Lesson video

Hello geographers.

My name is Mr. Robertson and I love geography.

Today we are going to be continuing with our geographical inquiry, local area, what needs changing, and this is the third lesson in this sequence about carrying out an inquiry.

Today we're going to be talking about risk assessment and staying safe.

So, are we ready to learn? Have we got our geography caps? Are we ready to put on our explorer ruck sacks? Off we go.

By the end of this lesson, you will be able to plan a fieldwork visit and know how to keep yourself safe.

We have three key words in this lesson.

I'm going to say the key word first and then I'd like to hear you say it back to me please.

Our first word is risk assessment.

Excellent.

Our second word is hazard.

Really good and finally accessible.

Brilliant, geographers.

Let's find out what these words mean.

So a risk assessment looks at what hazards we might come across and how to keep us safe.

A hazard is a potential danger that could affect our safety and something that is accessible is easy to get to, enter or use.

We're going to be using these keywords in our inquiry today.

So in the last couple of lessons we have been thinking about our local area.

We looked at some historical maps and looked at how our local area had changed.

In the last lesson we started to think about of some questions that we could investigate.

We carried out some questionnaires to find out from local people what the priorities were and we started to think about issues and patterns that we've noticed in our local area.

Today and we're gonna be thinking about a risk assessment and making sure that we stay safe.

So our lesson is in three parts.

The first part of our lesson, we're going to be planning the fieldwork.

The second lesson, part of the lesson, we're going to be identifying risks.

And in a third part of the lesson we're going to make sure that we stay safe.

I'm really excited about this lesson today.

Are we ready? Let's go.

In our last lesson, we looked at the fieldwork inquiry process.

We asked some questions and we started to plan our data collection.

Today's lesson continues with the second stage of the inquiry process about planning our data collection.

In our last lesson, we talked about setting an inquiry focus to look at how our local area has changed.

I decided after talking to some local people that litter was a real problem in the local area.

And so that was going to be the focus of my inquiry.

So what I then needed to decide was what data am I going to collect? And I decided the data I was going to collect was about the amount and location of the litter.

Where is it? How much is there? And the number and location of public bins.

How many bins are there in my local area and where are they located? And to do that, I was going to use three fieldwork techniques.

Observation to enable me to see where the bins were and also to identify where there were issues with litter, map annotation, so using my map of my local area to carefully use a key and mark the location of different bins so I could see where they were.

And also photographs where there were particular areas of litter that I needed to remember.

I was going to take photographs.

You are investigating an inquiry in your local area and I wonder what is your inquiry about and what data do you need to collect and which techniques will you use? Pause the video, talk to the person next to you and see if you can remember what you decided to do last lesson.

Now we need to plan how to carry out our fieldwork.

And for that we're going to need to use a route.

The route we're going to follow to carry out this fieldwork.

It's really important when we plan for fieldwork that we consider these things.

Firstly, we need to consider accessibility.

We want to make sure that everyone can take part in this fieldwork.

And so we need to make sure we avoid steps, uneven ground, and steep hills because they could create risks for us.

We also want to think about the length of the route.

We need to make sure we have enough time to collect enough data, but we also need to make sure that we have, we complete it in the time allowed.

So length is really important.

And finally, we need to make sure that our route is varied.

We don't want to just walk through a park and come straight back.

We wanted to go through different areas and land uses so we can consider how the issues might be different in different places.

So in my example, are there different bins in different parts of my route? And are there different amounts of litter along my route in different places, commercial or residential? So to help us plan our route, we can use maps, we can use Google Street View, and we can use aerial images.

You could see an aerial image there of my school and my local area.

The great thing about using aerial photographs or Google Street View is that it will enable us to check whether the route's accessible and therefore that we're avoiding steps, steep hills, things like that.

Whether it's an appropriate length.

We want to make sure it's long enough to find data, but we need to make sure we finish it in the time we've got and whether it passes through different areas and land uses.

So we've got a variation along the route.

Let's check our understanding.

What should be considered when planning a fieldwork route? What sort of things do we need to think about? Pause the video, check with a person next to you.

Let's see what you think.

Well, I can hear some great ideas there.

Did you mention accessibility? Is our route accessible? Do we need to avoid steps, uneven ground and steep hills, for example? Remember we need to think about the length of the route, make sure it's appropriate, not too long, but long enough to collect the data.

And finally, does the route pass through different areas with different types of land use so we can really investigate our problem properly? Well done if you've got those correct.

So your task is this.

