Getting children outside the classroom to learn is such a valuable activity which helps them become familiar with their local neighbourhood, gain more life experiences and gives them extra exercise during the school day. Children can be more inspired to learn when out and about. But if you are taking them out and about you will need to assess for safety and find ways to mitigate any risks… such as a child wandering off.
Monitoring a large group of pupils especially in a crowded place is made easier by pupils all wearing the same bright colours. This is one reason why so many school trips nowadays involve pupils getting kitted out in high vis waistcoats with their school logo printed on to make group identification even easier.
One lifeskill that children need to learn and which can’t be learnt solely in the classroom and can be missed by parents is how to use public transport. A class trip on buses, trains or trams is a great way to learn this and nowadays it is quite common to see a group of pupils in high vis which is making it much easier for teachers to easily see where their charges are.
Parents and childminders can make use of these bright over-garments too and if it reassures them enough to take their charges on more exciting trips to busy places, it’s a real winner.
Formal walking bus schemes – when children walk to school in an organised group – often requires participants to wear high vis waistcoats for insurance/risk assessment reasons. Not only can drivers see them more clearly but the leaders can make sure the group stays together more easily. In addition the super bright colours mean the walking bus is much more prominent and noticeable – great publicity!
Keeping bright near traffic isn’t just for roads. The popularity of rowing and other watersports means some of our waterways can get pretty busy especially at weekends. Noone wants their fun (or serious training) to be spoiled with a collision on the water. Dark colours can be pretty camouflaged against the murky water so bright colours are a good idea. Dedicated water sport enthusiasts will be out in all weathers and so bright, fluorescent colours (which work best of all in dull daylight conditions) will really come into their own and make the wearers far more visible.
Many horseriders wear high vis jackets and deck their horses out in bright colours too. This is partly so they can be seen by drivers who can slow down sooner and avoid startling or hitting the horses. It’s not a guarantee that drivers will see them – a twisty lane will hide riders and horses from view until vehicles have come round the bend – but it can help.
Another good reason to be bright when riding is if a rider falls off their horse and is lying injured on the ground, it will make it much easier for rescuers to find them.
Background colours play an important part in how visible you are. Wearing a yellow jacket when riding past a cornfield may not be very effective! So you often will see horseriders wear pink high vis as it is still bright and fluorescent but it is less common in nature so provides a good contrast.