Local pupils are safe as houses

16 / 09 / 2009

All 340 pupils at Windygoul Primary in Tranent were recently warned of the dangers of building sites and presented with various items of safety clothing by Livingston based developer, Walker Group (Scotland) Ltd.

Walker Group is currently developing a new residential community at Oakhurst, off Elphinstone Road, in the town and Healthy and Safety Officer, Paul Mainka, was keen to highlight the safety aspects required on a working building site and urge the children to be safe.

The presentation included an overview of a site by Paul, a safety video involving children and a question and answer session. Following the event Paul presented the pupils with “Be Safe Be Seen” clothing which included sashes for primary one to three pupils; luminous PE bags for primary four and five pupils; and duffle bags for primary six and seven classes. The school was also presented with a number of junior waistcoats for trips and armbands for use by the children attending the nursery.

Paul Mainka said, “There’s currently quite a lot of building going on between ourselves and other housing developers in and around the primary school at Tranent and its really important that children are aware of potential hazards these working environments can create such as site vehicles, excavations, scaffolding and so forth.

The children were really keen to ask questions so I’m confident they will be more aware now when out playing”Welcoming the initiative, head teacher Jane Hannah added, “We have to constantly remind children of the dangers they face in the local environment. They all listened well and were able to identify the bad choices the children made in the video.

Let’s hope our pupils make the right choices and stay safe.”

Oakhurst is a select development of three, four and five bedroom family homes with prices ranging from £199,000 and follows on from Walker Group’s recently completed development at Meadowpark, off Castle Road.

Further information on Walker Group is available from www.walkergroup.co.uk.