Top Brisbane ‘schools that rule’ measure up for injury prevention

Disability Services Minister Lindy Nelson-Carr today congratulated Brisbane’s top schools that rule for raising awareness of spinal injury prevention to young Queenslanders.

Ms Nelson-Carr said the Spinal Injuries Association was recognising the five schools in Brisbane who had the most number of students view its award-winning Spinal Education Awareness Team (SEAT) program over the past 20 years.

“This program delivers an important message to children and young people about road safety, playing sports safely and generally raising awareness about the fragility of the spinal cord,” Ms Nelson-Carr said.

“It provides a reality check for many students, as all of the presenters are people with paraplegia or quadriplegia and use wheelchairs.

“It makes the program especially powerful because students hear stories firsthand about how easy it can be to injure their spinal cord and the consequences of making the wrong decision.”

Chatswood Hills State School has been named Brisbane’s top school for spinal awareness, with nearly 5,700 students viewing the SEAT program over the past 20 years.

Coming a close second was Boronia Heights State School with 5,200 students benefitting from a SEAT visit; Albany Creek State School was third, with a little more than 5,000 students; Greenbank State School was fourth with 4,500 students; and Anglican Church Grammar School was fifth, with 4,200 students.

Ms Nelson-Carr, Member for Springwood Barbara Stone and Spinal Injuries Association Chief Executive Mark Henley visited Chatswood Hills State School today to present students with rulers with the message: My School Rules at Injury Prevention.

Ms Stone said she was proud that her local school had been recognised for its strong commitment to safety and injury prevention.

“Every student will receive a ruler, which is a fun way for students to remember the messages from SEAT and to be proud that their school values their safety,” Ms Stone said.

“The more times students hear the message about safety, the more the message will sink in. This is so important, as the only cure for spinal cord injury is prevention.”

Mr Henley said all five schools should be congratulated for their commitment to keeping students safe and sharing important safety messages.

“We would like to thank Chatswood Hills State School and the other schools for continuing to invite us year after year to speak to their students about staying safe,” Mr Henley said.

“As we are at the start of the school year, we would encourage other schools in Brisbane to become Schools that Rule in the future.”

The SEAT program has been visiting schools around Queensland for the past 22 years, seeing more than 1.2 million students in that time.

The Spinal Injuries Association is a not-for-profit organisation that empowers and supports people with a spinal cord injury to be independent and active members of the community, and is also dedicated to raising awareness of spinal cord injuries and the importance of injury prevention.

Schools that would like to book a visit in 2009 – and become a School That Rules – can phone (07) 3391 2044 or email seat@spinal.com.au

Media contact: Minister Nelson-Carr’s Office 3235 4280