Due to limited capacity, we have had to look closely at our educational provision. You will be pleased to know, based on the number of fires in the home involving children, that your school is in one of the safest areas in terms of fire safety.
We have created a range of fun and engaging resources, which can be used by teachers in the classroom to make sure all the children learn important fire safety messages.
Below you will find the resources and teacher notes for a range of activities that can be completed with your class.
As a minimum we would ask that you watch Dad’s Dinner video (12 minutes) and Escape plan video (3 minutes) and recap the important safety messages of having working smoke alarms and to get out, stay out and call 999. Please also send the information sheet home to parents and carers.
If you have additional capacity, please do use the rest of the resources to help the children understand the important messages to keep themselves safe and learn about the role of a firefighter.
Thank you for your commitment to safeguarding the children in your care by helping them understand how to be safe around fire, roads and water.
The topics are:
In addition we have:
- Colouring / activity worksheets to use with the children.
- Take home sheet – to help the children take the important safety messages home.
- Feedback form and certificate – from yourself to help us improve the resources. By filling out the feedback form you will access the fire safety certificate for your class.
Take home sheet
To help the children put their learning into practice and have safer homes, it is important that the parents and carers know what the children have learnt.
Please could you either, print or email home the document “Take home evaluation KS1 Colouring 2”.
The colouring sheet contains a QR code that parents and carers can scan to complete a form with the children, to make sure everybody learns the important safety messages. It also allows them to enter a prize draw to win a VIP trip to a fire station, Blaze bear and emergency services play set (Lego or Playmobil) One prize draw entry will be chosen at the end of the academic year.
Feedback and certificate
It is very important that we provide an excellent standard of service to schools. Therefore, to help us improve we would be very grateful if you could take a few moments to fill in this quick online survey about the self-delivered activities.
Your feedback is important in allowing us to develop the resources we can offer you. Once you have submitted the evaluation, there will be a link to download and print a class certificate.
Dad’s Dinner
A story read by a firefighter introducing the idea of smoke alarms and the importance of knowing “Get out, Stay out and Call 999”. Dad is cooking dinner for the family, disturbed by the phone he leaves the apron on the hot hob which catches fire. The smoke alarm sounds, and everyone manages to get out safely. Safety messages are given throughout the story as the family get out, stay out and call 999. The firefighters arrive and everyone is safe.
Main activity: 12-minute video safety story read by Firefighter Paul, followed by short recap of the main safety messages.
Resources: Dad’s Dinner Safety Story and safety messages access via the Dad’s Dinner PowerPoint (video and recap slides)* or via YouTube
To do:
- Watch the video of Dad’s Dinner (12 minutes)
- Recap the safety messages: use the PowerPoint to go over the main safety messages. There are two additional safety messages which do not feature in Dad’s Dinner but can be found in the Safety Story “But What If?” (link below) please note this story does not need to be watched to cover the safety points.
Click through each slide for:
- Question about the story (red box)
- Answer (blue box)
- Question on how you can stay safe (green box)
- Answer on how to stay safe (white box)
Questions and safety messages are
- How did the fire start? Be careful around the cooker
- How did the family know there was a fire? Have working smoke alarms
- What did they do when they heard the smoke alarm? Get out, Stay out, Call 999
- What did the family keep near the door? Keep keys near the door
- Where did the children go when outside? Have a meeting point
- How did Dad call for help? Get out, Stay out, Call 999
- What if the room is filled with smoke? Get down low
- How to get safely through a door? Feel with the back of your hand.
Additional activities:
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- Cut out the pictures and put them in the correct order of the story.
- Write what happened next to each picture
- Add a safety message for each picture
- “But what if…” safety story DWFire Story Time: But What If…. a safety story following on from Dad’s Dinner, recapping and building on the safety messages.
Know your escape plan
Knowing what to do if there is a fire is very important. If the children understand what they need to do, it will hopefully help them stay calm and safe in a potentially stressful and scary situation.
Main Activity: Watch a video explaining escape plans in further detail, using what has been learnt to explain the main elements and order of a fire escape plan.
Resources: Escape plan video (3 minutes) accessed via the Escape plan PowerPoint* or via YouTube.
Escape plan ordering activity sheets:
- Know your escape plan words and pictures
- Know your escape plan no pictures
- Know your escape plan no words
- Know your escape plan answers
To do:
- Watch the escape plan video (3 minutes)
- If required, use the following slides to recap the parts and order of an escape plan, or use after the children have worked on their escape plan order to confirm the correct answers.
- Using what they have learnt in Dad’s Dinner and the escape plan video, use one or more of the activities below to put the elements of a fire escape plan in order.
There are three different worksheets and five activities for differentiation. Children can work in groups, pairs or individually.
Using “Know your escape plan words and pictures” – three different activities:
- Split the class into small groups of 3 -4 children. Give each group one stage of the escape plan to act/ mime to the rest of the groups who try to guess the message. Once all the stages of the escape plan have been acted out, the teacher or the children put themselves in the correct order of an escape plan and act it out again in the correct order.
- Cut out the escape plan pictures and words on each piece, put in the correct order.
- Cut out the escape plan pictures and words on separate pieces and match the words to the picture and put in the correct order.
Using “Know your escape plan no pictures” These are in the correct order. Children draw pictures to represent the actions of the escape plan.
- Cut out the words, children to place in the correct order and draw pictures to represent the actions of the escape plan.
Using “Know your escape plan no words” These are in the correct order. Children write the words of the escape plan next to the picture.
- Cut out the pictures, children to place in the correct order and write the words of the escape plan next to the picture.
