Peel Children’s Safety Village
Through experiential learning, this Peel region organization is teaching kids how to stay safe in the real world and online.
By Sarah Laing
(Above) A visit to the Safety Village includes opportunities for hands-on learning. (Below) Officer Alisa, left, in a classroom. | PHOTOS: COURTESY OF PEEL CHILDREN'S SAFETY VILLAGE
AT FIRST GLANCE, you might mistake the Peel Children’s Safety Village for a typical suburban neighbourhood. There’s a Tim Hortons, a police station, working traffic lights and an interactive railway crossing where the mechanical arm really goes up and down.
But if you’re one of the thousands of children who’ve visited over the years, you’ll know these are child-scaled streets. They are an important introduction to learning how to stay safe in the real world.
“Our core purpose is keeping children safe... preventing avoidable accidents and dangers by empowering children with safety awareness and experiences,” says Alisa Daniele, a Peel region police officer who works at the Safety Village. “It’s about experiential learning, giving kids ownership and confidence in their safety so it sticks.” The Safety Village offers a variety of programs, from teaching Grade 1s about how and when to call 911 to a tablet-based online safety program for Grade 5s. Classroom instruction from a uniformed police officer might be paired with an opportunity for the kids to get out onto the “streets” to practice their pedestrian and cycling safety skills — and drive the child-sized motorized Jeeps and scooters.
“Our core purpose is keeping children safe... preventing avoidable accidents and dangers by empowering children with safety awareness and experiences.”
The idea is to connect abstract safety rules to the real world, Daniele says. “We bridge that gap, offering a controlled, child-sized environment to build competence and confidence before facing dangers in the real world or in online spaces,” she says. “[And] many parents and teachers have shared that the children seem to be more receptive to the safety information when it comes from a uniformed police officer whose work experience often gives a different insight.” Daniele says that witnessing a kid’s “aha!” moment is deeply rewarding, knowing that the Safety Village is having an impact. “We learned of a child who called 911 when her mom was having a severe allergic reaction and struggling to breathe. Afterwards, she credited the Safety Village for teaching her how to call,” she recalls. “Watching a child’s confidence bloom when they help another child to cross safely at a crosswalk, fit a helmet correctly or create a safe username for an online game they play — it’s so powerful.” CAA
The driving course at the Safety Village includes stop lights, crosswalks and a working railroad crossing. | PHOTO: COURTESY OF PEEL CHILDREN'S SAFETY VILLAGE
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(Above) A visit to the Safety Village includes opportunities for hands-on learning; Officer Alisa, left, in a classroom. | PHOTOS: COURTESY OF PEEL CHILDREN'S SAFETY VILLAGE
AT FIRST GLANCE, you might mistake the Peel Children’s Safety Village for a typical suburban neighbourhood. There’s a Tim Hortons, a police station, working traffic lights and an interactive railway crossing where the mechanical arm really goes up and down.
But if you’re one of the thousands of children who’ve visited over the years, you’ll know these are child-scaled streets. They are an important introduction to learning how to stay safe in the real world.
“Our core purpose is keeping children safe... preventing avoidable accidents and dangers by empowering children with safety awareness and experiences,” says Alisa Daniele, a Peel region police officer who works at the Safety Village. “It’s about experiential learning, giving kids ownership and confidence in their safety so it sticks.” The Safety Village offers a variety of programs, from teaching Grade 1s about how and when to call 911 to a tablet-based online safety program for Grade 5s. Classroom instruction from a uniformed police officer might be paired with an opportunity for the kids to get out onto the “streets” to practice their pedestrian and cycling safety skills — and drive the child-sized motorized Jeeps and scooters.
“Our core purpose is keeping children safe... preventing avoidable accidents and dangers by empowering children with safety awareness and experiences.”
The idea is to connect abstract safety rules to the real world, Daniele says. “We bridge that gap, offering a controlled, child-sized environment to build competence and confidence before facing dangers in the real world or in online spaces,” she says. “[And] many parents and teachers have shared that the children seem to be more receptive to the safety information when it comes from a uniformed police officer whose work experience often gives a different insight.” Daniele says that witnessing a kid’s “aha!” moment is deeply rewarding, knowing that the Safety Village is having an impact. “We learned of a child who called 911 when her mom was having a severe allergic reaction and struggling to breathe. Afterwards, she credited the Safety Village for teaching her how to call,” she recalls. “Watching a child’s confidence bloom when they help another child to cross safely at a crosswalk, fit a helmet correctly or create a safe username for an online game they play — it’s so powerful.” CAA
The driving course at the Safety Village includes stop lights, crosswalks and a working railroad crossing. | PHOTO: COURTESY OF PEEL CHILDREN'S SAFETY VILLAGE