A pupil of Lisanally Special School in Armagh has had her artwork featured in the 2018 Health and Safety Executive for Northern Ireland calendar.
Fionnuala Carroll came first in the special school category of the competition.
In all, a dozen winners – first, second and third in each of four categories – had their farm safety poster entries chosen to feature in the calendar.
That really is a fantastic achievement, given that a total of 3,296 pupils – from 74 different schools all over Northern Ireland – submitted their work.
So where better to launch the new calendar – under the label ‘Avoid Harm on the Farm’ – than at Fionnuala’s school in Armagh?
The chairman of the Health and Safety Executive for Northern Ireland, Derek Martin, travelled to Lisanally Special School for the launch.
The calendar features winning entries from this year’s child safety on farms poster competition.
Mr Martin said: “Child safety on farms remains a key focus for HSENI and the Farm Safety Partnership. Tragically, and unacceptably, we are still seeing children dying and being seriously injured on our farms and we all must do all we can to stop this from happening.
“Through this competition we have engaged and encouraged school children from across the province to show us their artistic talent in highlighting the issue and raising its profile.
“The competition has proved a great exercise in helping children realise the dangers that lurk on our farms. It has been a very difficult task choosing the 12 entries for the 2018 calendar, but I would like to take this opportunity to thank all the pupils for their contributions in this competition.”
This year the calendar has been sponsored by a number of the Farm Safety Partnership (FSP) Affiliate Organisations, ASDA, Northern Ireland Safety Group (NISG) and the Institutional of Occupational Safety & Health (IOSH).
As FSP Affiliates these organisations have pledged to use their position and resources to promote the farm safety message and HSENI is very grateful for their support.
For more information about child safety on farms please visit HSENI’s farm safety webpage: https://www.hseni.gov.uk/topic/farm-safety
