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The Conies Charity Supports World Oral Health Day

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Birmingham charity The Conies, recently awarded the King’s Award for Voluntary Service, is supporting World Oral Health Day with a video produced with an international partner to encourage children to take care of their teeth.
World Oral Health Day, observed on March 20th, raises awareness about the importance of maintaining healthy teeth and gums for long-term wellbeing. This year’s campaign focuses on lifelong oral health, and The Conies is backing it with a programme that encourages a habit of dental care that begins in childhood.
Created by Fay Goodman, Managing Director of Goodmedia, The Conies are a family of road traffic cones who, like the Green Cross Code Man and Tufty the Squirrel before them, deliver safety messages in a fun and engaging way.
They feature in Brushing Your Teeth, a short video produced by Goodmedia with support from Mumbai-based animation studio Graphiti and primary school children from Haslucks Green School and Damson Wood Infant School in Solihull.
The animation, which uses memorable visuals and a catchy song to encourage young children to clean their teeth, is freely available on You Tube and accessible from the following QR Code at the back of The Conies Brushing your Teeth Comic.

Play VideoPlay Video

Latest figures from the Oral Health Foundation show that in England one out of every four children by the age of five has had tooth decay – in poorer areas it is one in three – and tooth decay is the most common reason five-to-nine-year-olds are admitted to hospital.
Fay Goodman, who is also an award-winning author, film producer, and safety advocate, said: “With tooth decay rates in young children reaching alarming levels, we are passionately keen to support World Oral Health Day.”
Fay added: “I am delighted with the contribution of Graphiti, whom I was introduced to as part of a trade delegation to India in 2019, in helping to turn an animation concept into a vibrant and engaging educational tool and by the involvement of children in the Midlands in creating a memorable brushing song.”
Munjal Shroff, Director & COO of Graphiti, said: “The Conies is such a sweet and delightful concept. I fell in love with the design and its universality when Fay first showed it to me. We have enjoyed collaborating with her and her brilliant team on the animation and the comics. I am convinced that The Conies is set for global recognition and success – and projects like these should be nurtured.”
Award-winning Midland dentist Dr Anoup Nandra has recognised the potential of the Conies’ Brushing Teeth project in transforming children’s attitudes toward oral health: “The concept encourages children to look after their teeth at an early age by making it a fun part of their daily routine. Mouth hygiene is essential for maintaining a healthy body.”
He added: “Forming good habits at an early age ensures that our children have the best chance of having healthy teeth in the future. The Conies have provided an innovative and entertaining animation idea among a range of great initiatives to help children keep themselves safe, healthy, and confident.”
These initiatives include Conies Safe Explorers, a new free series of workshops to help children develop their musical and artistic creativity as part of their safety education. Funded by the National Lottery Community Fund, the workshops enable 4 to 11-year-olds to enjoy art and music sessions while learning how to protect themselves in areas such as roads, rivers, railway lines and building sites as well as in their homes and gardens and while online.
Fay Goodman holds the workshops at a purpose-built training centre at Masamune Dojo in Yardley, Birmingham. She said: “Conies Safe Explorers is another initiative from The Conies which has been inspiring kids to learn about safety effectively in a fun way ever since we launched the charity in 2019 with our engaging, interactive Walking to School Safely course for use in schools.
Fay said: “The Conies’ mission is simply to make the world a safer place for children and young people, and I believe that meaningful change comes when business, creativity and community come together.
“That is why we want to reach out to any organisations to join us on our journey, whether through partnerships, sponsorship, providing skills and support, or advocacy. To join our Happy Conies team, get in touch at
film@goodmedia.co.uk
, call 07976 42643, or visit goodmedia.co.uk and/or the conies.org.”

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The Ultimate Guide to Protecting Your Child Online in 2021

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Please read SMARTPHONE and share with your children – great advice to keep them safe!

So many Online Child Safety guides are just scaring parents, without telling them what they can actually do; and this is why we came together, a group of cybersecurity experts and parents, to create a different guide. It’s updated for December 2021, and it’s all about steps you can take to protect your child from Sexual predators, Cyberbullying, Mobile phone addiction, and hurtful content. While we don’t think you should panic as a parent, you do need to be aware of the risk’s magnitude, as every kid could be affected.

