Top Playground Ideas For Schools: Road Safety Resources, EYFS, KS1 & 2
Updated on: December 9, 2024
Dull road safety resources? Think again. We’re a playground markings company that likes to think outside the box. For road safety education, we’ve got creative, fun playground ideas you and your pupils will love.
And it’s all about the playground.
Yes, think about the foot traffic in that busy outdoor space – for EYFS, there’s tricycles and scooters too. We don’t think about our school playgrounds in this way, but they can be hazardous spaces.
Consider break duty. When it’s your turn for playground duty, stop, look, and listen definitely comes into play! It’s the same for children as they avoid the hazards which result in bumps, thumps, and grazes if they’re not careful!
That’s why we developed our ever-popular Roadway Playground Markings Collection. Just look at what we did for the pupils and staff at Falconers Hill! Tailoring our playground ideas for schools to their bespoke requests, these are some of the custom markings we installed:
Let’s take a whizz through the key concepts road safety sessions should cover. After that, we’ll whip through some of our most popular road safety resources for schools.
Top Playground Ideas For Schools: Road Safety Resources, EYFS, KS1 & 2
Road Safety In The National Curriculum:
Wondering where road safety fits within the national curriculum? If you consider road safety within the context of citizenship, it’s a bit like healthy eating – it has many cross-curricular links.
As a universal support system for all children, alongside parents and carers, schools have a role to play in ensuring all pupils understand how to engage with roads and traffic safely.
In the past when funding was more plentiful, joint working with agencies, such as the police and emergency services, meant teachers had less involvement with road safety education than they do today.
Luckily we’re here to help!
For EYFS & KS1, beyond PHSE, cross-curricular links can be found in everything from DT to geography and English. For KS2, maths, science and IT can also come into play as well as cycling proficiency.
Main Objectives For Road Safety Activities:
EYFS & KS1:
- Know where it is safe to play outside.
- Understand how to use Stop, Look and Listen to cross the road safely.
- Understand how to use Be Safe, Be Seen to remain visible when the sun goes down, at night and in bad weather.
KS2:
- Know where it is safe to play outside.
- Know how to use the Green Cross Code to cross the road safely.
- Understand how to use a bike safely when riding on public roads and in public spaces.
- Know how to stay safe when travelling in vehicles.
- Understand how to use Be Safe, Be Seen to remain visible when the sun goes down, at night and in bad weather.
- Understand how and why to plan safe routes when journeying outside the home. (Upper KS2)
Key Road Safety Concepts To Cover With Children:
The Green Cross Code
Use the Green Cross Code as a simple, memorable way to teach children of all ages how to cross the road safely. The main learning from the code is to use Think, Stop, Look & Listen, Wait, Look & Listen, Arrive Alive.
- Think: Find a safe place to cross the road. Zebra crossings, patrolled crossings (ie. lollipop lady etc.), traffic islands and crossings with traffic lights are the safest places to cross.
If pupils can’t find one, they should choose a space where their vision is completely clear so they can see traffic in any direction. Likewise, all drivers on the road should be able to see them clearly. Remind pupils that oncoming vehicles include scooters, bikes, motorbikes, and skateboards, and that some of these vehicles are quiet.
Discuss how to travel along the road safely and how to decide where it is safe to cross. Remind children to:
– Walk on pavements or paths but never the road.
– Stay far away from the kerb and remain alert.
– Hold their adult’s hand (EYFS & KS1)
– Don’t use headphones or mobiles.
– Cross at the zebra crossing or traffic lights on busy roads.
– Always tell their adult where they are going.
Remind pupils if they come across a road which has no pavement and they have to use it, they should walk in single file, facing the traffic. However ideally, they should plan a safer route. If not, they should travel the route with an adult because walking on a road with no pavement is extremely dangerous!
Other places pupils should avoid when looking for a safe place to cross the road are spaces with parked cars on either side or those located on a bend or near the top of the hill. Each of those locations are hazardous because the view of oncoming traffic is not clear.
- Stop: Stop on the pavement well away from the kerb. Check carefully to ensure you have a good view of the traffic travelling from each direction.
- Look & Listen: Check for traffic in every direction. Look right, left, and right again. Listen carefully – remember you may not hear all vehicles.
- Wait: Wait for oncoming traffic to pass. If standing at a crossing, wait for the vehicles to stop.
- Look & Listen: Check for traffic in every direction again. Look right, left, and right again.
- Arrive Alive: If it is safe, pupils can cross the road. They should remember to walk and keep looking right and left until they are safely on the other side.
