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Rob Hattersley
A former primary school deputy head and education consultant, since June 2008 Rob has been Education Co-ordinator at Safeside, a state of the art, interactive safety village in Birmingham, run by West Midlands Fire Service. He develops and manages interactive educational programmes at the centre which educate children and adults in a wide range of safety, citizenship, sustainability and lifeskill areas. The programmes are interactive and experiential, making full use of the realistic indoor street scene which includes a working pedestrian crossing, double decker bus, car, full size train, two storey house, fully stocked Co-operative store, cinema, internet cafe, police station, cell and court room. Around ten thousand Year 5 and 6 children have visited the centre since it opened in January 2009 for the Junior Citizen scheme. Rob is the Secretary of the Safety Centre Alliance, a new network of such centres across the UK. He also takes an amateur interest in town and transport planning, or the lack of it, in his home city of Hereford.
Welcome to the West Midlands
March 13th, 2010 by Rob Hattersley
I’m just taking a short break from writing a new and exciting interactive education programme for newcomers to the West Midlands. The scheme will fully utilise Safeside’s realistic indoor street scene to deliver information and develop skills which our research suggest will be useful to those struggling to adjust to life in a new country.
Open …
Get on the Safeside
March 4th, 2010 by Rob Hattersley
In the space of two hours, the six children got help for someone who drowned, crossed the road safely several times, and were pretty scared as they walked down a dark alley to find someone standing round an even darker corner. They did some shopping, tried to buy some cigarettes for a neighbour, although they …
Communicate your messages through schools
April 3rd, 2008 by Rob Hattersley
Investing in curriculum resources for schools can be a very effective way of communicating messages on sustainability to wider audiences for local authorities.
Not only do the children in schools benefit, but you can also effect behavioural change in parents and the wider community, especially when school activities are promoted in the local media. This might …
Get out the vote
March 15th, 2008 by Rob Hattersley
It’s coming up to election time again and local authority election departments might be wondering what turnout will be and thinking of ways to improve it.
For a small investment in a primary schools programme elections departments could: -
* generate excellent media opportunities highlighting the importance of voting
* engage children, parents and local communities in local …
Building good relations
February 22nd, 2008 by Rob Hattersley
Building sites are dangerous places for children and building work often seen as extremely inconvenient to local communities. Local authorities and building firms can turn that perception around with a carefully planned schools programme. For example, visiting schools near your sites with a safety message could make children safer, reduce the danger of vandalism, and …
A culture of pressure
February 13th, 2008 by Rob Hattersley
Who can disagree with the idea that schools should do more of everything in the same amount of time - more culture, more sport, more topics, more writing, more reading, and yet it’s the Maths that doesn’t add up (Lessons in Culture for every Child (13.02.08)). It seems every Education Secretary comes in and needs …
Promoting Voting
February 7th, 2008 by Rob Hattersley
I’ve just been updating the Primary Vote website for the run up to elections in May. Primary Vote is a bank of resources enabling local authorities to promote democratic engagement in and through Primary Schools.
Primary children can’t vote, but they can act as highly effective ambassadors to parents, family, neighbours and friends in promoting the …
Salty learning
January 30th, 2008 by Rob Hattersley
It seems our children are still eating far too much salt and this is a health time-bomb according to this report. Despite the efforts of some food manufacturers salt is still used to cover up the lack of taste in the convenience and processed food that is still the staple diet of many children.
Again the …
Think globally, teach locally
January 23rd, 2008 by Rob Hattersley
If your organisation is campaigning for change on transport, food, health, energy, justice or fairtrade issues, where better to start than by engaging with schools? Not only do the children themselves learn about the issues, but through them you reach parents, families, the wider community, generate excellent PR opportunities with local and national media, and …
Designing sustainable education
January 9th, 2008 by Rob Hattersley
Building work is often seen as inconvenient by local communities, but with a good schools programme architects and planners can start reversing this impression, especially if your plans put sustainability at the core.
Local authorities will be impressed and firms can gain a competitive edge on the competition by offering to work with local schools near …
Camden Council gains possession of 100 homes in illegal sub-letting crackdown 
Stockport Homes is one of the best places to work! 
'Self-styled countess' jailed for £200,000 benefit fraud 
Alan Duncan meets Spire tenants 
Professor Peter Roberts OBE becomes chair of KHT 
