Supporting Education

Rotarians ‘Watch Out!’ for children

Rotarians ‘Watch Out!’ for children

Falmouth Rotarians are recognized by the Mayor for their efforts for distribution of the educational novel ‘Watch Out!’

On Friday, September 24th The Mayor of Falmouth, Cornwall and Councillor Steve Eva, held a reception for those involved in the development and distribution of the children’s book ‘Watch Out!’ which was written to prepare children for some of the dangers they may face in life.

Steve Eva has said, “child safety was important, and the book helped children to understand and to react safely to bad situations.”

The Councillor thanked the Rotary President Peter Scott and his club, Falmouth Rotary for distributing the book to schools in the area.

Peter introduced Tony and Lynn Churchill, Buckinghamshire Rotarians and authors of the novel.

The book was a great help to teachers, it enabled them to understand some of the children’s problems, enabling them to be resolved more easily.”

Tony explained that when he was a policeman with the Thames Valley Police, he was increasingly concerned with the dangers children were facing today from social media, diversity issues and drugs.

He and Lynn wanted to produce a book that was well researched so that it was a valuable resource for teachers to initiate a discussion between teachers, parents and the children.

The book has been illustrated by children so that the situations shown within it were easier to understand for the children reading.

‘Watch Out!’ covers 34 dangerous including scenarios from Royal National Lifeboat Institution on safety around water.

Tony expressed his gratitude to Falmouth and SW Peninsula Rotary for making the reprint of the book possible so that the old copy could be updated and improved.

Local Rotarians have successfully distributed the book to thirteen schools in the area of Falmouth, as well as allocating almost 10,000 copies to 80 schools in Cornwall and Devon.

Tony explained that when he was a policeman with the Thames Valley Police, he was increasingly concerned with the dangers children were facing today from social media, diversity issues and drugs.”

The headteacher of Mabe Primary (one of the receiving schools) said: “The book was a great help to teachers, it enabled them to understand some of the children’s problems, enabling them to be resolved more easily.”

A game was also designed based on the book called ‘Mistakes & Ladders’. It is aimed to help children to actively understand what the right choice was when dealing with dangerous situations.

Rotary of Falmouth is becoming an increasingly important partner for the Town Council as stated by the Mayor.

For more information about the kids ‘Watch Out!’ project, follow this link.