‘It takes a village’ – Kilkenny farmers urged to help teachers deliver farm safety education
AgriKids and Irish Rural Link have urged Kilkenny communities to register their interest in a new farm safety education guide.
The manual – which will be freely available to schools – is designed to support primary teachers and members of their local farming communities with the tools needed to co-deliver an effective farm safety education programme in the classroom.
Speaking at the announcement of the new resources, which are funded by the Department of Agriculture, Food and Marine with additional funding from Flogas, Kilkenny native and Irish Rural Community Champion, Jo Conroy, said: “I am delighted that Irish Rural Link are working together with AgriKids in this initiative. Getting children engaged in farm safety early on can help prevent the simplest of accidents from happening on the farm. Having as many people from the community involved in educating children about the dangers on the farm will send a stronger message to the wider community also.”
The manual includes information on how teachers and members of the community can work together to co-deliver the programme, ideas for topics which can be covered and tips for making the information accessible for children.
It is one of several new learning supports in development under the Engage, Educate & Empower pilot, a community-led learning initiative in farm safety education.
The community led learning strategy has been collated with input from an advisory panel made up of members of An Garda Siochana, teachers, farmers, community development officers and farm accident survivors, all of which have been involved in or participated in farm safety events in the past.
AgriKids founder Alma Jordan said: “When it comes to farm safety the saying ‘it takes a village’ is so apt. The fact is no one teacher, school or individual can deliver the farm safety message alone.
“We need our communities to come together to make sure that the message gets home and is relevant. I get so many requests to visit schools and all too often I must refuse as it’s simply not possible to visit them all.
She added: “By adopting a more community led approach we can not only encourage education of farm safety in schools, but also support people in the area who may be invited to schools to deliver talks and make sure they feel confident and assured while doing so.”
*AgriKids and Irish Rural Link are calling for primary schools and individuals in the community who may be invited to their local school to carry out a farm safety talk to register for a training manual. They can register at: https://form.jotform.com/242984653704061
*Schools who wish to find out more about AgriKids and their existing suite of supported learning programmes can do so at: http://www.agrikids.ie
