A LEADING clinical psychologist will give an insight into children’s understanding of safety messages at a seminar hosted by the Royal Society for the Prevention of Accidents in Hamilton on Thursday.

Dr Elizabeth Kilbey, who has appeared on Channel 4’s Secret Life of 4, 5 and 6 Year Olds, will be among the speakers at the Safe as Houses? event, taking place at the Scottish Fire and Rescue Service’s West Service Delivery HQ.

The half-day seminar will consider opportunities to take forward the prevention of children’s home accidents. Delegates from the emergency services, NHS, local authorities, charities and the Scottish Government are due to attend.

More accidents happen in the home than anywhere else, with young children and older people being among the most at-risk groups. In Scotland in 2015/16, there were 1,761 emergency hospital admissions among under-fives as a result of home accidents.

Clare Adamson, MSP for Motherwell and Wishaw and convenor of the Cross Party Group on Accident Prevention and Safety Awareness, will give the event’s welcoming address. The other speakers will be Jo Bullock, RoSPA’s head of awareness and education, on RoSPA’s Keeping Kids Safe campaign; Tina Hendry from Reattach Parenting, on adverse childhood experiences; Elizabeth Lumsden, community safety manager at RoSPA in Scotland, on children’s views on safety in the home; and Amanda Callaghan from the Children and Families Directorate at the Scottish Government, on the Child and Adolescent Health and Wellbeing Action Plan, which is currently being developed.

Dr Kilbey said: “Understanding children's development and their communication abilities is vital in helping us to ensure that we can work as effectively as possible to keep young people safe and well.”

Elizabeth Lumsden added: “Serious injuries are a major – but preventable – challenge for Scotland, with the personal impact being most significant for the very young, the very old and those living in our poorest communities, and a significant burden being placed on our public services. A key part of our work at RoSPA is to promote the exchange of skills and knowledge to reduce serious accidental injuries, and we very much hope that delegates will leave the seminar inspired and equipped to take forward their important work on child safety in the home.”

The child safety event is the first of three Safe at Houses? seminars due to be held by RoSPA in Scotland this year. The second will focus on burns and scalds and will be held in collaboration with Care of Burns in Scotland, while the third will concentrate on older people’s safety in the home.