Approximately 400 Year 6 children (10–11-year-olds) from 10 local primary schools took part in a series of interactive safety workshops, under the ‘Junior Citizen’ banner.
This ‘Junior Citizen’ (JC) scheme aimed to teach children about important issues that are often overlooked by the curriculum, such as Safety on the Railways (platform safety, safe places to cross, dangers of electricity and how to make a 999 call ); First Aid (learning how to save a life; DRABC; basic life support – CPR; recovery position); Anti-Social Behaviour and the Dangers and Consequences of Criminal Damage; Health and Wellbeing (understanding why physical activity can help both your physical and mental health); Teamwork and Resect; On-line Conduct and Personal Safety (teaching young people how to use the Internet safely and prevent cybercrime); Water Safety (dangers, lifeguards, flags, safety signs, floating, what to do in an emergency).
The event, held this year at Weymouth Football Club, courtesy of Chairman, Ralph Ricardo, included sessions from the following participating agencies:
Network Rail/ South Western Railway, South Western Ambulance Service, British Transport Police, Dorset Police, Weymouth in the Community and the RNLI.
The workshops gave pupils the unique opportunity to learn valuable skills from the professionals, through practical demonstrations and discussions in real-life situations.
The event would not have happened without funding from key sponsor, Network Rail, and the kind support of Weymouth Football Club who provided the venue for free. Special thanks go to Andy Yates, Community Officer at Weymouth in the Community for his help and support, and all the team at the club who made us all very welcome.
A VIP Day was held on Monday, 15th June 2026, and was attended by special guests that included Mayor of Weymouth – Cllr David Harris, Angela Prescott, HSSE Director, South Western Railway/ Network Rail and colleagues, Tom McNamee, Infrastructure Director; Tom Desmond, Operations Director; Stuart Tautz, Route Operations Performance and Projects Manager; Marcia Burnett, Community Safety Manager Wessex Route; Superintendent Andy Kermack – Subdivisional Commander Western and Richard Willis – Wessex Route Embedded Inspector, British Transport Police.
Schools in attendance were Atlantic Academy, Portland and St John’s C E Primary School, Weymouth
Here are some pictures from the VIP Day… #juniorcitizen #childsafemedia