Follow this link to read the whole guide:

https://www.vpnmentor.com/blog/the-ultimate-parent-guide-for-child-internet/

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Fay presents The Conies – at the ROAD SAFETY GB CONFERENCE 2020

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Delighted and honoured to have been invited to speak and introduce our loveable Conies at the 2020 ROAD SAFETY GB CONFERENCE. There was a range of excellent speakers giving valuable advice and updates on key information. Watch out for the Road Safety GB Conference in November 2021 when we will hopefully be without masks and in person – hurrah! #roadsafetygb; #wmpolice; #pertempsnetwork

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THE CONIES SET CREATIVE CHALLENGE FOR CHILD SAFETY CAMPAIGN

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THE CONIES SET CREATIVE CHALLENGE FOR CHILD SAFETY CAMPAIGN

Road safety heroes The Conies are looking to ‘cone-gratulate’ the creative efforts of families across the UK in helping to promote child safety.

Fay Goodman in a road safety cone costume with Pete Allington from West Midlands Fire Service’s Road Casualty Reduction Team

THE CONIES SET CREATIVE CHALLENGE FOR CHILD SAFETY CAMPAIGN

Road safety heroes The Conies are looking to ‘cone-gratulate’ the creative efforts of families across the UK in helping to promote child safety.

The family of traffic-cone-shaped cartoon characters has been conceived and created by Fay Goodman, Managing Director of Birmingham-based DriveSafe & StaySafe, as successors to The Green Cross Code Man and Tufty the Squirrel, who raised awareness of road safety for children from the 1970s.

The Conies, as part of Road Safety Week, have now invited families nationwide  to help raise similar awareness by submitting photos and videos of themselves in cone-shaped or road safety-based costumes.

The best submission in the challenge competitionwill win the entrants £100 and be used to help promote The Conies’ national road safety campaign. The closing date for entries is 28 February 2020.

Fay Goodman said: “Whether in traffic cone costumes or high-vis jackets, or as the Conies characters themselves, we want individuals and families across Britain to pose with pride in helping us stand upfor safer streets.

“We are asking challengers to post their photo and video on Facebook, Twitter or Instagram and tag to #theconies. This will help us spread and unite in the fight for road awareness and prevent road ‘cone-tastrophe’ through a fun activity.”

The competition follows the successful rollout and response to ‘The Conies: Walking to School Safely Journal’, a 40-page fully illustrated dyslexia-friendly workbook for primary school children, featuring The Conies family, which has now reached more than 200 schools and 33,000 children across the Midlands.

The book has been produced and published as a free resource by DriveSafe with the support of the Birmingham Community Safety Partnership, Pertemps Education Network and Goodmedia Limited.

Fay Goodman said: “Children can engage by reading, listening and acting out scenarios from the journal, and there is a review at the end to test how much each child has learnt and absorbed. Teachers will be able to keep this page as ‘evidence’ of the child’s learning and reward it with a certificate or star to offer continued encouragement.

Previous winners of The Conies road safety song competition, Delves Primary School, Walsall

“Now, whenever they see a road cone, we hope children will think about The Conies and the positive messages to ‘Stop, Look and Listen’ before you cross the road and ‘Keep Looking and Listening’ as you cross.”

Fay added: “Too many children are needlessly injured or killed on our roads. We have to do something which will impact in a dynamic way – and what better way than to turn road signs that are all around us into animated characters – especially road cones!

“The Green Cross Code Man and Tufty the Squirrel made such a difference to helping children’s safety in their era – and I sincerely believe our Conies are having the same impact as the new national heroes of road safety.”

