Children's Fire Safety Programs in Edinburgh - Term Paper Example

Children’s Fire Safety Programs in Edinburgh Introduction Educating and training children can help to prevent injuries while raising awareness among youth. However, to do this effectively, there is the need to meet specific guidelines and standards while ensuring that the education works effectively for children. An area that needs to have a specific focus is in Edinburgh, Scotland. Adding in a child fire safety awareness program to help children understand the hazards of fire as well as the preventative methods that can be used will provide a stronger basis for children’s understanding. The result will be fewer injuries and casualties that occur within the community as well as raised awareness for the children. However, for this project to work effectively there is the need to target the specific needs and safety alternatives that are available in Edinburgh. According to a current survey, (Child Safety Action Plan for Europe, 2007), children in Edinburgh are more susceptible to accidents and fire hazards than any other are in Europe. It was found that the children in this area are not concerned about dangers, accidents and injuries that may occur. More importantly, most of the children in this area believe that they know what it takes to be safe even though programs and educational systems are not implemented to help prevent injury. More importantly, there was not a consistent set of understanding about safety related measures or knowledge about how to prevent injury. The behaviors and the information relating to fire hazards among the children differed greatly, showing that educational programs and outreach alternatives are not educating or meeting the needs of children (Child Safety Action Plan for Europe, 2007). By creating more consistency with education and plans that are available in Edinburgh, there will be the ability to alter the understanding of injuries, accidents and fire hazards that children may encounter. Hiring of Staff as Community Safety Practitioners To assist with the child safety awareness in Edinburgh, a prevention campaign will need to be set up and monitored to assist those that are within the community. The first step to this is looking into hiring staff as community safety practitioners. The role and responsibility of these staff will be based on building campaigns that target different schools and areas in Edinburgh. Programs will be initiated to assist children in learning about fire safety while providing follow ups to ensure that the information has been given to those that are within the schools. The duty of the staff will be to train and educate children and to monitor the campaigns to ensure that the message for fire safety is given to several that are in the school. To further the campaigns, there will also need to be a level of innovation from the staff. It has been found that past prevention programs educate children but don’t change behaviors, which leads to several of the injuries and accidents. Motivational theory and promotion of concern will need to be combined with the basic programs that are implemented (Linares, Linares, 1990). The terms of employment that will be used for the staff will include the basic concepts that are applied to the promotional programs that will be developed. The hours that will be set will be based around the organization of the program with flexibility in arranging the programs during regular working hours of 9 – 5. However, it will be expected that the two staff members be available during school hours and while the campaigns are being implemented. Holidays will be consistent with the school hours as well as the attendance that is required. Since there is flexibility in the program, the staff will not be required to work full time, which limit some of the benefits and retirement opportunities. The place of work will also be flexible with a car that will be supplied to the staff so they can speak with the schools on implementing new programs. The level of skill will be related to this, with the requirements based on staff that can manage high levels of innovation through the use of technology and interest for children. Furthermore, the campaigns will need to initiate ways to communicate and train children on fire prevention. Follow up measures will be used as well all which will be designed to create not only awareness, but also lifestyle changes that will prevent injury. The staff will be responsible for finding ways to implement the moderation and follow up for behavior prevention. The academic role that is required for this is one that should include a background in an educational or communication program at a Bachelors level. The physical role will be based only on the need for the staff to become mobile when implementing the awareness promotional programs through different schools. Financial Costs The costs that are associated with the program will include the following: Materials for prevention programs - 100,000 Salaries of two staff – 120,000 Other operating costs – 200,000 Depreciation – 70,000 The costs that are applied are based on standard estimates for fire prevention awareness programs, including operating costs used for the office space, mobility and awareness materials. This also includes marketing components that are a part of the financial needs and materials that are combined with this to ensure that the program is innovative and provides the correct focus for students that are within the program. Even though the costs have a specified amount in terms of the prevention programs, there are also several risks that are a part of this model. One of the requirements of being effective in safety prevention training courses is based on the need to have innovative measures within the program for students. Since there is a focus on not only changing the level of education but also behaviors and attitudes, there