This set is sold as a Dacta educational set. The LEGO Education website has ideas on how to use this in a school setting. The website says the set provides these "Key Learning Values": Exploring different types of vehicles and transportation, Learning about community services, Investigating roles and responsibilities in community life. That's great, but it doesn't mention building/constructing at all. You could get the same educational values from some trucks and dolls or action figures.

The set includes 11 simple City-style minifigures and several vehicles: bus, garbage truck, front loader, lorry with trailer, ice cream truck, mail truck, dump truck, small car, motorcycle, and bicycle. There are also a few props like a street sign, gas pumps, mailbox, and traffic cones. I was especially happy for the two popsicles and ice cream scoops for the ice cream truck. It's a pretty large assortment of mostly basic bricks and plates along with steering wheels, windscreens, car roof wedges, and 42 (!) tires.

The vehicles designs are extremely simple and basic. There is less detail than in vehicles from the regular City theme. On the plus side, they are very sturdy and won't fall apart easily. I bought these for my two year old son to play with (under my supervision). He likes my other vehicles, like the 3179 Repair Truck (http://www.brickset.com/detail/?set=3179-1) or 3180 Tank Truck (http://www.brickset.com/detail/?set=3180-1), but for him, those trucks are too fragile and he is constantly pulling the whole front end off the tank truck. This set's age recommendation is 4+ and it would be useful to teach very simple building techniques to kids graduating from Duplo to LEGO. I remember sets from the late 70's and early 80's like 6653 Highway Maintenance truck (http://www.brickset.com/detail/?set=6653-1) which had a classic simplicity and straightforward style, and these vehicles give just a bit of that feel--not much "wow"-factor, but just a pleasant, friendly charm.

The set strangely does NOT include instructions for all of the vehicles. The instructions are printed on paperboard cards which will not wear out as fast as a typical paper instructions in a school setting. The instructions are available for the dump truck, garbage truck, and ice cream truck here: http://education.lego.com/en-gb/products/preschool/9333/. If I remember correctly, the set includes instructions for the small car, bus, mail truck, and front-end loader. This leaves you without instructions for the green lorry with trailer. It's up to you to build it with the remaining pieces.

The set comes in a plastic tub (again, for wear and tear in that brutal school setting). This is a nice plus for storage. These vehicles are not really made for an AFOL's city layout display, so you'll want a place to keep them. The only drawback is that the lid does not clamp onto the tub; instead it floats on top.

In summary, it's a nice, simple set if you want a bunch of vehicles to actually play with, whether or not you use this in a school. It's a bit pricy (I paid $83 from a third-party seller on amazon.com), but it's a big set with a lot of minifigures. Think of it as eight or nine small vehicle sets that are bigger and better than impulse sets like 30013 Police Buggy (http://www.brickset.com/detail/?Set=30013-1) but not quite as big or fancy as a set like 7285 Police Dog Unit (http://www.brickset.com/detail/?Set=7285-1).

If I had one wish, it would have included a pizza truck!