Annual Report

Transcription

1 Annual Report

2 2 The Risk Factory Annual Report 2011/12 Chair s Report Welcome to our fifth annual report, for the year 2011/12. The Risk Factory mission statement is to provide high quality, interactive community safety education, which will help to reduce risk and develop pro-active citizenship. I think from the number of repeat visits, and feedback we receive, that it's fair to say that we are achieving that. Highlights this year include: 92% of mainstream local authority primary schools from Edinburgh and the Lothians participating in the Primary 7 programme 95% of all sessions being delivered entirely by our team of volunteers 2,875 volunteer hours donated to deliver the various progammes 266 meetings/events of varying sizes/types delivered. This year there has been a number of staff changes at the Centre with Jim Laing the Fire Safety Adviser s secondment coming to an end and Angela Hall, Volunteer Co-Ordinator, moving onto another post. My thanks to them for the valuable contribution they made during their time with the project. On behalf of the Management Group I would like to thank everyone else who has been involved in making it another great year in particular our many volunteers, sponsors, partners, advisers and staff without whom the centre would not be the success it is. Shirley McLaren Chair The Risk Factory Management Group

3 3 The Risk Factory Annual Report 2011/12 Programme Delivery No matter how hard we try we can never lead a totally risk free life. If we did we would never go out or do anything! What we can do is to think carefully about the things in our lives which could be dangerous and find ways to make them safer or avoid them. At The Risk Factory (TRF) we do that by manufacturing everyday risks in a safe environment. School attendance figures remain high with 92% of local authority primary schools from Edinburgh and the Lothians attending during the 2011/12 academic year. The programme is also delivered to P7 pupils from special need, independent and a small number of schools from outwith our catchment area, as detailed below. School attendance figures for the 2011/12 academic year were: SCHOOL TYPE LOCAL AUTHORITY SPECIAL NEEDS INDEPENDENT OTHER LOCAL AUTHORITIES TOTAL Number of schools attended Number of pupils attended 6, ,030 In addition to schools the centre delivered programmes to a range of other groups. These include Cubs and Social Care Students. Other groups TYPE OF GROUP CUB SCOUTS ADULTS WITH ADDITIONAL NEEDS LANGSIDE COLLEGE - NC IN SOCIAL CARE STUDENTS YOUTH GROUPS SOCIAL SERVICES REFERRALS TOTAL Number of groups/sessions Number of participants

4 4 The Risk Factory Annual Report 2011/12 Teacher Feedback To ensure we continue to provide the best experience for pupils, teachers are invited to rate the scenarios in relation to educational value and engagement. The vast majority of scenarios were graded as good or very good. The overall assessment for a visit to TRF, where responses were received, was judged to be Very Good (70%) and Good (10%). No respondents judged a visit to be less than Good. Comments received from teachers included: As ever fantastic! Totally invaluable experience. I know from previous years that this trip has a very long lasting effect. Parson s Green Primary School The children were extremely positive about the experience and wanted to do it again so they could do it right, showing that they had learned about the dangers and what a difference the correct response would have made. Both the children and I thought the trip was extremely useful and made them think in a fun but realistic context. The trainers and venue were excellent. Roseburn Primary School Fantastic and vital service. Hands on practical experience. Balbardie Primary School I take my P7 class every year and each class thoroughly enjoys it and gets a lot from it, thank you. Sacred Heart Primary School

5 Comments from school pupils 5 The Risk Factory Annual Report 2011/12 My favourite scenarios were the bus, the vandalism part and the canal/beach I got a really big fright when the little girl fell off the scaffolding though! The burning house scenario was good too, although I forgot the old lady and went to find the keys! But now I know what to do in that situation. Pupil - Linlithgow Primary School My favourite part was the substation. I learnt not to go in a substation because I get killed. I also liked the part where the robber broke into the house. Pupil - Redhall Special Needs School I actually enjoyed all the scenarios but my favourite 3 were the fire in the granny s house, the seaside and the railway. I learned some new and exciting things despite how scared I was it was amazing. Pupil - Fallin Primary Acrostics created by pupils from Liberton Primary School Risk or no risk? Is this safe? Searing fires to upturned boats Killing can be caused by little things Really fun Impressed Safe and trusting Keeping myself safe now Finding out about safety Always stay out of danger zones Careful not to hurt yourself Think and plan Open fires spread quickly Ring 999 in case of emergency Your #1 priority is keeping yourself safe Facing the facts An amazing experience Can teach you a lesson Thinking about risks Once in a lifetime opportunity! Ready for anything You changed the way I act!!

