The Junior Crew Pack has been developed by the Department of Transport in partnership with the Western Australian Curriculum Council and the Department of Education to provide a marine safety educational package for primary schools students (Years 3, 4 and 5).

The introduction of the Recreational Skipper's Ticket (RST) in Western Australia in April 2006 has resulted in greater awareness of marine safety responsibilities amongst vessel operators. The knowledge and skills required as part of the RST can also be discovered by primary aged students through the use of the Junior Crew Pack.

The program will introduce students to marine safety messages, specifically the safe use of boats and highlight what they should know to ensure their own safety and that of others while boating.

The Junior Crew Pack is aligned to the Western Australian Curriculum Framework. Teachers can offer this program as a way to assess sections of the Health and Physical Education and/or English learning area outcomes.

The program has been designed to be conducted within the classroom and could be incorporated into, but not limited to, the following themes: water safety programs; the sea and seashore; lakes and rivers; summer; holidays; weather; recreation.

Teachers can choose to create individual programs from worksheets and activities contained within the Junior Crew Pack. This may assist to fulfil classroom assessment requirements without having to complete all topics within the Junior Crew program. Please note however, this will not result in a Junior Crew Certificate being issued.

At the start of the program students are issued with a Junior Crew Logbook.

As the student completes a worksheet or major activity they have it signed off in their Junior Crew Logbook. This can be done by the teacher, parent or guardian.

The logbook is designed to assist teachers and students in keeping track of their progress through the program.

Each topic contains a number of worksheets and a choice of major activities. Students complete at least one worksheet from each topic and at least two of the major activities from any combination of the first four topics. The worksheets have been designed with various levels of difficulty to suit each class level.

Once the worksheets and major tasks have been completed, the culmination task Be Boatwise can be undertaken. This final task brings together all of the topics to give the final marine safety message.
The number and selection of worksheets and activities for the Junior Crew Certificate is flexible to allow teachers to target their specific class level, teaching background and time frames.

Junior Crew Certificate

To receive a Junior Crew Certificate students complete the following tasks.
5 x worksheets (one from each of the five topics); plus
2 x major activities (from any combination of the first four topics); then
complete the culmination task 'Be Boatwise'.
= Junior Crew Certificate.