Design a toy for Playsafe competition

The Council's Trading Standards Service is urging young people aged from nine to seventeen to enter the Young Consumers 'PlaySafe' competition. The task is to design a safe toy or game that will grab the imagination of a small child.

Organised by the Trading Standards Institute in conjunction with the British Toy and Hobby Association (BTHA), the challenge involves designing a toy for children aged from three to seven.

As well as putting their ideas on paper, those entering the competition have to provide detailed notes that explain how the toy is to be used, the safety features, the play and child development benefits, whether the toy is for indoor or outdoor use and if it is suitable for children with special needs.

Councillor Bob Tidy, Lead Member for Community Services said: "We view this initiative as an ideal way of promoting consumer affairs and the issues involved in designing and producing products and services. The competition is a fun way of getting young people to think about consumer safety issues."

Judging of the three age groups and the winners will be announced during the Trading Standards Institute Conference in Brighton in June 2009 where all the finalists' designs will be displayed.

The outright winner of the competition will receive IT equipment for their school. Book tokens will also be given to the individuals and schools in the different age categories. There will also be prizes for runners-up. Anyone interested in entering next year's competition, including primary and secondary school teams, should call Trading Standards on (01323) 463446 or visit www.btha.co.uk or www.tradingstandards.gov.uk/yconsumers.