Firefighters
Firefighters can be a great inspiration to children, role modelling behaviours and teaching children how to be safe. In this section children can learn about:
- the role of firefighters.
- what firefighters have, to help them look after people in an emergency.
- how the children can stay safe like a firefighter.
- firefighter characteristics and how the children can be like firefighters.
- acting out the actions of a firefighter.
Main activity: Use the PowerPoint “Firefighter” with a mix of short videos and activities to find out the different roles of a firefighter, the characteristics of firefighters and encourage the children to be inspired by firefighters.
Resources: Firefighter PowerPoint*
To do:
- What do firefighters do? Watch the Playmobil video (2:23 minutes) to learn about the main three rescue roles of a firefighter: putting out fires, rescuing people from crashes and rescuing people from water.
Recap the three types of rescues. For each rescue there is an icon (fire, road, water) an image from the Playmobil film, an image of real firefighters and an image to give a safety message.
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- Fire – the fireworks started a fire.
Firefighters have hoses and water to put out fires.
Remember if there could be a fire: Get out, Stay out, Call 999.
- Fire – the fireworks started a fire.
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- Roads – Stevie’s car crashed with the clowns inside.
Firefighters have special equipment to help people in crashed cars.
Always wear a seatbelt (and sit on a car seat if needed).
- Roads – Stevie’s car crashed with the clowns inside.
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- Water – Mrs Atkinson floated away in the flood.
Firefighters are trained to help rescue people in water.
If you are scared or in danger in water, float like a star.
- Water – Mrs Atkinson floated away in the flood.
Please note there are additional resources for water and road safety below.
- What do firefighters have to help them?
Watch Firefighter Heather (2:30 minutes) explain what firefighters do and the equipment they have to help them.
Click on the link embedded in the PowerPoint to access the video.
- What are firefighters like?
Using the characteristics firefighters have to inspire the children.
Click through the slides to reveal a characteristic. You can link the characteristics of a firefighter to the child i.e. bravery doesn’t just mean rescuing someone in an emergency, it can be trying something you are not sure of.
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- Brave
- Works as part of a team
- Listens carefully
- Does as they are asked
- Speaks clearly
- Keeps trying even when it is hard
- Kind and thoughtful
- Keeps fit and healthy
- Be a firefighter!
Watch the Firefighter Actions video (5:50 minutes) and act along with Davina demonstrating actions to pretend to be a firefighter going to a fire.
The children will need to have room to stand up and take part in the actions.
Click on the link embedded in the PowerPoint to access the video
There are two additional slides:
- Actions to get ready to go to a fire which can be moved along in your time
- Characteristics of a firefighter – more advanced words.
Additional Activities:
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- Complete the sums for each square. Use the squares with 9 as the answer to help the firefighters take a route from the fire station to the home on fire.
- Crack the code worksheet 1 and worksheet 2:
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- Use the number to letter code to work out the Firefighter’s Secret Safety Saying.
Colouring sheets:
Additional colouring sheets for use:
Water Safety
It is important that all children (whether they can swim or not) know what to do if they are in trouble in water or feel scared in water. If you could spend a few minutes showing the children how to “float like a star” (lie on their backs, arms and legs out like a star) this would be invaluable in helping them know what to do if they get in trouble in water.
- The RNLI’s Seaside Safety Song (30 seconds) video song from the RNLI introduces the concept of “Float” as well it being safer to go to a lifeguarded beach.
- Many resources to teach about water safety can be found from both the RNLI and RLSS websites.
RNLI Education Resources For Young People
Water Safety Education Resources for Schools - Safe by the River: Read by Zoë Wanamaker, CBE (6 minutes) Safety Story
- Safe by the Sea: Read by Sharron Davies, MBE (7 minutes) Safety Story
Road Safety
It is important that children learn how to stay safe using the roads either as a passenger in a vehicle, as a pedestrian or on a bike or scooter.
- Stuart Driver “Stay back stay safe” – YouTube (1:45 minutes) Firefighter Stuart explains how it is important to “stay back and stay safe” when an emergency vehicle is passing and that firefighters always wear their seatbelts.
- Many road safety resources can be found on the Think! Road Safety website https://www.think.gov.uk/education-resources/
Fire Appliance visit
We understand that a visit by the fire crew and the fire appliance is very beneficial to the children. However, due to capacity we are sadly unable to fulfil every request. To enquire if a fire appliance would be available please fill in this form.
The request will be sent to your local fire station. If they have capacity to visit they will contact you using the details on the form. If you do not hear back, sadly they do not have capacity for the visit this year.
Please do not share the form with other schools, and use this form only for requests for a fire appliance.
If there is capacity, please note:
- Classes being visited must have completed the minimum activities (for Key Stage 1 this is Dad’s Dinner and the Escape Plan videos). Please do not complete this form unless this has been completed or planned for before the firefighter visit.
- There is only one visit per school per year, so please consult with other teachers to see if other classes would also like a visit.
- The firefighters’ visit can be up to approximately 90 minutes so please work with other teachers to work out a timetable.
- The firefighters are operational. This means they may not turn up, unfortunately we would be unlikely to be able to contact you if this is the case. Or they may be called away during the visit. Depending on individual circumstances they will try to rearrange the visit wherever possible.
- The risk assessment can be found here: Dorset & Wiltshire Fire Service | Risk Assessment for DWFRS visits.
The information on this page can be found in this document for ease of printing if wished.
Thank you for your assistance in helping safeguard the children in your care by helping them learn how to stay safe.
*PowerPoints will need to be downloaded to use.