Travel training took place on Wednesday 10th September for the new year 7 students, along with several year 6 children from a local school.
The Travel Team was made up of the following people:
Sharon Till - TFL Travel Mentoring Service,
Gareth Tuffery - Principal Road Safety Officer at Southwark Council,
Sgt Thomas and his team from the Metropolitan Police Safer Transport
Mark Lewis and team from TfL Revenue Inspectors
Bernie, Bus Driver from Abellio,
Selina Laird – Travel Training Co-ordinator, Cavendish School
Paul Stepton – Travel trainer, Cavendish School
Scenario’s on the bus
1) A man pretended to help another man down the stairs but in fact was stealing his wallet out of his bag; the children raised the alarm that he was ‘robbing’ the police heard all the noise and came up and arrested the robber. The children were asked what would they do if they saw a situation like that, some said they would go downstairs and tell the driver, which was a correct answer; however they were advised that there are camera’s on the buses.
2) Two drunks on the bus being loud and causing a disturbance; an officer was called by the driver and they were taken off the bus. The children were asked what they would have done in this situation. One of the children said she would press the bell and another said he would go down and tell the driver; another said they would go and sit downstairs. The police officer advised them that the driver has a red button to push which alerts the police that there is a disturbance on the bus and the police will come and get them.
Scenario off the bus
3) Road Safety and awareness – The children were split into two groups while the scenario’s were acted out; when our group got of the bus Gareth went through the road safety with them how to cross safely, where to look before crossing and what makes crossing safe: ie: LOOK, LISTEN and THINK, looking left, right and behind.
The children were reminded never to use the phone whole crossing the street
During this activity one of the police officers pretending to be a stranger came and began talking to one of the children; the police officer intervened and asked the young child if this man was talking to him, the child replied yes and told the police officer that the man was asking for his personal details – this was the awareness they were trying to raise, never talk to strangers and never give personal details to strangers.
We at Cavendish find this training straight forward and invaluable for our young people. The next training session takes place on 8th October and we hope to be taking several more students along to participate.
Useful Information
Oyster Cards – By law when a child gets to 11 years old they need to have their photo oyster card as they are expected to pay a fare. First time Oysters last for 5 years and then parents/carers need to update it to the 16 year old Oysters.
Faded Pictures – If Oyster Card photo fades its important for parents/carers to contact TFL and have a replacement done; they will need to send back the Oyster Card so the picture can be replaced, its very important for the picture to be visible on card for the bus driver can check the identity of the traveller. Only the child in the photo can use the oyster to travel, no one else should be using it.
Inspectors on the bus – From time to time inspectors will be on the bus checking Oysters, either in uniform or plain clothes - children should be advised that they need to have their Oysters to hand ready for the inspector.