PRE-SERVICE OPTIONAL UNIT 12

1. PRE-SERVICEOPTIONAL UNIT 12 TRANSPORTING PRESCHOOL STUDENTS Pre-Service Course Slide 12.W

2. Optional Unit 12.1: Understanding the Preschool Child PRESCHOOLERS ARE… Bet you can’t catch me! • Extremely unpredictable • Nappers – check carefully • Can’t gauge traffic safety • Bring an activity bag • Play games, radio, sing • Energizing, hilarious, exasperating • Let them be helpers , Teach them bus safety – they want to learn! • Restraints keep them in their seats!* Pre-Service Course Slide 12.1.1,2

3. Optional Unit 12.1: Understanding the Pre-School Child TEACH THEM WELLGET THEM READY Pre-Service Course Slide 12.1.3

4. Optional Unit 12.2: Restraints for Pre-School Children on School Buses LEGALREQUIREMENTS • All children under 4 must ride in an appropriate child safety restraint system (CSRS) • In a school van or car, children under 8 must ride in a CSRS • Make sure: • Height and weight match CSRS • No recalls • No damage to seat • Seat fits in bus* Pre-Service Course Slide 12.2.1

5. Optional Unit 12.2: Restraints for Pre-School Children on School Buses TYPES OFRESTRAINTS • Rear-facing infant seats • Stay rear-facing as long as seat allows • Forward-facing restraints • Secured with: • Seat belt • LATCH* Pre-Service Course Slide 12.2.2a

6. Optional Unit 12.2: Restraints for Pre-School Children on School Buses TYPES OFRESTRAINTS cont. Integrated safety seats Booster seats with built-in harness Safety vests* Pre-Service Course Slide 12.2.2b

7. Optional Unit 12.2: Restraints for Pre-School Children on School Buses PLACEMENT OFRESTRAINTS • Keep children toward the front • Never place in emergency exit row • No unrestrained passenger behind safety vest or booster seats • Read the instructions! Route lap belt per manufacturer’s instructions • Kneel on seat when tightening • Twist it up to 3 times – No knots* Pre-Service Course Slide 12.2.3

8. Optional Unit 12.2: Restraints for Pre-School Children on School Buses SECURINGRESTRAINTS • Forward facing - Upper straps in reinforced slots at or above shoulders • Rear-facing – in slots at or below shoulders • Retaining clip at armpit level • Straps snug, Pinch Test • Touch briefly and sensitively • Clean with mild detergent • Check retirement date • Discard from serious accident • Discard with cracks or visible damage* Pre-Service Course Slide 12.2.4,-6

9. Optional Unit 12.3: Loading & Unloading Pre-School Children BUS STOP and CUSTODY CONCERNS • Preschoolers are hard to see • They are naturally impulsive • Have a hard time with bus steps • Release to approved adult • If no one’s home, keep the child on board • Reassure the child that everything’s OK • Contact base for guidance* Pre-Service Course Slide 12.3.1,2

10. Optional Unit 12.4: Evacuation Concerns EVACUATIONPLANNING • Bus fires and preschoolers are very frightening • Buses can burn quickly in some situations • An evacuation plan should be created for : • An front engine-generated fire • A crash-generated fire at the rear* Pre-Service Course Slide 12.4.1,2

11. Optional Unit 12.4: Evacuation Concerns PRESCHOOLEVACUATION QUESTIONS • Define driver and attendant roles • Children evacuated in or out of the restraints? • Unbuckle the child or cut the straps? • Order to evacuate children? • Avoid exit bottleneck • What exit(s) will you use? Can you find exits in thick smoke? • Keep children from wandering* Pre-Service Course Slide 12.4.3

12. Optional Unit 12.4: Evacuation Concerns USE A BUDDY SYSTEM • Teach young children to look out for each other • Teach them to use a buddy system or “safety chain” • Practice it at school in am • Use the fire blanket as a reference point • Use bystanders* Pre-Service Course Slide 12.4.4

13. Optional Unit 12.4: Evacuation Concerns EVACUATION PLANNINGPRACTICE • Draw seating plan of a current bus showing each child • With your trainer, decide on a realistic evacuation plan for both scenarios • Use the Evacuation Plan form in your manual to write down your plan* Pre-Service Course Slide 12.4.5

14. Optional Unit 12.4: Evacuation Concerns SEAT BELTCUTTERS CUT • It may be faster to cut harness straps • Cut at an angle across a tight belt • Should be located where you can reach it while seat-belted • Practice cutting old belts with a seat belt cutter* Pre-Service Course Slide 12.4.6

15. T or F? “The vision and hearing of preschoolers is so good they can usually get out of the way of an approaching car” T or F? “Children under five need to be escorted on and off the bus” What type of booster seat may be used on a school bus? T or F? “Sit unrestrained passengers behind children in safety vests” Where should the harness retaining clip be located? If you need to shorten the lap belt slightly to secure a car seat, what’s the acceptable method? T or F? “On forward-facing car seats, the upper harness slots should be below the child’s shoulders”* OPTIONAL UNIT 12 REVIEW Pre-Service Course Slide 12.Ra

16. T or F? “If no one is home at a preschooler’s house, tell the child to wait on the porch until someone gets home” What’s a seat belt “stalk”? T or F? “In most cases, the quickest way to get a child out of the bus in an emergency is to remove the child from the restraint”* OPTIONAL UNIT 12 REVIEW cont. Pre-Service Course Slide 12.Rb