Pupils at Victoria Park Primary School in Smethwick have received a lesson in health and safety from Lovell.

The company, which is building a major new council housing development in Smethwick for Sandwell Council, visited the school in Ballot Street to help raise pupils’ awareness of why they should never play on or near a building site.

Lovell health and safety manager Ron Spence and site manager Tim Powell spoke to seven- and eight-year-old pupils from Year Three at the school and showed them a DVD highlighting the dangers associated with construction sites and building activity.

Ron and Tim were joined by Ivor Goodsite, the mascot of the Considerate Constructors Scheme, who helped them to reinforce the safety message.

During the visit, children were also given the chance to dress up in different types of protective safety clothing and equipment such as hard hats, goggles, hi-visibility fluorescent jackets and gloves. Lovell also invited the pupils to come and see the new housing development for themselves, offering them the chance to visit the site for a guided tour.

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“We organise events like this at primary schools across the West Midlands as they are a great way of helping us to get a serious safety message across to young people,” said Tim Powell. “It’s vital that we remind them that construction sites are potentially dangerous places and should never be treated as playgrounds.”

Lovell, which has offices at Woodgate Valley Business Park, Birmingham, is working for Sandwell Council on a £2.5 million scheme to build 28 new council homes on the site of the former Bearwood House tower block in Smethwick. The homes – a mixture of two-bedroom flats and two-, three- and four-bedroom houses – are the first new council properties to be built in the borough for three decades and will all be available for social rent. The project is due to be completed in March 2011.

Victoria Park Primary School teacher Pav Mali said: “The children really enjoyed the talk and are looking forward to visiting the site.”

Sandwell Council's cabinet member for housing Cllr Simon Hackett added: “I am pleased the children have been learning about safety on building sites and hope they enjoy their visit. It's great to have new council housing being built in Smethwick and I look forward to families moving into these new homes.”

(GK)