Clever Camping
Have you ever been camping and struggled to find the tent zip in the dark? Well, a clever Akela (or cub leader for those of you not in scouting), has realised our fluorescent, reflective zip clips are just the thing to solve the problem... good idea Steven. And I promise we didn't put any pink ones in the pack we are sending for your cubs!

Bright Display for Parents Evening

If you are trying to get the 'be safe be seen' message into your school culture it needs to reach the parents as well as the children.

Put up a display for parents evening so they can see what being safe and seen is all about (not just yellow jackets!). It's an especially good chance to show off any high vis with your school logo on which you want to sell to parents.

Half Term - Get the Bikes Out
With such a mild, sunny February (so far) this year we want to get out as much as we can this half term. It's a good chance to give the bikes a bit of TLC with a check and go for a few rides with the kids on the days I'm not working.

As we move towards Spring the nights are getting lighter which is good for those cycling home from work. However, with the low sun it can get really dazzling with long shadows in late afternoon and so being kitted out in high vis is still really important (not just something to think about in November!!).

Wishing a safe, active, happy half term to all (unless you had yours last week)!

Park & Stride - Keep Cars Away from School Gates

Park and Stride schemes are a quick and easy way to reduce car congestion by the school gates.... and get the kids walking at least SOME of the way to and from school. Parents who have to drive (for whatever reasons) are asked to park well away from the school and walk the last bit. It may be on a quiet side street, in a pub/supermarket car park, with the agreement of the owner. It's all common sense I know... but something that probably won't happen unless you suggest it and promote it to parents.

To help you we developed our Park & Stride packs (reflectors, stickers, self-cling car window stickers and information sheet). We've just updated them so the car window sticker has a special writable panel. The car window stickers can be used solely to promote the scheme or can have an issue number/car registration written on and be used as a special 'Park & Stride' pass.

Happy Valentines Day
I hope you all get cards (it counts even if it they're from your kids!). And it has to be a red heart reflector for our photo today...

What is High Vis Friday?

The local school held a 'High Vis Friday' this week. All the children were encouraged to wear or carry something fluorescent and reflective to school and bring it to a special road safety assembly. Many of them already have their own high vis waistcoat, cap, sash or bag (depending on personal preference) as it is sold through the parents association. Some waistcoats are even offered free on loan by the school so it is available to every child.

Every so often the Eco committee or Junior Road Safety Officers stand by the school gates and award stickers to all the children who are wearing or carrying something fluorescent. It's one thing for children to have their own high vis, but another thing for them to remember to put it on so the sticker scheme helps by reminding them.

I Love Printing

Today I've been busy printing teeshirts, even though it's a Saturday.

Claire and Kim are our experts when it comes to garment printing here but when we're busy I give them a hand. It's one of my favourite jobs.... it's so rewarding to get a logo and transform it into a print on our high vis waistcoats, hats, bags

Schools like having their school logo printed onto our high vis jackets as it looks smarter and people can see where the children are from... good for the school's image too as it shows they take safety seriously (ticks several boxes for OFSTED/Every Child Matters). And printed logos can look really striking against our fluorescent waistcoat and bag colours.

Oh yes, and the bit about the teeshirts.... watch out, they're coming soon.

Santa's Visit to the Walking Bus
I've been working on our December e-newsletter today. Of course there has to be a Santa story this month so I put in a bit about when Santa came to visit our Walking Bus last year.

The kids loved it especially as our junior conductors were his helpers and helped give out free wristbands to those who took part. The press also came and took photos (Santa stories in December somehow seem to attract journalists). We had some new recruits, some of whom even came again when Santa wasn't there.

I think any walk to school scheme can do with a publicity/promotion boost like that every now and then just to keep the numbers up and help keep the profile high within school and to the wider public.

The only problem was we used a bit of a cheapo 'beard' - it didn't take the kids long to notice the elastic at the sides but at least they were impressed with the rest.

