Children’s book to teach students how to deal with terror attack
Children in British primary schools are to be taught how to treat the victims of a terrorist attack, with a book about a cat set loose in a school for mice.
Moggy’s Coming is the creation of the team of doctors behind the Citizenaid app, which advises users what to do and how best to help if there is an active gunman or knife attacker or a suspected or exploded bomb. Its messages are based on the national police message of “run, hide, tell”. The charity adds a fourth message, “treat”.
About 500 teachers in Birmingham have been trained to use materials for schoolchildren produced by the group, including the new book.
It tells the tale of a school of mice preparing in case of a cat attack, with teachers telling pupils to run, or if that is not possible hide, tell the police and treat injured classmates. It then shows them putting their preparation into practice when a cat turns up.
It includes words that can be sung to the tune of the nursery rhyme London’s Burning: “Moggy’s coming, Moggy’s coming, we’re in danger, we’re in danger, run, hide and tell! Treat the hurt mice, treat the hurt mice!”
It also features a poem, which includes the lines: “When it’s safe then treat the hurt / with a scarf or sock or shirt / you can pack a wound and press / to stop the bleeding for success!” Separate materials for slightly older children show a lion escaping from the circus and getting into a school where it scratches some pupils in the playground. Teachers are encouraged to discuss with their classes how it makes them feel, as well as the practical measures they might take in such a situation.
Brigadier Tim Hodgetts, medical director of the Defence Medical Services, who developed the materials, said: “We are passionate about making sure what we learnt the hard way in the military does get into the civilian community, to wider benefit . . . If there are indiscriminate attacks in public places, children are part of the public and they will be swept up.”
Brigadier Hodgetts said: “In secondary school we have teacher-led discussions about a shooter in a school. It is very clear these are very unusual, very unlikely situations and it is about being prepared, not scared.”
Young children will discuss in general terms how they might treat wounds, and the importance of asking a grown-up is stressed. Secondary school children might be given advanced first aid training, for example on how to pack a large wound to stop bleeding, or on using a tourniquet.
Brigadier Hodgetts said the skills taught might also be useful in something like a road traffic accident where there were likely to be multiple casualties. “I think there are a lot of safety messages around schools, like stranger danger and fire drills. There are other threats that children have to be aware of and respond to,” he said. “If we look at the allegories, they are not talking about terrorism, they are talking about if you are in a situation where somebody is trying to hurt you.
“It is up to the teacher to discuss it appropriately. They will know what children can cope with.”
Chief Superintendent Jo Chilton, head of the National Ballistics Intelligence Service, said: “The Citizenaid message is a critical one and has the full support of the National Firearms Independent Advisory Group. I am acutely aware of the difference that ordinary people can make in the aftermath of an attack.
“It is reassuring to know that the young people of Birmingham are going to be empowered to do the right thing in these unlikely but possible scenarios as well as providing transferable skills for day-to-day life.”
Source: http://www.theaustralian.com.au/news/world/the-times/childrens-book-to-teach-students-how-to-deal-with-terror-attack/news-story/66d14636daffb77cb9dff39abba902ff
Comments