"IT'S NOT telling us not to do something, it's about telling us what could happen if we did do it." Eleven-year-old Bella O'Hallaron neatly sums up the last 90 minutes during which she has learnt about the dangers of drinking alcohol, social networking and taking risks on the roads.
But rather than feel scared about the future, Bella, who starts secondary school in September, feels empowered.
"This is real – this is telling us what could happen and showing us ways of dealing with it if it does. It gives us confidence, making us aware that these things could happen," she said.
The youngster and her classmates from Chancellor Park Primary School in Chelmsford are among the 1,700 students from 46 primaries taking part in Crucial Crew, a long-running project aimed at informing children due to start secondary school about the risks they could face in the near future.
Police officers, paramedics, the fire brigade, road safety staff and representatives from the charity alcoHELP gather at the Territorial Army Centre in Springfield for three weeks, running morning and afternoon sessions for pupils from almost every school in the city.
Rachel Kearn, community road safety officer at Chelmsford City Council, said: "Crucial Crew is now an established event which almost every school in the city comes back to year after year. In the space of 90 minutes pupils get a chance to take part in six 15-minute interactive sessions led by professionals who aim to make them aware of the dangers they could face as they approach their teens."
Always one of the most memorable sessions is that run by the Essex-based charity alcoHELP.
Co-founder and trustee Debby Pierson, herself a recovered alcoholic, gives a hard-hitting presentation on the dangers of drink. She shows documentary footage from the USA in which medical experts undertake experiments on the effects of alcohol on young brains.
Debby said: "We've been coming to Crucial Crew for about eight years and I really enjoy it. The children are honest and they ask good questions.
"This year we chose to focus on the damage alcohol does to the brain. We have used this with older students and this was what they talked about afterwards. We felt youngsters of this age are sophisticated enough to understand it too."
The overriding message is that youngsters should say no if they are offered alcohol and also to not get in a vehicle if they believe the driver has been drinking. The session ends with the opportunity to wear beer goggles which mimic the ill effects of being drunk without having taken a sip.
It left an impression on Lidia Williams, ten, from East Hanningfield Primary School.
She said: "Wearing the goggles was really strange. The alcoHELP talk was the best one today as it showed us what we should do if we were in that situation."
Learning how the ambulance service works, knowing when it is appropriate to call for a paramedic and having the chance to sit inside an emergency ambulance is another popular session.
Paramedic Steve Hudson said: "As a service we have had some bad press recently so it's great to get the chance to speak to so many people directly. If we went round individual schools it would take months to speak to this many children.
"It's really important they see us being approachable and part of the community. We explain to the children that we sometimes get silly calls from people wanting a glass of water or grazing their knee, but we are a limited resource and it's important we are used for the right reasons."
Jonty Ash, ten, who goes to East Hanningfield Primary, said afterwards: "I liked the ambulance talk as I found it interesting finding out where the ambulances travel to.
"I've never seen inside an ambulance before and always wanted to know what it looked like."
