third birthday.

All that parents have to do to enroll their child is fill in the form attached to the letter and post it in the reply paid envelope.

Thanks to funding from the local authority and the Welsh Assembly Government this outstanding road safety education scheme is free of charge. Once enrolled, each child will receive a book every three months until they reach four and a half years of age.

Andy Pugh, special projects officer with Capita Gwent Consultancy said: "The books are specially designed for parents to work together with their children, with the text on one page and the picture on the other. Members get a series of six books full of colourful pictures to talk about, stories to read, stickers and activities to do at home and when out and about.

"The Children's Traffic Club is the best researched road safety teaching resource. It has been demonstrated that in areas where the Children's Traffic Club has a large take-up rate, the numbers of child pedestrian casualties has fallen significantly," he added.

Promotion to encourage parents to enroll their children in the Children's Traffic Club has included posters at nurseries and playgroups, presentations to health visitors, Early Years and SureStart group leaders, and cards displayed in taxis.

The latest promotion - an advertising campaign along the sides and insides of buses throughout the Gwent region - was launched on 9 February. A group of two and three year old friends visited Newport Transport Depot to view the advertisements in situ (see pic).