I want you to plan your fieldwork route using a map of your local area.

And remember you can use an OS map, you can use Google Street View, you can use an aerial photograph.

Anything that's gonna help you plan your fieldwork route.

Remember the three things that we've been talking about.

Make sure that your route is accessible so that everyone can go on it together.

Make sure it's an appropriate length, so you gather enough data, but you do it in the time that you've got and make sure that you pass through a variety of different areas.

You can use a measuring tool or a scale on your map to make sure you've got the length right.

Okay, geographers, let's do some planning for our fieldwork.

And I'm really looking forward to seeing what you've come up with.

Goodness me, I can see how busy you've been.

So this is the route that I planned.

You can see a digital map of my local area and I've planned a route.

So I've planned a route, first of all, that's going to be accessible.

I've tried to make sure that it avoids any steep slopes or steps so that everybody can get around it as much as possible.

I've used a measuring tool on Digimaps, so I know my route is exactly one kilometre and that's a good distance because the average walking speed is about 12 minutes a kilometre.

So I know that gives me sufficient time to complete the route.

And thirdly, as you can see, my route goes through different areas.

It goes through some residential areas where there's some housing.

It goes through some commercial areas where there's restaurants and shops.

It goes through my local park and it goes through my school.

So I've got quite a lot of variation there as well.

Did you remember to plan a route that was accessible, an appropriate length and also goes through a variety of different areas? Fantastic if you managed to do that.

Okay, so the second part of our lesson is going to be about identifying risks so we can make sure that we are safe when we carry out this fieldwork.

Identifying risks and planning on how to stay safe, it's still part of the second stage of the fieldwork inquiry process.

So we're still planning our data collection.

So we've planned our route on our maps and we know exactly what we're going to do.

The next thing we need to do is to carry out a risk assessment.

Risk assessments are really, really important because it enables us to identify risks, things that might cause us harm, and make sure that we consider how to stay safe.

Look carefully at the photograph here.

What risks can you see in this photo? Pause the video, talk to the person next to you, see what you can spot.

Well done, geographers, you are really using those fieldwork skills, aren't you? What risks did you spot? Yes, can you see? There is traffic on the route.

So we're going to need to be really, really careful to make sure that we cross safely and are aware of traffic.

There are people on the pavements, so that means the pavements might be crowded and we need to make sure that we stay safe so that we don't get pushed towards the road and we avoid people.

It looks like it's just been raining in this photograph, so there might be some slippery surfaces.

So we need to make sure that we don't have any trips or falls.

And finally we can see a stone block on the route that might be a potential trip hazard.

So we're going to make sure that we need to keep clear of that and make sure that we are keeping really safe around it.

Well done, if you spotted all those risks.

Maybe you spotted some other risks as well.

Okay, let's check our understanding.

I've got a different photograph for you now.

I'd like you to look again very carefully and see how many risks can you identify in this photo? Let's use our observation skills and our thinking skills.

How can we identify risks? Pause the video and off you go.

Wow, I can hear that you are really thinking carefully about risk here.

Did you spot some crowded pavements? We can see people there and so we're gonna need to be really aware that there are people around and make sure that we stay out of their way.

But we also don't go anywhere near the road.

There's a dog there, isn't it? Now dogs can present a risk.

I can see that that dog is on a lead, but even so, I need to make sure I don't approach that dog because I don't want to expose myself to any risks at all.

Here we've got some uneven and cracked pavements, haven't we? That could be a potential risk because it might be somewhere we could trip or fall.

So we need to be aware that that's there and make sure we take action.

There is traffic on this road, so we need to be really aware of any cars or other vehicles and make sure that we stay safe and know that they're there.

Finally, we've got a road that we need to cross that presents a danger from traffic turning in or leaving.

So we need to make sure we are really safe when we come to cross that road and that we behave very sensibly.

Well done If you identified all the risks.

Maybe you spotted some other risks as well.

What I'd like you to do now is think about your route.

You might want to plan, follow your route using something like Google Street View, which will enable you to see the route that you are taking.

Have a look at the route you are taking and I'd like you to list all the hazards that you might come across.

So these are places which could be potentially dangerous or offer a threat to safety and you're going to need to be careful around them.

Try to list at least three or more risks.

Think about what we've just been doing.

Are any of those risks going to present themselves on your route? Use a map to help you with it.

Okay, look forward to hearing what you're doing.

Off you go.

Wow, you've done some brilliant thinking about risks there.