6 6 The Risk Factory Annual Report 2011/12 Volunteers During the 2011/12 academic year the volunteers, of whom there are more than 60, delivered the important safety messages The Risk Factory was set up to convey to over 95% of the groups that toured our facilities. Although in real terms this is a decrease of 2% it actually represents an additional 48 volunteer led groups. In terms of time, our volunteers have contributed over 2,875 hours delivering tours at The Risk Factory this year. That s 120 full days, or the same as one person working a 40 hour week for a year and a quarter! In addition to this volunteers have also given up their time to extend their knowledge by attending a range of training sessions/visits over the course of the year including: Gas/Carbon Monoxide safety delivered by Scotia Gas Networks; Fire Safety and Emergency Evacuation Procedure training and a visit to the Trams Depot at Gogar to look at safety in relation to trams. The results of our Volunteer Survey found that all of our volunteers felt The Risk Factory was a good place to volunteer. They also all agreed that they felt they were making a difference and felt a sense of achievement doing what they were doing. Huge thanks for being our tour guide. Without you we wouldn't be aware of the dangers. Pupil, Forthview Primary School Our volunteers are our most valuable asset without whom The Risk Factory would not work. Management Group

7 7 The Risk Factory Annual Report 2011/12 Staffing This year has seen a number of changes in personnel at the centre with Lud Ramsey joining the team in August 2011 as Fire Safety Adviser. Lud replaces Jim Laing who has returned to a Community Safety post in Lothian and Borders Fire and Rescue Service. Caroline Wilson formally joined the team in September 2011 as Risk Factory Officer and Steven Halkett in March 2012 as Risk Factory Support Officer. Angela Hall, Volunteer Co-ordinator left in December 2011 to take up a new post in the City of Edinburgh Council. The role of co-ordinating the volunteers is now shared between Caroline and Steven. Room hire Demand for our training and meeting room facilities remains high, hosting some 266 events, of varying sizes and types. During this year one of the offices has been added to the portfolio of rooms available for hire, providing additional accommodation/breakout space. For further information on room hire please contact us on Contingency Plan To ensure the core programme is able to run in the event of a shortage of volunteers a contingency plan was drawn up and trialled successfully on two occasions in November Feedback from those involved was positive and fortunately we have had no call to use the plan since. Central Fire Service An agreement was reached with the Central Fire Service to deliver the Primary 7 programme to 16 schools from their service area. Bringing much welcome additional income, and a chance to share The Risk Factory experience with neighbouring local authorities, 510 pupils attended over a three week period in September Comments from schools included: Very enjoyable, worthwhile experience for all children. Lessons for life well learnt. St Mungo s Primary, Alloa Thank you for an informative day. The children leave here today much more prepared to deal with risks and emergencies. Hallglen Primary School Pupils have had a fantastic day. All have found the experience exciting and fun. They will now be much better prepared when facing risks in emergency situations. Carmuirs Primary School

8 The Risk Factory is an association funded by: Sponsors The Risk Factory is grateful for the support and sponsorship received for the centre from the following organisations during the 2011/12 financial year. Designed by the City of Edinburgh Council Corporate Governance 1374/SFC/SA/November 2012 Gas Safety Trust Maritime and Coastguard Agency Scottish Environment Protection Agency Scottish Power West Lothian Council (Knife Crime initiative) For more information on sponsorship opportunities please contact The Risk Factory on The Risk Factory 20 New Mart Road Edinburgh EH14 1RL