Timmy – the littlest lamb in Shaun the Sheep’s flock – now features in a series of fun new resources produced by road safety charity Brake for its Beep Beep! Day project.
Beep Beep! Day with Timmy Time engages young children, aged 2-7, with road safety basics through fun activities, while raising awareness among parents and the wider community about keeping children safe near roads. The project, in partnership with Churchill Insurance, is now in its fifteenth year and will take place on Wednesday 20 November, during UK Road Safety Week (18-24 November). Educators can also run a Beep Beep! Day on a date of their choice.
For the past decade Timmy has featured in his own TV series Timmy Time, which is created by award-winning animation studio Aardman and is a spin-off from Shaun the Sheep. The show makes a return to CBeebies this month (October) and follows the antics of the little lamb as he attends nursery with friends to learn about the world around him. Through the Beep Beep! Day resources, Timmy and his friends will help children understand important road safety messages, while giving them skills to talk to grown-ups about what they can do to keep them safe.
The project is free to get involved with and includes digital resources for nurseries, schools and child minders – all featuring characters from Timmy Time. Educators also have an option of buying a low-cost ‘bumper pack’ full of all the activities, including stickers and certificates for every child.
Brake has been helping schools, nurseries and parents talk to children about keeping safe near roads for almost 25 years. In 2018, more than 300,000 children are estimated to have taken part in a Beep Beep! Day, from more than 2,500 schools, nurseries or childminding settings.
On average, six children are killed or seriously injured on roads in Britain every day [1], and the World Health Organization says road crashes are the leading killer of children and young adults (aged 5–29) globally [2]. As part of the project, children can fundraise to support Brake’s work campaigning for safer roads and supporting people who have been bereaved or seriously injured following a road crash.
Beep Beep! Day with Timmy Time resources will be hosted on Brake’s new Zebras website for children, teachers and families.
Dave Nichols, community engagement manager at Brake, said: “We’re delighted to be working with Aardman on this project and think Timmy will really help engage children with the important topic of road safety. These iconic characters will not only help children learn vital messages that will stay with them for life but also give them a voice to call on grown-ups to use roads safely. We look forward to having even more children get involved this year and support Brake’s vision of a world where they can all enjoy safe and healthy journeys.”
Lucy Brooksbank, Head of Marketing at Churchill, said: “We are very proud to be supporting Beep Beep! Day in its fifteenth year. The new wide range of resources crafted in partnership with Aardman not only make this a fun day but help to make a difference too. Brake’s activity is pivotal in helping to stop children from becoming seriously injured on our roads and Beep Beep! Day has always been a great way to get young children talking about road safety. We’re excited to see lots of educators using the new resources to continue raising awareness on this topic.”
Laura Burr, Brand Manager at Aardman, said: “It’s great to be working with Brake. Learning about road safety is so important, and we hope that involving Timmy will not only help educate young children, but also add some fun.”
Notes for editors
[1] Reported Road Casualties in Great Britain: Annual Report 2018
[2] Global Status Report on Road Safety, 2018, World Health Organisation
About Brake
Brake is a national road safety and sustainable transport charity, founded in 1995, that exists to stop the needless deaths, serious injuries and pollution occurring on our roads every day. We work to make streets and communities safer for everyone, and care for families bereaved and seriously injured in road crashes. Brake's vision is a world where there are zero road deaths and injuries, and people can get around in ways that are safe, sustainable, healthy and fair. We do this by pushing for legislative change through national campaigns, community education, services for road safety professionals and employers, and by coordinating the UK's flagship road safety event every November, Road Safety Week. Brake is a national, government-funded provider of support to families and individuals devastated by road death and serious injury, including through a helpline and support packs.
Road crashes are not accidents; they are devastating and preventable events, not chance mishaps. Calling them accidents undermines work to make roads safer and can cause insult to families whose lives have been torn apart by needless casualties.
About Aardman
Aardman, based in Bristol (UK) and co-founded in 1976 by Peter Lord and David Sproxton, is an independent and multi-award-winning studio. It produces feature films, series, advertising, games and interactive entertainment - such as the ‘visually astonishing’ (The Guardian), BAFTA nominated console game, 11-11: Memories Retold, and the four-times Gold Cannes Lions-winning StorySign app - and innovative attractions for both the domestic and international market, including a new 4D theatre attraction at Efteling in the Netherlands. Its productions are global in appeal, novel, entertaining, brilliantly characterised and full of charm reflecting the unique talent, energy and personal commitment of the Aardman team. The studio’s work – which includes the creation of much-loved characters including Wallace & Gromit, Shaun the Sheep and Morph – is often imitated, and yet the company continues to lead the field producing a rare brand of visually stunning content for cinema, broadcasters, digital platforms and live experiences around the world. In November 2018 it became an Employee Owned Organisation, to ensure Aardman remains independent and to secure the creative legacy and culture of the company for many decades to come. www.aardman.com
About Timmy Time
Timmy is the littlest lamb in Shaun the Sheep’s flock and the star of his own award-winning spin-off series Timmy Time, which premiered on CBeebies in April 2009 and is broadcast in over 150 territories worldwide. Timmy Time is set in a Nursery and the core audience are preschoolers. Each episode follows a day in the life of Timmy and his friends as they learn about life and friendship. The original series consisted of 78 ten-minute episodes with no dialogue. Aardman recently produced an updated version of Timmy Time for a new generation of fans, creating five-minute edits of the original episodes and featuring a child’s voiceover.
About Churchill
Founded in 1989, Churchill is now one of the UK's leading providers of general insurance, offering car, home, travel and pet insurance cover over the phone or on-line.
Churchill general insurance policies are underwritten by U K Insurance Limited, Registered office: The Wharf, Neville Street, Leeds LS1 4AZ. Registered in England and Wales No 1179980. U K Insurance Limited is authorised by the Prudential Regulation Authority and regulated by the Financial Conduct Authority and the Prudential Regulation Authority.
Churchill and U K Insurance Limited are both part of Direct Line Insurance Group plc.
Customers can find out more about Churchill products or get a quote by calling 0300 200300 or visiting www.churchill.com
