A SCHEME to bring the fire safety message home to children was launched yesterday.

Guests including the mayors of Hartlepool, Middlesbrough, Redcar and Cleveland and Stockton, education directors, local education authority representatives and chief fire officers gathered at the Oakwood Centre, in Eaglescliffe, for the launch of the School Education Pathway.

The event was the culmination of two years' work by Cleveland Fire Brigade and Stockton Local Education Authority, (LEA) in what is thought to be the first partnership of its kind in the country.

Already, the scheme has been nominated by the LEA for two education excellence awards. Brigade staff, numeracy and literacy consultants, nursery, infant and primary teachers, college tutors and students have all worked to enhance the Brigade's input in schools.

Booklets have been produced to enhance children's fire safety knowledge through normal curriculum studies, and the Brigade has recently bought a new £80,000 education vehicle, which will be ready for use in March.

It is hoped that the scheme can be extended to other Teesside authorities in the future.