Stay Safe

Here are some general safety tips when travelling to and from school...

Whatever you’re going to do, you will be safer and more confident if you remember to plan first. Teach yourself to remember to:

Planning:

• Think ‘how do I get there?’ and ‘how do I get back?’ before you go.
• Tell someone where you’re going, who with and when you will be back
• Think about any possible danger points

Look confident and let someone now where you are going:

• Wear comfortable clothes and shoes which allow you to move easily
• Remember your body language – stand tall and look like you now where you are going and why
• Carry a shriek alarm (and learn how to use it), emergency phone numbers (including the number to cancel your credit cards), some change, a phone card and your keys in a safe pocket

Avoid risks and be aware of what’s happening

• Keep looking at and listening to what’s happening around you
• Keep away from odd or out-of-the-way places whenever you can
• Try not to change plans at the last minute – or, if you have to, tell someone
• Keep one hand free – not shoved into your pocket or cluttered up with shopping

Never take your safety for granted. Never say to yourself:

• ‘It only happens to other people’
• ‘Its only a short journey’
• ‘They look honest and OK’

Trust your instincts – if you feel something is wrong, it makes sense to take action to avoid danger.

Stay Safe in public places

Valuables such as wallets, handbags, watches, cameras, and mobile phones can be tempting to the kind of thief who grabs and runs. Some criminals will hurt people to rob them. You’ll stay safer if you keep them out of sight.

Think about which of these ideas you can use to stay safer in different situations. Teach yourself to plan before you go out.

• Keep your bag or briefcase where you can see it or feel it – on your lap or touching your feet, not hung on the back of your chair when you’re eating out or having a drink
• Be aware of who is around you when using your mobile phone in public. Only use it if it feels safe.
• If you're carrying a personal attack alarm, make sure you can find it straight away (for example, its not at the bottom of your bag)
• Thieves love an easy target. Keep any expensive (or expensive looking) watches, chains or jewellery out of sigh. Tuck necklaces under you your collar or clothes in public if you can.
• Keep your wallet in an inside pocket of your coat or jacket. Take everything out of your pockets if you’re going to take the jacket off or hang it up somewhere.
• Wear your bag across your body so that it opens of the side facing you. In winter wear your coat over your bag to hide it. You’re an easy target if you leave your bag open or carry it over one shoulder.
• You’re less likely to get hurt if you let your bag, camera, phone or wallet go and don’t fight to keep it.
• Keep your keys in a different pocket from anything that has your address on it.
• Avoid carrying valuables in the outside pockets of a rucksack.
• Don’t keep the PIN number for your cash card on you. Keep the emergency number to cancel credit cards with you so you can phone immediately if you need to.
• If you use a wheelchair, keep your bags and valuables in front of you if you can, rather than hanging then on the back when thieves can dip into them.


Stay Safe on Foot

Walking in a city, town or village:

• You’ve got much more freedom if your hands aren’t full of bags
• If possible, ask a friend to go with you if you’re going to the bank or the post office
• Cross the road if you see people you don’t feel comfortable about
• Avoid shortcuts through dark places, waste ground or where people might have hiding places like trees and bushes
• Go out at different times of the day so no one can predict your movements
• Stay away from any car that’s parked for a while with the engine running

Walking after dark:

• Keep to well-lit-roads and carry a torch
• Walk in the middle of the pavement
• If you think someone’s following you, you can:
•
- Cross the Road
- Cross the road again if it seems they’re still following you
- Head for a place with lots of lights such as a garage, pub, village hall, police station or a hospital.
- Phone the police from a phone box or call the operator and make a reverse change call to a friend or relative
- If you are very afraid, you could knock or ring at someone’s front door and ask them for help

• If you think someone’s following you in a car:
- Turn around and walk the other way. You can turn around much faster by foot than in a car. Head for the nearest bright and crowded place and phone the police


Stay safe on public transport

Public transport day or night

• Plan your journey there and back; tell someone about your plans or leave a note where someone you know will easily see it.
• Find out the train or buses times so you don’t have to wait alone for a long time.
• Trust your instincts about who you sit near. Many people feel safer not sharing a compartment with just one other person. Sit near the driver or guard on a train, or downstairs near the driver on a bus if you can. On the train or tube, you can get out and go into another carriage at the next station.
• If someone threatens you or deliberately touches you, take control of the situation. Tell the other passengers or guard or conductor loudly and clearly what has happened. In an emergency, you can use the communication cord or emergency cord, or keep ringing the bell to make the driver stop. If you are on a train, contact British Transport Police as soon as you can, or ask someone else to.
• Make sure no one can see your name and address on letters if you read them on the bus or train. Say ‘hello’, not your name if you answer your mobile phone on public transport.

Public transport at night

• Catch your bus from somewhere busy and well lit, even if you have to go a bit further to get there. Plan your route.
• Most criminals don’t like bright lights - stay in a well-lit part of the station, near a help point phone if possible.
• Make sure you know the time of the last bus or train home.
• Trust your instincts about people getting off at the same stop or station as you. Arrange for someone to see you home if you can, or walk with people who you know travel the same route as you every night.


Stay safe cycling or biking

A bicycle is one of the best ways of getting around London. You can stay safer if you remember the plan before you go out on your bike

• Make sure is bike is in good condition. Check the bakes and tyres regularly. Fit a loud bell to your bike. Wear a safety helmet
• You’ll be much safer if people can see that you know exactly what you are doing. Even if you are in a hurry, avoid short- cuts, especially through badly-lit places. Plan your route and stick to it.
• Always lock your bike with a good quality lock when leaving it unattended. Property mark your bike (ask at the police station or get the leaflet for advice on how to mark your property) – visible marking can help prevent it being stolen.

If you’re cycling at night

• Make sure your lights (front and rear) are working properly – check before you start
• Wear clothes that make it easy for people to see you. Wear something white or, even better, reflective or luminous.

Stay safe on your motorbike, moped or scooter

Because a motorbike, moped or scooter is faster than a bicycle and much more manoeuvrable than a car, it’s easier to think you’re safe.

• For your own safety on the roads, its important to make sure that drivers can see you clearly
• Look at the suggestions for staying safe on a bicycle – you will probably find that most of them are good ideas for helping yourself to stay safer with a motorbike, moped or scooter as well.