Keeping kids safe

St John educator David Carswell teaching the children of Taitoko School not to be afraid of an oxygen mask.

Students at Taitoko School are learning how to keep themselves safe and keep calm in an emergency.

The St John in Schools programme was launched at the Levin school earlier this week.

Its aim is to empower children with the knowledge and courage to keep themselves safe in event of emergency, and teach them to identify which emergency services are needed for different situations.

Horowhenua District Mayor Brendan Duffy was at the launch.

"It's brilliant that Taitoko School is first in the Horowhenua. It reflects social interest and leadership," he said.

St John in Schools officially launched last year with a goal of reaching 12,000 tamariki (children) in that year, but exceeded expectations by reaching 17,500 with only four part-time educators.

St John community education team leader Andrea Webber said that this year's goal was 25,000 but are already on their way to reaching 32,000 tamariki with just five part-time staff.

"This programme is successful because of the quality of our educators. St John is known for its ambulances but we wanted to help communities at the children's level, to empower them with confidence in times of emergency, giving them baskets of knowledge so they know how to keep themselves safe until help arrives," she said.