Safety presentation continues to inspire after 10 years

Today (Monday, 7 March) will be the tenth year in a row the Spinal Education Awareness Team (SEAT) program has inspired Brisbane Grammar School (BGS) students to stay safe and injury free.

For the past several years Robert Spencer (pictured), who speaks to around 10,000 primary and secondary school students each year about how he sustained quadriplegia and how to prevent it from happening to them in his role with SEAT, has visited the school.

Robert will return today to speak to the Year 10 students as part of their learning and development curriculum.

Robert said he was looking forward to visiting the school because he always received such a good reception and could see the impact his presentations had on the students.

“Because males aged between 15 and 30 are the most common demographic to sustain spinal cord injuries, my annual visit to BGS is a great way of educating young men about the potential consequences of risky behaviour,” he said.

“Each year in Queensland around 90 people sustain spinal cord injuries – that’s an average of one person every four days.

“There is no cure for a spinal cord injury so prevention is, at this stage, the only way of stopping these types of injuries.”

BGS Head of Year 10 Larry Carmichael said Brisbane Grammar School viewed its relationship with SEAT as an essential part of its protective behaviours unit in the school’s Personal Development Program.

“The relationship built up over the past 10 years aims to arm our Year 10 students with the awareness and knowledge they need to ensure they live safe and productive lives, and we are pleased to be able to support the SEAT team in the essential work they do,” he said.

“Robert has certainly made an impact in the lives of many Grammar boys over the years and we look forward to continuing our relationship with SEAT in the years to come.”

Spinal Injuries Association Chief Executive Officer Mark Henley said the continued support of schools like BGS was what made SEAT so successful.

“Since 1987 our SEAT presenters, who are all volunteers, have spoken to more than 1.4 million children,” he said.

“By the feedback that we receive from schools across the state, we know the program is having a real impact. Every day students are telling us that they’ll no longer do risky things such as riding without a helmet or diving into the water without checking its depth.”

Thanks to the major support of the SEAT program by BHP Billiton Cannington Mine over four years, the program is free until 30 June 2013.

The Mine’s assistance, along with the support of other sponsors – the Queensland Government, the Motor Accident Insurance Commission and the RBSM Foundation – means the SEAT presenters are on track to speak to more than 100,000 children throughout the state this year alone.

To book a free SEAT visit, please use the online booking form at www.spinal.com.au, phone 3391 2044 or email seat@spinal.com.au.