The Rail Safe Friendly education programme is set to feature on BBC One’s Defenders UK series on Monday November 27 at 10am.
Rail Safe Friendly, which is run by digital education provider Learn Live, was launched in March 2023 and delivers Network Rail’s video safety content directly to schools via the Learn Live Channel. Already, over 3,000 UK schools are on board with the programme and 45 industry partners from across the rail sector have sponsored and become partners in it, including RSSB and the ORR
BBC One’s Defenders programme, which airs at 10am on Monday 27 November, focuses on the tragic story of 11-year-old Harrison Ballantyne who was killed at a train depot after climbing over a fence to retrieve his football and receiving a fatal electric shock.
Harrison’s mum, Liz Ballantyne, is a staunch support of the Rail Safe Friendly programme in its mission to provide school children with vital education about the dangers that can be posed by the railway.
Stuart Heaton, managing director of Rail Safe Friendly and Learn Live, was interviewed for the BBC Defenders programme. He said: “What happened to Harrison is desperately sad and it was hearing his story and speaking to his mum, Liz, that prompted us to launch Rail Safe Friendly. It is vital that schoolchildren are taught about the dangers and risks associated with the railway.
“I am delighted that, since Rail Safe Friendly launched in March, we have already been able to welcome 45 rail companies as our partners in the programme and more than 3,000 schools are on board. These partnerships are critical in helping us to reach as many children as possible with rail safety education with the aim of keeping them safe.”
Rail Safe Friendly broadcasts are delivered through live or on demand content digitally into classrooms and assembly halls via the Learn Live channel. The channel also has a moderated, GDPR compliant LIVE CHAT facility to promote interaction and involvement from the schools and colleges taking part in Rail Safe Friendly.
Rail Safe Friendly seeks to educate children and young people on the many dangers that are present on the railway. For example, nearly half of the UK rail network is electrified and more than 30 per cent uses a third rail to power the train. The third rail has 750 vaults running through it, which is enough to kill or seriously injure someone if they stepped on it. Overhead cables that power trains carry 25,000 vaults, more than 100 times the power of electricity in the average home. Electricity from overhead lines can also jump or arc through the air, meaning someone does not have to be touching the line to be electrocuted and killed.
Photo credit: Rail Safe Friendly