Where are the Cybermen and Welsh Dolls in Cardiff?

For the last couple of days I've been at a conference in Cardiff showing off our BrightKidz high vis wares to lots of school travel advisors (people who work for the council and help you start walk to school schemes and school travel plans etc).

I was also there as a speaker to talk about informal Walking Bus schemes and how they work. They were a friendly crowd so it was a good couple of days (and not too scary speaking as it is a subject I am passionate about).

Of course souvenirs were required for the kids. To them, Cardiff means Doctor Who (as filming is based there), so a model Tardis and first hand description of a meeting with David Tennant and a cyberman would have been first choice. Failing that a Welsh doll for my daughter (black hat etc) for a bit of tradition.... but I couldn't find any of those... and just had to make do with magazines.

High Vis Fashion Parade for Assembly

As part of our 'Be Bright Northants' project I went to Victoria Infants School in Wellingbrough to do an assembly last week. Here are some of the kids kitted out in BrightKidz fluorescent, reflective clothing etc for the 'mini fashion show' at the end.

We talked about different jobs where people wear fluorescent, reflective clothing and why they need to be seen. Walking to school is high on the agenda for the school so it was also a good chance to plug walking to school and the 'park and stride' idea which the school is trying to promote.

It's not that difficult to explain to four+ year olds that reflective (shiny) shows up at night and fluorescent (bright colours) show up in the day (I wish adults would understand it that easily). And yes, I know 'fluorescent' is a very long word for a 4 year old - but it is surprising how keen they were to learn it once I told them lots of adults don't know what it means!

Will the Alien Keep Cars off Pavements Outside School? Well, not exactly an alien...... more like a face on a box on a stick, stuck into a traffic cone with a speech bubble saying 'This Is Not A Car Park' and 'Pavements Are for People'. This was my Sunday morning burst of creativity to persuade parents not to park on pavements outside school at pick-up time. They are such a hazard as parents with buggies can't get past, children have to step on the road, children can't see round them, other drivers can't see children and worst of all sometimes the pavement parkers start to manoeuvre, reverse and drive off with children right next to them. Rather than direct confrontation (not my style, I prefer tact), my 'alien' will appear on the pavement outside school one day soon. Hopefully good use of an old Rice Krispies box and the Saturday magazine ad photos. I'll let you know how it goes!

Today is Social Enterprise Day As BrightKidz is a social enterprise we should really have marked today in some way. Last year children from a local school came to visit us for Social Enterprise Day, tried on lots of products and learned a bit about what a social enterprise is (and that business doesn't have to be just about making money). This year we're so busy packing orders that we had to give it a miss!

I went over to Gretton Homes near Corby this morning to pick up some zip clips which had been assembled by some of the residents. It's a care home for people with Prader-Willi Syndrome - an old house in a gorgeous setting, especially beautiful looking across their garden on a crisp autumn morning like today.

I heard about them a year ago on the radio as they put out an appeal to local businesses to give them paid work to occupy the residents, eg assembling jobs. I thought it was a brilliant idea so now we've set up paying them to put together our zip clips and some reflectors...... which is actually one example of what social enterprise is about.

Lambeth JRSOs
Here's a great photo of Junior Road Safety Officers getting kitted out with BrightKidz gear at the London Borough of Lambeth launch of their JRSO scheme. Looks like they enjoyed their high vis fashion show. (Photo courtesy of London Borough of Lambeth Road Safety, reproduced with permission).

Rain, Rain Go Away
June has been a washout as far as the weather is concerned and we've had flash floods here in Northants. The ford in the village was closed - a wise move as last January a car was washed under the bridge and down the river (luckily the driver was rescued by some TV aerial repairmen with their ladder). Who says nothing happens in sleepy villages?

Our BrightSportz golf umbrellas are proving handy for the Walking Bus and after school when I walk back with my own children. If storm clouds that are brewing start to burst... we're all covered.