Primary school
Primary aged students are vulnerable road users. They are still developing the skills, attitudes, and behaviours needed to stay safe as a pedestrian, passenger and wheels user.
We teach road safety as part of the PDHPE K-10 syllabus and encourage parents and carers to support what is taught when out and about with their children.
An effective road safety education program needs to:
- be developmentally appropriate
- reinforce key road safety messages (25KB pdf)
- be taught sequentially in each Stage by teachers
- reflect local road safety issues
- take a strengths based approach
- be ongoing, not a one-off event when using external providers
- avoid the use of shock or fear tactics
- raise awareness of the importance of parent and carers modelling and promoting safe travel.
Support for teachers
The Road Safety Education Officer is your dedicated resource for curriculum support and ideas to implement road safety education at your school.
Road safety education officers run free professional learning workshops for teachers about road safety education. They will help you address local road safety issues through teaching and learning.
Find out more by checking out:
What's happening in schools in road safety education.
Calendar of events 2021 which can support road safety.
Ordering free resources
Order free resources from Transport for NSW such as Kindergarten Orientation Day bags, stickers, and brochures. (Use the School Only section).
Teaching resources
Safety Town is an engaging online teaching and learning resource for students in K-6. The resource explores:
- pedestrian safety
- passenger safety
- wheels safety
- bus safety
It has interactive activities, videos, storybooks, teaching and learning activities and up-to-date information for teachers, parents and students.
The Road safety education team have worked with PDHPE to develop some sample units of learning using the essential question How can I keep myself and others safe?
There are ten lesson sequences for each stage: early stage 1 to stage 3.
Tracksafe education website provides teaching and learning activities to support safety around trains.
New resources for students early stage 1 to stage 3 about tram safety available on Safety Town
There are ebooks, videos, teaching and learning activities.
This video is just one of the resources. What would you do? to reinforce safe pedestrian behaviours on and around trams.
- Order free brochures, posters and Kindergarten Orientation packs for schools directly from Transport for NSW. School use only.
- Parent and carer presentation for your Kindergarten Orientation is available from your Road Safety Education Officer.
- Promote safe travel by sharing the department's information about safe road user behaviours when walking, car travel, riding and driving and parking (translations available)
- Download Transport for NSW's handouts for parents and carers to promote safe road user behaviours around your school.
- Provide Starting high school safely information to assist students and parents/carers talk about being an independent traveller.
Road safety in PDHPE mapping tools
Useful links
PDHPE K-6 curriculum support (DoE)
Cycling - bicycle safety skills guidelines (DoE)
Wellbeing for schools framework - physical wellbeing(DoE)
Road safety information - translations (DoE)
Farmsafe Australia - RIPPER II Primary school resource is a useful resource for quad bike safety,
Auslan - eight great short videos of road safety messages in Auslan
Centre for Road Safety Education program