Wexford primary school honoured in Farm Safety Awards

The staff and pupils at Carrigduff National School, Bunclody, are celebrating after being awarded the ‘Best School’ category in the recent AgriKids Farm Safety Ambassador awards…

The Farm Safety Ambassador Programme, funded by the Department of Agriculture, Food and the Marine, saw schools from all over Ireland take part in a series of farm safety-themed lessons and activities over the course of a school day.

Speaking about the programme, Minister for State at the Department of Agriculture, Food and the Marine with responsibility for Farm Safety, Michael Healy-Rae T.D., highlighted the importance of the programme in educating children on farm safety

“Unfortunately, in the ten-year period from 2015 to 2024, twelve children and young people under 18 years of age have died in incidents on Irish farms, with eleven of these incidents involving farm vehicles or machinery. This programme engaged directly with primary school pupils across the country to increase their awareness of farm safety and of dangers ever-present around the farm”.

No strangers to farm safety education, Carrigduff’s blended learning to the topic saw each class take part in fun and age-appropriate activities. Younger classes visited their local farm; older classes undertook work on identifying and highlighting the use of safety signs and creating art displays, while the senior classes did a series of farm safety information videos. After participating in the AgriKids programme in the past, they are also the first primary school to receive the AgriKids Farm Safety Ambassador flag.

Speaking about the programme, AgriKids Founder, Alma Jordan said:

“It’s been a busy but amazing 12 weeks. There has been a wonderful display of creativity on this topic, and Carrigduff really led the way. The simplicity of their ‘naughty teddies’ idea for the farm visit, where stuffed toys were placed in some hazardous situations, proved a real ‘wow factor’ for us, and we believe it’s something that can be repeated by other participants in the programme.”

Other winners saw Ardkeeran NS, Riverstown, Co Sligo, emerge as ‘Best Class’ and both St Patrick’s BNS, Roscommon and Ballyconnell NS, Carlow, winning ‘Best Learning Initiatives’.

Congratulating the winning schools and pupils, Minister Healy-Rae said:

“I congratulate the teachers and pupils of Carrigduff National School, winners of the ‘Best School’ category. I also want to congratulate the schools and pupils who were awarded prizes in the individual categories and the Farm Safety Ambassadors who were nominated by their fellow pupils and acknowledge their efforts for increasing their awareness of farm safety through a variety of activities. I would also like to thank all the schools and teachers who collaborated with Agrikids to deliver this programme. When we increase our awareness of farm safety, we are all winners”.

Minister Healy-Rae urged families to be safety-conscious over the Christmas period and throughout the year. He appealed to parents to ensure that children are always supervised when on the farm, as too many families are without their loved ones at Christmas time because of tragic incidents on farms.