So when you used Google Street View or looked at photographs of your route, did you think of any of these risks? Did you think about traffic? Are there going to be any traffic on your route? Are there any potential trip hazards? Are there any potential surfaces where you might slip and trip or fall over? Is it likely that there are going to be any dogs on your route that you're going to have to be aware of? And are there any opportunities where the pavements will be quite crowded? Perhaps you thought of some other risks as well and fantastic if you did.

It's brilliant.

You are taking this really seriously and thinking about where risks might be.

So for our final part of this lesson, we're going to think deeply about staying safe.

Are we ready? Let's go.

So we've listed some possible hazards.

We've done that in our previous section of the lesson.

Now we need to think about how we're going to keep ourselves safe.

Identifying risks is really important and then working out how to keep yourself safe is also extremely important.

So let's think about an example.

Maybe on your route you've found that there's going to be some uneven or slippery pavements.

So if that's the case, how could you plan to keep yourselves safe around this potential hazard? Pause the video, talk to the person next to you.

See what plans you can come up with to keep yourself safe.

Aw, some great ideas there.

Jun says, "We could make sure that we walk and never run." What a brilliant idea, Jun, because if we ran, it's really dangerous, isn't it? We could slip over, so we need to make sure that we walk really carefully and sensibly so that we stay safe.

Let's check our understanding here.

Why do you need to carry out a risk assessment before you begin your fieldwork? Why is it so important to do it before you begin? Pause the video, have a think about this really important question.

Aw, some brilliant ideas coming in there.

Thank you very much.

Why is it important? Because if we know the risks before we begin our fieldwork, we can be prepared for any hazards and plan ways of staying safe.

We don't want to be in a situation where a risk is happens in front of us and we haven't planned it in advance.

So to keep really safe, it's important we make all the planning before we go out so that everybody knows what they're going to do and how they need to behave.

So your final task is this.

I want you to complete this risk assessment.

So what we're going to do is we've made a list of risks and we're going to think about how we can keep safe when faced with these hazards.

So on our risks, we've got traffic, we've got crowded pavements, dangerous items of litter, getting lost, slipping or tripping or dogs.

I'd like you to think about what action could be taken to reduce the risk and make you keep safe.

And you might have some other hazards that you've got for your route, which you also need to think about.

Brilliant thinking everybody.

I've had to think about how I can mitigate and take action to reduce the risks with my risk assessment.

So for example, thinking about the risk of traffic, one way we can keep safe is to stay away from the curb.

So we walk on the inside rather than towards the road.

We're also going to make sure we use proper crossings with an adult and perhaps we'll wear some fluorescent jackets as well.

So we're really, really visible.

Another risk is crowded pavements.

So again, we're going to walk away from the edge of the road in single file, close to an adult.

There might be the risk of some dangerous items of litter on the route.

And so to make sure we keep ourselves safe there, we're gonna make sure we do not touch any litter.

And as we're walking, we're going to watch out for any sharp objects underfoot, and we're going to go around them if we see any.

One risk, of course on a fieldwork is that we might get lost.

So to make sure that doesn't happen, we're gonna make sure that everybody stays in their adult in their group and if they have one, they're going to wear a fluorescent jacket so they're really, really visible.

Another possible risk is slipping or tripping.

So to do make sure we take reduce risk there, we're gonna think about what the weather is going to be like.

We're gonna make sure that we do not run because if we walk carefully, we are very unlikely to slip or trip.

And the final risk we're thinking about is dogs and to make sure we reduce that risk, we are not going to approach any dogs, even if they're on a lead and even if we know this dog.

We are not going to approach dogs on our fieldwork route.

So that's the action I'm going to take to reduce the risks for my fieldwork.

Well done if you thought of some of those ideas.

And for your fieldwork route, there may be some other risks not on that list, but well done if you've identified them and also thought about what action you need to reduce the risk.

Now we are really safe.

We've really moved forward with our fieldwork planning.

So let's summarise what we've learned today.

We've learned that a risk assessment involves identifying hazards and knowing what action to take to stay safe.

We've also thought about the route that we're planning and we realise that where you go should be accessible and should help you answer your inquiry questions.

We've realised that digital maps and aerial photographs allow us to visit places virtually to identify any potential hazards.

And finally, we've learned that staying safe is the responsibility of the individual as well as the fieldwork leader.

Thank you very much for being part of this really important lesson and I look forward to seeing you in our next lesson where we are going to continue with our fieldwork inquiry.

Thank you very much.

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