Botswana Department of Road Transport Services and EA991 Leads the Way in Protecting Botswana’s Children with Star Rating for Schools

In 2021, Botswana recorded 475 pedestrian road traffic accidents involving children and adolescents aged 5-20. To address this urgent issue, the Star Rating for Schools (SR4S) methodology is being championed as a vital tool in supporting the National Commitment for Child and Adolescent Well-being. SR4S is designed to improve safety in school zones and aligns with the UN Global Plan for the Decade of Action for Road Safety 2021-2030 and Vision Zero Targets.

As part of the FIA Safe and Sustainable Mobility Grants Programme 2024, The Department of Road Transport Services in collaboration with Emergency Assist 991 (EA991) recently conducted a SR4S training for members of the Letlhakeng and Kweneng District Road Safety Committees on 18-19 September. The training focused on building local capacity for assessing and improving school zone safety. This was the second SR4S training event held in Botswana this year, following a successful session in February facilitated by iRAP.

“iRAP has been instrumental in helping us empower local stakeholders to conduct safety assessments and advocate for school safety improvements,” said Paul Setswe, EA991’s Road Safety Coordinator. “SR4S provides a valuable framework for collaboration and support, particularly from governments, as it offers an evidence-based approach that aligns with the Decade of Action objectives.”

Day 1 of the training covered the basics of the SR4S programme, including how to integrate SR4S into safe school projects. Participants were introduced to road attribute coding and given hands-on assignments to practice coding.

Day 2 kicked off with a field visit to two nearby schools where participants collected road infrastructure data for SR4S assessments. Back in the classroom, they entered the data into the SR4S web application and conducted peer reviews of their findings. The event concluded with closing remarks by the Letlhakeng District Road Safety Committee Chairperson, Ms. Mogome who commended the participants for their commitment to improving school safety. Through this training, committee members have been equipped with the tools necessary to create safer school environments for students in their Districts.

The technical content was delivered by Road Safety Coordinators Tendai Belindah Lisenda and Gabriel Mothibakgomo, who had been trained by iRAP’s Safer Journeys Lead for Africa, Nathalie Chiavassa, earlier in the year. After completing additional online training, Lisenda and Mothibakgomo were able to successfully lead this SR4S training session. Their ability to facilitate the training demonstrates the effectiveness of building local capacity for road safety initiatives. Tendai Belindah Lisenda said, “It’s incredibly rewarding to share the knowledge and skills I’ve gained through the past SR4S training with my colleagues. By working together, we can make a real difference in improving road safety for our young people”.

Armed with the knowledge and skills gained from the training, the participants will now work to implement SR4S assessments in their respective Districts. This will provide valuable data to inform evidence-based interventions and ultimately reduce the risk of road traffic accidents involving children.

As Botswana continues to prioritize child and adolescent well-being, global tools like SR4S are essential in creating a safer and more sustainable future for its young citizens.

Images below (Left: Participants engaged in active discussions during the road attributes coding exercise (Image credit: EA991) and Right: Field visit to a nearby school for data collection (Image credit: participants)