The Nathalia and District Preschool has earned recognition as a finalist in the Victorian Early Years Awards for its groundbreaking Road Safety and Bike Riding Program, securing a spot in the Promoting Children’s Health and Wellbeing category.
Photo by
Contributed
Nathalia and District Preschool has earned recognition as a finalist in the Victorian Early Years Awards for its groundbreaking Road Safety and Bike Riding Program, securing a spot in the Promoting Children’s Health and Wellbeing category.
Hold tight - we’re checking permissions before loading more content
The preschool, under the management of the Goulburn Region Preschool Association, participated in the Early Learning Association Australia’s Starting Out Safely Road Safety Education Inquiry Project in 2022, with support from the TAC, Royal Children’s Hospital and Victoria Police.
The children were introduced to practising listening and following directions, before venturing into the local community to look at all the various road signs, the vehicles that move through town and practising walking together as a group while following the road rules.
Children honed their bike-riding abilities at Nathalia Recreation Reserve before exploring the community on footpaths and levy banks.
Photo by
Contributed
“The four-year-old preschoolers practise their bike-riding skills at the Nathalia Recreation Reserve, where there are open spaces which provide opportunities to practise riding in caterpillar formation,” Nathalia Early Childhood teacher Andrea Sutton said.
“From there, we then ventured out into our community, riding along the levy banks and on the footpaths.
“Every year we complete the program where we travel to a planned destination and go for an extended bike ride.
“We have visited the Elmore Field Days where we caught up with RSE project manager Zora Marko, who was utterly amazed at the children’s skills, along with many members of the public, and last year we rode over the old Echuca-Moama Bridge.
“Zora also acknowledges our initiative with this project, which was applauded by the early childhood sector’s peak body, ACECQA, the TAC and ELAA.”
Encouraging children’s participation in road safety education and this road safety initiative has led to many wonderful outcomes for the children and the Nathalia community as a whole.
GRPSA early childhood manager Lauren Lazarevski commended the program’s success.
“GRPSA and the board are absolutely impressed with the initiative and dedication of the Nathalia team,” she said.
“The time and effort that goes into planning and executing these excursions is extensive.
“The team at Nathalia constantly go above and beyond for their community and little learners.
“GRPSA and Nathalia would like to thank the Department of Education, the Nathalia community and educators for their continued support.”
