When youngsters at Farnham Primary School go home tonight, they will take special care when crossing the road.

Accompanied by their parents, they will look for places that are safe to cross, avoid parked cars and be aware of junctions.

They will know how they should behave on pedestrian crossings and what other type of crossings can help them, such as the one manned by their school lollipop person.

The Lidget Green school’s year three pupils are among around 2,500 children across the district who every year take part in Bradford Council’s pedestrian training programme.

In both classroom-based and practical outdoor sessions, they learn pavement and road crossing skills – avoiding stationary vehicles, allowing plenty of time and giving the road their full attention. The Green Cross Code is also covered.

“Teaching children about road safety is extremely important – it is a life skill,” says Huma Boskani, senior road safety officer with Bradford Council’s road safety team.

“Children learn by being involved. Many are ferried to primary school by car, or come with their parents. Then, when they start secondary school, they are suddenly going on their own.

“We advise parents who drive children to school to park a few streets away and walk the rest of the way. This provides an opportunity to discuss with them what you are doing and why. Parents should make time to talk about things like safer routes, crossing places, peer pressure, and distraction issues such as friends, mobile phones or iPods.”

According to the Department for Transport, around 1,600 children aged up to 11 are killed or seriously injured on Britain’s roads every year – that is more than 30 children a week. In 2012 – the latest figures available – Bradford recorded 334 pedestrian casualties, 20 fewer than the previous year. The most significant decrease was with children, which fell from 140 to 115 casualties.

Although most child pedestrian casualties are not linked to the journey to and from school, the peak times for pedestrian casualties among children aged 11 to 15 in West Yorkshire, include 7.30am to 9am, between 3pm and 4pm, and from 4pm to 6pm, when children could be travelling to and from school.

Bradford Council offers pedestrian skills training to all schools, specifically targeting year three students. Around 17,500 primary school children have been targeted with other road safety sessions, training and assemblies.

Under its primary school plan, schools can book the road safety team for assemblies or presentations, for children from nursery through to year six.

They also offer sessions for very young children such as playgroups and those in children’s centres. Special talks for parents, offering general road safety advice and information are also available.

“It is really important to engage with parents,” says Bradford Council’s road safety trainer Janet Firth.

“Some schools invite parents to attend the sessions that they children are receiving. There are plenty of opportunities to teach them without them even knowing. Make sure you talk to your children about crossing skills – this can be done when you are out and about. Quite often what others are doing wrong can be a teaching point, like crossing on the red man and not wearing seat belts. Always set a good example yourself.”

Adds Huma: “We can all be guilty of taking pedestrian safety for granted. Even adults need to take care – the number of casualties among 20 to 29 year-olds is up by 20 per cent.”

Deputy headteacher at Farnham Primary School Judith Tarbet says: “It is extremely important for our pupils to receive pedestrian training because it is a life skill which will not only prepare them to cross the road safely, but also promotes awareness of traffic dangers.

“Each year, our year three pupils participate in practical activities to educate them about road safety. Parents are invited to take part in the programme with their child and reinforce the key messages at home.

“With the increase in traffic in the area it is as important as ever to make children aware of the dangers of crossing roads behind parked vehicles and making sure they are visible after dark. The work is followed up in class as part of the personal, social, health and citizenship education (PSHCE) curriculum.”

Presentations to secondary schools – which include special ‘theatre in education’ performances – include issues surrounding distraction, using information based on true life stories. “All children are vulnerable, and failure to look properly is a huge contributory factor,” says Huma.

She adds: “Crossing the road requires experience - we often see very young children crossing unsupervised. We hope the sessions will help them to become independent road users as they get older.”