Be Safe, Be Seen
There are lots of situations which can make it hard for drivers to see us. At dusk when the sun is going down, in winter when daylight hours are short, at night, in bad weather and more. Pupils can help to keep themselves safe by making it easier for drivers to see them.
Wearing bright colours, fluorescent jackets and other high-vis accessories can help to ensure they stay safe. If it is night-time, pupils need to stick to reflective materials because bright colours and fluorescent material won’t stand up to the dark.
On the other hand, reflective materials reflect any light so even if the driver’s lights are the only lights around, reflective materials will ensure you are visible.
Useful Road Safety Facts
- Pedestrian accidents pose a greater hazard than anything else for children in the UK.
- Most children in the UK are injured when crossing close to home as they travel to or from school. Boys are more likely to be involved in a pedestrian accident than girls.
- More children are injured in pedestrian accidents during the summer months than the winter.
Now you’re fully clued up about the key elements of road safety education, here are some of our most popular road safety resources for schools. We’ve also included a selection of our fab school playground equipment which work seamlessly alongside our markings.
Playground Ideas For Schools: Road Safety Resources
Road Safety Resources For Children: Stop, Look & Listen
We have a superb range of playground resources in our Roadway Playground Markings Collection to help children remember the Green Cross Code. Words, colours, and images help to provide the visual cues children need to remember the key road safety code they will use for the rest of their lives.
Choose from stop, look, and listen markings with cute animal characters or colour-coded text.
Insert image of Stop Look Listen Playground Marking
For the ultimate reminder, our traffic light crossing ensures all pupils remember how important it is to look for a safe crossing and use the lights as well as their eyes and ears to cross the road safely.
Made from hardwearing thermoplastic, our playground markings for schools are robust, anti-slip, weather-proof and perfect for heavy use by large numbers of children. Lasting up to 10 times longer than traditional playground painting, thermoplastic enables us to produce bright, vibrant designs for schools that endure.
Road Safety Resources For Schools: Safe crossings, pathways & roads
The Zebra Crossing Playground Marking ensures no pupil from your school can say they don’t know what a safe crossing looks like or how to use one. Pair with traffic lights or use it on its own, either way pupils have a visual and practical tool to both see and practice crossing safely.
At the same time, here’s more proof your staff can reach beyond auditory teaching to accommodate visual and kinaesthetic learners in creative ways.
Practice looking left, right, and left again as you cross the road. Learn why it’s important to follow the highway code and travel in one direction along the road. Whether on foot or using wheels, keep to the right side of the marking. On the way back you’ll be on the other side.
Don’t forget to stop at the lights or zebra crossing and let other pupils pass!
Also available as single rather than double marking sets.
Dreaming of an organised EYFS playground? Imagine a place for tricycles to park, children to ride at a pace but safely and details to spark ideas for fun, creative play, or quiet time for every child. Consider your dream a reality with our multi-feature designs.
From spaces to park, to shops, benches and safe routes for riding, there’s something for everyone. You can tailor any of our designs to the needs and wishes of your school community or use them as inspiration for your own design. More about our bespoke design services
Road Safety Resources For EYFS, KS1 & KS2: The Highway Code – Top Signs
Between our Roadway Playground Markings Collection and our Activity Play Panels Collection we offer a wide variety of signs from the highway code. Signs from the Activity Play Panels Collection are 3D signs made from long-lasting HDPE and free from sharp edges. These signs can be bought and erected with or without recycled plastic posts.
Here are a number of our favourites:
Help pupils to remember to think of others as they play. Stopping to let other children pass helps to keep playtimes polite, safe, and enjoyable for all.
Remind pupils that we have to travel at different paces and stay alert, so everyone remains safe whilst travelling. Leaving enough time and room to stop safely is one of the biggest lessons drivers must learn
Browse full collection of street signs
Use our One Way Playground Marking to dramatically reduce the number of sore heads and grazed knees. With one direction of travel in place, no-one needs to bump into anyone else.
And that’s just a few of our most popular road safety resources for schools! Browse our full collection of road safety playground markings. Remember all our designs are bespoke so you can commission any ideas you have in mind.
Browse all playground markings for schools
Jess Sparks
Jess is deeply committed to supporting our mission of positively impacting UK outdoor play environments to promote healthy lifestyles in children.
With a CIM Level 6 Diploma in Sustainable Marketing, Jess channels her passion for sustainability into her marketing role, using her skills to promote eco-conscious practices and raise awareness for our initiatives.
Jess’ experience within the industry is instrumental in driving engagement and supporting connections with those who require ultra-durable, high-grade playground markings both locally and internationally.