Facebook:  https://www.facebook.com/TheConiesWorld/

Instagram:  theconies55

Website: www.theconiesworld.co.uk

Love1

Good, but could do better – progress on Road Safety

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Here at Conies HQ we are reading with interest the latest progress report on the Government’s Road Safety Statement.
In December 2015, the Government published its Road Safety Statement, setting out its vision, values and priorities to bring down the numbers of people killed and injured on our roads. In June it let us all know how it was doing against its targets.
You can sum up our reaction as:

“Good, but could do better.”

Firstly, the good bits. We applaud the progress being made on driver safety, especially on the toughening of penalties against those who use mobile phones while driving. We’ve all seen the high-profile cases of mobile phone use leading to horrific crashes and we think that increasing fines against offenders will help protect children, both as passengers and pedestrians.
We’ve long been supporters of walking and cycling and that’s why we are also pleased to see the government agree plans for investment in safer cycling and walking infrastructure. Great that it will also spend some time and money in persuading people out of the car.


However, we are frustrated by the lack of progress in implementing 20mph speed limits in appropriate areas. The progress report claims that it is ‘in progress’ and a report is due to be published later in 2018. There is clear evidence that 20 mph speed limits help save children’s’ lives, so we are puzzled why there has been no progress in this area and no definite date set for when the Governments report is due. Why the delay?


The Conies will continue to campaign and inform to help keep our children safe on the streets especially around schools. We welcome the progress made, but key areas need to be addressed. And quickly.

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Six safety tips for the six week holiday

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The school summer holidays are here and The Conies want you and your family to have a safe and enjoyable six weeks.

Here’s our six best ways to stay safe

1. We all feel more cheerful when the sun is shining but if the weather continues to be as hot as it has been, then it is really important to protect your skin and keep cool. Follow our guide to sun safety to keep yourself and your children protected.

2. At least 25 British people drown in swimming pools each year with more than 500 serious incidents occurring. Only swim at official sites, stay vigilant around swimming pools and don’t rely on lifeguards. Read this useful guide to pool safety for more information

3. The recent tragedy in Norfolk has highlighted how important this point is. Before letting your child on to a bouncy castle, spend a couple of minutes checking out the operation, says ROSPA. This could help prevent any accidents.

4. Barbecues should be fun but it’s easy to get distracted when you have friends and family around for a few drinks. Keep children and garden games away from the cooking area.

5. Help your kids avoid stranger danger. Agree a place to meet if they get lost at an event, consider using a named wristband with your phone number on and tell them to speak to a policeman or another parent with children if they get lost.

6. The chances are children will be playing outside more during the holidays. Now’s a good time to remind your children about the basic steps:

• Find a safe place to cross

• Stop at the kerb

• Look right

• Look left

• Look right again

• If the road is clear, cross – don’t run!

• Keep looking and listening for traffic as you cross.

How about playing this online game from brake to help them think about safety in the car?

Enjoy the school holidays.

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Competition winners announced

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Well done to the two winning families who will be going to see the Aviva Premiership Rugby Final. They were chosen at random from all those who entered our recent competition and correctly selected ‘Cone with the Wind’ as the answer.

Cone with the Wind is our latest video available to watch on YouTube if you haven’t seen it yet, please do so. A gorgeously animated story with educational messages about the environment that will delight as well as inform all the family!

 

The winning entrant Linsey Ferrari asked if she could share her prize with another winner as she didn’t need all the tickets.  So two families, the Ferraris and the Worths will now benefit from the tickets given to The Conies by Aviva.  The tickets were presented in an assembly at Balsall Common Primary School today.

Pupils at Balsall Common Primary School took part in The Conies Road Safety pilot last year.  We also delivered another 300 journals this week so even more children can learn about road safety with our fun characters.

Howard Rose, Director of Funding and Publicity BCPS, said: “This is such a great initiative and I am delighted to say that I have been lucky enough to be involved with it from the start almost. It was fantastic news to find out that the winner of the competition came from our school and that we were able to present the prize as part of The Conies Road Safety Assembly, thanks to Fay and her team.”

Fay Goodman, our founder, added: “Thanks so much to Aviva for the tickets. We’re grateful to all the businesses who help to support the work of The Conies, we couldn’t do it without them.  If you’d like to get involved then there are several ways you can help.”