Stepping out with Speedy

Children from Ridgeway Primary School in South Shields have been learning how to build a community with the help of their friendly neighbourhood tortoise.

Speedy the tortoise is the mascot for a workbook of activities to teach children about subjects including housing, employment, communication and healthy lifestyles.

This 'educational toolkit' has been drawn up through Ridgeway children working with staff from NomadE5 Housing Association and South Tyneside Council to address a range of issues which face them in their every day lives at school and at home.

The workbook came about through the children living at the heart of the Cleadon Park estate in South Shields, where NomadE5 and the local authority have worked with developer Bellway on the £90m redevelopment of the area which is still ongoing.

Lewis Rimington, neighbourhood investment manager for NomadE5, who has worked extensively at Cleadon Park with Lindsay Riddle from South Tyneside Council, believes Speedy is an effective means of getting messages across to the children.

He said: "You can see from the smiles on the children's faces how much they like working with Speedy. Having a cartoon character come to life is a great way for their teachers to get across important lessons, for them to have fun, and for us to show how Cleadon Park has changed for the better."

The educational toolkit is based around 'Speedy', who was dreamt up by Steward Coates, a pupil at South Shields Community School. Copies of the toolkit are available free of charge to any school in the North East.