Tuesday 26 May 2009
MEDIA INVITATION: BIRMINGHAM NEW STREET KEEPS KIDS SAFE
- Region & Route:
Who: Network Rail, Retail Birmingham, and children with bands.
What: Photo call and interview opportunity
Where: New Street Station
When: 12.30pm, Wednesday 27 May, 2009
Network Rail is helping keep children safe this half term by making Birmingham New Street a Child Safe Zone.
They will be joining the city Child Safe scheme, the national scheme to keep children safe in big cities which has been adopted by a number of major shopping centres throughout the UK.
Parents will be able to collect free wristbands for parent’s and guardians’ contact numbers from the Network Rail reception at New Street so that, in the event of a child being lost, the parent can be contacted quickly.
Susan Kirkwood, Birmingham New Street Station Manager said:
“We are delighted to be part of this scheme. Many shoppers come into the city through New Street and it will give parents peace of mind to know they can get help if their child becomes lost from the minute they set foot in the centre of Birmingham.”
Families visiting Birmingham for shopping and city attractions can also take note of an emergency telephone number, 08702 116 999, for Child Safe. The dedicated telephone number 08702 116 999 is displayed on bright, eye-catching posters in shop windows around the station and across the city centre. Calls are directed to the relevant security teams and or the police who use a coordinated approach and CCTV to re-unite families.
Nigel Godfrey of Retail Birmingham Ltd, who fund the scheme, said “We were the first city centre in the UK to introduce this scheme city wide to include not only retailers but city attractions as well. We are delighted we are now able to incorporate main transport hubs such as New Street Station. Parents and guardians have enough to worry about in the school holidays just by thinking of things to do with their children. As a Family Friendly City, parents and guardians visiting Birmingham City Centre will not only find a wide variety of attractions to occupy their children such as; the National Sea Life Centre, Thinktank, and Birmingham Museum & Art Gallery, in addition to excellent shopping opportunities, but they will also have peace of mind that if their child does get lost the Child Safe scheme can assist in finding them quickly”.
Further information on Birmingham’s Child Safe Zone can be found on www.birmingham.gov.uk/childsafe
Notes to editors
• The wristbands are also available free of charge from Shopping Centres and City Attractions including Markets, Tourism Centres, Central Library, Great Western Arcade, National Sea Life Centre, Thinktank, Brindleyplace, and the City Centre Street Wardens. • Child Safe Zones is a national scheme adopted by a number of major shopping centres throughout the UK. Birmingham is the first city to adopt the scheme across the entire city centre shopping area. The scheme co-ordinated and funded by Retail Birmingham, the Business Improvement District for retailers in Birmingham City Centre. It is supported by Birmingham City Centre Partnership, West Midlands Police, Birmingham City Council, the Retail Crime Operation and the Community Safety Partnership. • What is a Child Safe Zone? The Child Safe Zone scheme is a safety initiative which: 1. Enhances existing security policies 2. Provides visitors with a standard, recognisable way to contact security teams and the Police 3. Provides simple tools to re-unite lost children with their parents or guardians as soon as possible. • Some other precautions you can take to prevent losing a child in the first place or to help speed up the search if you do:- • To stop, stand still and look – don’t run about • If they see the person they were with, to go to them and hold their hand • If lost in a shop, to go to the nearest till point and talk to the shop assistant. Most shop assistants will wear uniforms and badges • If lost in a shopping centre, an attraction or on street, tell them to look for the smiley orange balloon window sticker, then look for a mum with children and ask her to ring the number 08702 116 999 • If they can see a policeman/ woman or City Centre Street Warden, to go to them and tell them they are lost. • Tell them not to go up to anyone else • Encourage children to stay close to you • Use reins or wrist links • Don’t leave a child in an unsupervised play area • Write a contact number on a wristband or tag • Carry an up-to-date photograph • Make a note of what your child is wearing
Contact information
Passengers / community members
Network Rail national helpline
03457 11 41 41
Latest travel advice
Please visit National Rail Enquiries
Journalists
Network Rail press office - North West & Central Region
0330 854 0100
NWCmediarelations@networkrail.co.uk
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We own, operate and develop Britain's railway infrastructure; that's 20,000 miles of track, 30,000 bridges, tunnels and viaducts and the thousands of signals, level crossings and stations. We run 20 of the UK's largest stations while all the others, over 2,500, are run by the country's train operating companies.
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