may need to be more materials and different approaches toward teaching the students. The promotion will also include a marketing approach that will need to be used not only within schools for the awareness programs, but also with the community at large, specifically when speaking with families about fire prevention (Hodgson, 1995). The costs of innovation and the requirements needed to change the program to become more effective is one that can’t be determined in order to be effective. Physical Resource Costs The budget used for physical resources will be reliant first on the expectations of the staff and the pay that will be provided for those working on and implementing the programs. This will be followed by the materials and marketing that will be needed to promote the campaigns for fire awareness. When looking at these standards, it is important to recognize that the policies used for fire departments and the government will first need to be considered. This will be followed by the operations that show accountability to the resources that are being used. Office space for the planning and implementation that requires the mobile resources are two of the costs that will need to follow specific policies. The physical resources will be followed by the programs and the ability to show that the preventative measures being used in materials is cost effective and is providing the results that are required for those that are being educated by the specific programs (Grant, Hoover, 1994). Resource and Procure Materials for Staff For the programs to be implemented correctly among staff there will be the need to provide basic materials to ensure that the correct education is provided. The first resource that will need to be given to the staff is based on the current strategies that are used in Edinburgh as a part of the fire prevention initiatives. This consists of training and development programs that the Edinburgh fire departments currently use as well as educational programs that are already available with the staff. More importantly, these resources will provide procedures and basic understanding of what is required to move through fire hazards and the safety that is required in turn (Office of the Deputy Minister, 2005). The basic strategies that are used with the current development of programs will provide a stronger understanding of the requirements that need to be matched by the staff. A second concept that will be provided to the staff in terms of materials to implement the new programs are based on newer developments that have been associated with strategies as well as expectations that are being built for educational programs. The initiatives that are currently being developed in Edinburgh and in Europe are based on becoming more efficient and improving the current educational programs that are available. More importantly, the fire program strategies that are being implemented to begin to change the effectiveness of various educational systems will need to be given to the staff. There will need to be an understanding of the expectations, vision and the objectives that are a part of the newer plans as well as an assessment of what the past educational programs and promotional alternatives have provided for those that are working with the specific programs (Communities and Local Government, 2009). The third set of materials that will need to be provided to staff is based on extra internal and external resources for the training that will be done. The internal resources will consist of policies, procedures and regulations that are within Edinburgh and which are required to comply with the standards that are within the specific program. This will need to be furthered by other internal resources of past programs, implementation of standards and the requirements that are needed for training. The materials that are available will be followed by external resources that compare and contrast the expectations. The obligation that will be fulfilled by providing these resources will help the staff to have a stronger understanding of the goals of the facility. More importantly, it will help to give a foundational basis for the newer educational goals that will need to be implemented (Cote, 2003). By providing these materials, the staff will have the ability to evaluate the current situation and to work toward more innovative measures for newer programs and educational materials. Evaluation of Project The main goal of the new fire campaign will be based on changing lifestyle and behaviors through innovation and education. There will be two levels that will be evaluated for the project; long term and short term results. Each of these will be monitored first by the level of communication that is used for the program as well as continuous statistics and insight into the various programs that have been implemented. The evaluation will continue with an understanding of how to implement new features from other programs as well as from innovations that will help with the process of the program for children. The short term educational program will be evaluated by continuous monitoring that occurs directly after the promotion has taken place. Children will be evaluated by their retention of knowledge through a brief survey or test that will be given. Teachers will also be given an evaluation form to show the level of responsiveness from the children as well as an assessment of how effective they believed the program was. By doing this, there will be the ability to change and develop the programs so they are more conducive to the needs of children. The evaluation of the program will continue by monitoring and looking at households. Since many of the problems with fire hazards are directly related to behavior and lifestyle, there will be direct communication with households through innovative measures. Hazard programs that allow parents to become involved and to change the lifestyle