Children from every primary school in the district have signed up to learn about road safety, healthy relationships and how to keep their families safe.

The 2013 Crucial Crew event held at Gilwell Park, Chingford, allows 10-11-year-olds to watch demonstrations, solve safety scenarios and meet a variety of emergency service professionals.

Caroline Wiggins, community safety manager for Epping Forest District Council said that the half-day sessions are packed with hands-on activities covering all aspects of health, from balanced diets to how to cope with an emergency.

She said: “At this age the pupils are really open and receptive; they will go home and tell their parents to check their fire alarms. It’s a very good age to start, and then we follow it up in secondary schools.

“It has been really, really good. There are so many activities that the children don’t have the time to switch off.

“We had a HGV driver place them around his lorry to show them where he could and couldn’t see them.

“They watched an animated video on healthy relationships which had a big impact. They were told about respect and talked about what makes a healthy relationship. They also talked about Coronation Street and the character, Tyrone, who is hit by his girlfriend.

“I’ve been doing this now for seven years, it’s great. It really sets the children up for the future. They cover scenarios from health and safety in the home with fire officers to the recovery position.

“Not a single primary school turned the visit down and we had nine schools from Brentwood pay to bring their pupils along.”

Deputy headteacher at Coopersale Hall School, Sarah Watson, says that the children really enjoyed the event.

She said: “We went along last week and it was brilliant.

“The students learnt about safety and we talked about it with them afterwards. It was a really useful experience for the children and they enjoyed it.”

Diane Stygal, head of Waltham Abbey Holy Cross School said that the year 6 pupils from her school had been looking forward to the event for a long time.

She said: “Some of the children have older siblings that have been before so they were really excited.

“They all had a fabulous time. The fact that it is so interactive really enhances their learning.”