Primary school pupils learn about safety, bullying

Dryden Street Primary pupils heard on Tuesday how they can stay safe during the school holidays, which start at the end of the week.

Representatives from Safe Schools, Mosaic Access to Justice, Woodstock police, the Western Cape Missing Persons Unit(WCMPU) and a karate school spoke to about 100 pupils from Grades 1 to Grade 7 at the Salt River school.

The event was organised by the Lighthouse Orphanage.

Children were often at greater risk of going missing during the school holidays, said the WCMPU's Rafiqa Booley.

“Many parents go to work where the kids are either home alone or cared for by another person, and children need to know that they must always inform their family when they are visiting friends or going to the shop,” she said.

Parents should also be vigilant when choosing someone to care for their children, she said.

Parents should immediately report a child missing to the police and provide a recent photo and description of what they were wearing.

“They don’t need to wait 24 hours; they can report it immediately if they think their child is missing."

Safe Schools representative Nicole Wevers spoke to the children about the physical, verbal, cyber and social forms of bullying.

“Bullying can take place at the school or on your way to school. We find that bullying contributes towards absenteeism as the pupils have nobody to confide in."

The children also watched a karate demonstration, and karate instructor Zohra Solomon-Ebrahim said it taught practical self-defence techniques, discipline and respect.

For further information, contact the Lighthouse Orphanage at 083 443 3546, Safe Schools at 0800 45 46 47 and the WCMPU at 084 621 8086.