patterns through protective activities in the home will reinforce the educational programs and will begin to alter the behaviors that are supported within the household (Ronan, Johnston, 2002). The long term evaluation will be monitored by the changed behaviors and attitudes toward fire hazards. To do this, there will need to be surveys and monitoring of focus groups and target populations, specifically which correspond with children who have gone through the fire hazard program. Data collection can be given in these groups over a period of time specifically which will show how many children have been injured and what portion of these were related to fire hazards. These will be followed by communicating to families about behaviors, attitudes and lifestyles that are associated with fire hazards and the way in which their children continue to respond. Showing the results and making sure that they began to change after different time frames will then ensure that the programs are beginning to work for those that are moving into the childhood education for fire safety awareness (Rohrmann, 1998). Operational Assurance The first level of operational assurance that will be available will be based on the evaluation programs that will be implemented. The surveys that will take place after the programs can be considered and assessed for the short term goals being met. If the retention levels of the fire hazard programs continue to improve and if the teacher responses are implemented, then it can be seen that the staff are providing the right level for the programs. Continuous innovation and the ability to meet the short term goals will then provide a stronger basis for the programs and will become a measure of the operational assurance that is a part of the program. This will be furthered by the specific needs that are within the educational areas. Being able to meet these and receiving direct responses from the educational institutions will ensure that there is a higher level of quality that is being met. The operational assurance will then be followed by the understanding that the staff need to meet the standards that were provided as a main resource in the beginning. Monitoring and mediation will be given to the staff to ensure that they continue to meet the standards that are expected with both the programs and inside the office. By doing this, there will be the ability to ensure that the staff continue to comply with the standards that have been set by past programs. There will also be the ability to ensure that the standards continue to be implemented while raising the standards to current issues that are a part of the community. This will be followed by the ability to create programs that are built from a combination of innovation and basic standards that are in compliance with the expected resources. The third component that will be considered with operational assurance will be based on the overall changes that begin to be made. When looking at fire safety programs, there is an understanding that education and campaigns are questionable in altering lifestyles and behaviors. From the current statistics in Edinburgh, it can be seen that educational programs need to move a step further in the implementation of fire safety. The current standards and policies that are being implemented are providing alternatives for educational programs as well as the ability to regulate different standards. The operational assurance that will be provided will be based on finding ways to assess and change options for fire hazards so there is not only education but also regulations that can be complied to when looking into behaviors, lifestyles and specific needs for those that are involved in fire safety programs (Adler, Pittle, 1993). Conclusion The ability to build a different level of child fire safety awareness within Edinburgh is one that is dependent on planning and implementation of new programs. The ability to provide education and training, followed with a focus on altering the behavior and lifestyle of children is the main focus for those implementing the program. The education and training involved will be followed with the need to provide staff with specific standards and resources that will help to meet the needs for the child safety programs while complying with the current policies and standards that are a part of the training. By doing this, there is the ability to offer more opportunities to those that are trying to build fire safety in the community while providing innovation to the current systems for more effective and sustainable results. References Adler, Robert, David Pittle. (1993). “Cajory or Command: Are Education Campaigns an Adequate Substitute for Regulation?” Yale Journal on Regulation (159). Child Safety Action Plan in Europe. (2007). “Child Safety Strategy: Preventing Unintentional Injuries to Children and Young People in Scotland.” Retrieved from: http://www.capt.org.uk/pdfs/css_dec07.pdf. Communities and Local Government. (2009). “National Procurement Strategy for the Fire and Rescue Service in England 2009 – 12.” Communities and Local Government. Cote, Arthur. (2003). Organizing for Fire and Rescue Services. UK: Jones and Bartlett Learning. Grant, Nancy, David Hoover. (1994). Fire Service Administration. New York: National Fire Protection Association. Hodgson, RW. (1995). “Strategies For and Barriers to Public Adoption of Fire Safe Behavior.” USDA Forest Service. Linares, AZ, HA Linares. (1990). “Burn Prevention: the Need for a Comprehensive Approach.” Burns (16), (4). Office of the Deputy Minister (2005). “National Procurement Strategy for the Fire and Rescue Service.” Office of the Deputy Prime Minister. Ronan, Kevin, David Johnston. (2002). “Correlates of Hazard Education Programs for Youth.” Risk Analysis (21), (6). Rohrmann, Bernd. (1998). “Assessing Hazard Information / Communication Programs.” Australian Psychologist (33), (2). Read More