More than 550 kids take part in '˜Bee Safe'

The P7 pupils from 22 schools, including from the Tyrone area, took part in a day of activities to help raise awareness of how to stay safe, whether at school, at home, at play or in specific places, like farms, while also helping them understand the role of the emergency services and their roles as young citizens.

Co-ordinated by Mid Ulster District Council, the three-day event has been running each year for the past 11 years and involves a range of organisations including the police, fire and rescue service, NI Electricity, Translink, Cookstown and Western Shores Area Network (CWSAN), Royal National Lifeboat Institution (RNLI) and the Health and Safety Executive. The event was funded by Policing and Community Safety Partnership and Mid Ulster District Council.

Chair of the Council, Councillor Trevor Wilson said: “This event is the perfect forum for illustrating to children the importance of staying safe and preventing accidents. The interactive format of the Bee Safe event ensures children are engaged throughout which will help them retain all the vital advice and information they receive on the day. A huge thanks must go to all the organisations who took part and committed their time and resources to help ensure that we can deliver these important messages.”

Chair of Mid Ulster PCSP, Cllr Frances Burton added: “Mid Ulster PCSP is, once again, very pleased to support Bee Safe in Cookstown. Bee Safe is an imaginative and interactive way of promoting community safety and teaches children how to safely and effectively deal with everyday accidents and dangerous situations. It helps children to think for themselves as opposed to simply being taught about managing risk in a classroom while also giving children the opportunity to meet with and build relationships with various organisations including the PSNI and Fire and Rescue Service.”

For more information about the Bee Safe programme, contact the Environmental Health service at Mid Ulster District Council on 03000 132 132 or email [email protected].