Almost half of children aged 6-11 have not received pedestrian safety training in the past year, and draft PSHE guidance omits this despite road accidents being the leading cause of accidental death for that age group.

That finding has come from a survey for the Royal Society for the Prevention of Accidents (RoSPA).

A YouGov survey it commissioned found 49 per cent of parents said their children had not had such guidance and 61 per cent would like to see more practical pedestrian training given to their children.

Quick link: Roads are too dangerous for pupils to walk to school, say parents

Quick link: How safe is hometime at your school?

Quick link: It's 'crazy' to build schools in polluted areas, ex-education minister says

RoSPA said latest Department for Transport figures showed 1,269 child pedestrians were killed or seriously injured in 2017.

Provisional figures for 2018 show a slight increase to 1,310 child pedestrians killed or seriously injured, and 5,260 involved in accidents of all kinds.

Nick Lloyd, RoSPA’s acting head of road safety, said PSHE guidance being considered by government omitted guidance on teaching road safety, leaving this to schools and parents.

Mr Lloyd said: “The best way to teach children the road safety skills they need is to deliver real-world, practical lessons, so we have designed a suite of resources for teachers to enable them to do this.

“Our survey has highlighted a clear need for more road safety training to be delivered to primary school-aged children, especially when considering the level of child road injury rates. RoSPA research has shown a gap in provision for younger children.”

He said people had to feel safe if they were to engage in cleaner and more active travel and healthier lifestyles.

RoSPA’s free road safety training pack for teachers aims to equip children at key stage 2 with the knowledge to be safe road users.

It includes lesson plans, risk assessments and consent forms.