HSENI releases 42,000 ‘Avoid Harm on the Farm’ child safety calendars

The Chief Executive of the Health and Safety Executive for Northern Ireland (HSENI), Robert Kidd, has launched the ‘Avoid Harm on the Farm’ child safety 2021 calendar which will be distributed through primary schools to 42,000 rural homes across Northern Ireland.

In previous years HSENI staff would have visited rural primary schools throughout Northern Ireland in the run-up to the summer holidays; delivering farm safety messages and encouraging pupils to enter HSENI’s ‘Avoid Harm on the Farm’ calendar competition.

Unfortunately this year, due to the Covid-19 pandemic, personal visits were not possible, however, the poster competition continued on a virtual platform.

Speaking at the launch which took place at Carr Primary School in Lisburn, HSENI chief executive Robert Kidd said:

“Almost 600 children entered our competition this year and a big ‘thank-you’ goes to each of them. We are also enormously grateful to primary schools across Northern Ireland for their continued support.

Working together with schools and children, the annual farm safety calendar is now a familiar sight in classrooms and rural homes and it acts as a daily reminder of the very real dangers that exist for everyone when on a farm.

Primary school children submitted a hand-painted or hand-drawn picture relating to a key farm safety topic. In their entries they highlighted some of the many hazards involved when working with animals, slurry, equipment and the risks of working at height.