By Isle of Wight Observer
As some primary pupils in the South East go back to school and others continue with home learning, Scottish and Southern Electricity Networks (SSEN) is encouraging them to take part in the distribution operator’s interactive learning programme as part of their curriculum.
Prior to the UK’s lockdown, SSEN had delivered the specially created online safety talks, Power Pack Pals, to nearly 400 primary school pupils across its South East region which covers parts of Surrey, Hampshire, West Sussex and the Isle of Wight. Now, SSEN employees are engaging online with over 300 local primary schools, offering the package to teachers and parents in an online version that helps pupils better understand electricity infrastructure, its power and the potential perils associated with playing near cables and substations.
The interactive programme centres around four friends – known as the Power Pack Pals – who aim to spark the imagination of children and help them to appreciate why electricity, the ‘Magic Power’, is very important in the world of the network operator, but can also be dangerous, and should be treated with extra special care.
This SSEN education resource is aimed at a younger audience, aged from seven to eleven, and is just one part of its commitment to empowering local communities; providing children with the information they need to stay safe near the electricity infrastructure while helping spark an interest in the network that powers their homes and schools.
Jasmin Myhill, Customer Relationship Manager for SSEN in the South East said: “At SSEN, we really enjoy delivering the Power Pack Pals presentations to our local primary school pupils and they benefit so much from the activities and learning about our network. Under the current circumstances we can’t carry out the presentations in person, so we wanted to make Power Pack Pals fully available online to help support parents and teachers across the South East with their lesson plans.
“Our team has contacted over 300 schools across the region to offer their pupils this new interactive version and with home schooling still a part of many families’ days, we’re hoping that our updated Power Pack Pals – with parent fact sheet and lesson template – can act as an additional and fun learning resource.
“I’d like to encourage any interested schools and parents to get in touch with us, so we can provide them with the online pack and help primary age children gain an understanding of our network and the steps they can take to stay safe around it.”
Parents and schools can access the packs by emailing: powerpackpals@sse.com or by going to www.powerpackpals.com.
Offering Power Pack Pals as an online tutorial is just one of the ways SSEN is working hard to support its customers in central southern England during the coronavirus pandemic. Our frontline operational teams, designated as critical workers, continue to work tirelessly to support the safe and reliable supply of electricity at local, regional and national level, helping to keep the power flowing to homes and businesses.
SSEN’s core support teams, working from home where possible, are providing 24/7 service and support to our customers, especially the most vulnerable and SSEN has extended the support it provides to those most vulnerable by expanding the eligibility of its Priority Services Register to include customers at increased risk of severe illness during the coronavirus pandemic.
Customers categorised at ‘high risk’ and ‘extremely high risk’ of severe illness from coronavirus are now eligible to sign up for additional support. This includes those following government guidelines who have received a letter from the NHS to socially shield for a 12-week period. To find out more about how PSR could help you, please go to – https://www.ssen.co.uk/PriorityServices/.
For more information on how SSEN is protecting its customers, colleagues and network during the coronavirus pandemic, please visit ssen.co.uk/covid19response/.
