Warwickshire County Council’s Road Safety Education Team and School Crossing Patrol Service are launching a campaign to support School Crossing Patrols to operate safely.
This new campaign comprises a series of digital resources and social media clips to combat the rising levels of children crossing away from the School Crossing Patrol.
The Council has developed a series of digital resources comprising guidance and information for school children, parents and adults on crossing safely with a School Crossing Patrol. These resources are a reminder to children, parents and adults:
- To wait until the Patrol is in the road,
- To cross in front of the Patrol; and
- To be aware of vehicles that may not stop, such as emergency services vehicles.
The first digital resource – Lollipops! – is to be shared with all Warwickshire schools in proximity to a School Crossing Patrol and will remind children, young people and adults of the importance of crossing with a School Crossing Patrol and how to do this safely.
Cllr Wallace Redford, Warwickshire County Council’s Portfolio Holder for Transport and Highways, said: “In Warwickshire, our dedicated School Crossing Patrols are noting rising incidences of children and young people crossing roads away from patrols and this puts them at a much greater risk of suffering an injury.
“We hope that these new resources will help to reverse this trend by educating children and their parents and carers about the important functions of our school crossing patrols.
“This campaign has two main objectives and It's not just the children that we are educating and asking to change their behaviour, we are also keen to reach motorists as our School Crossing Patrols in Warwickshire have also seen a worrying increase in the number of incidents of abuse, aggression and drive throughs being reported at almost all sites.”
Cllr Kam Kaur, Warwickshire County Council Portfolio Holder for Education, added: “We are very proud of the work that our Road Safety Education and Active Travel Teams do with schools and education setting across the County. At Warwickshire County Council, we firmly believe that Road Safety Education is a skill for life and embedding safe practice should begin as soon as children start to walk and be built upon, steadily, throughout their formal education.
“These new resources will support outside the classroom all the great work that goes on inside it around road safety.”
The Council has also developed social media clips to remind drivers to adhere to the requests of the School Crossing Patrols who are there to keep children safe whilst crossing busy roads. Motorists are asked:
- To please slow down near to schools, and in areas where a patrol is working;
- To be patient and leave the crossing site clear; and
- To park away from school crossing patrol sites.
Drivers and cyclists are also reminded of Highway Code Rule 210, which states that ‘You MUST stop when a school crossing patrol shows a ‘Stop’ sign and reminded never to park, pullover or wait on ‘School Keep Clear’ road markings.
Warwickshire has 35 School Crossing Patrols located throughout the County. Warwickshire School Crossing Patrols ensure the safety of children, young people and adults crossing the road at a designated point between specified times by providing a safe environment to cross the road.
Warwickshire County Council are offering these digital resources free to all Warwickshire primary schools with a School Crossing Patrol and will be sharing the campaign on their social media.
To keep up to date with news and events please follow Warwickshire Road Safety Partnership and Warwickshire County Council on social media. Facebook @WarwickshireRoadSafety @WCCSafeActiveTravel and Twitter @WarksRoadSafety @WCCSafe_Active.
More information about School Crossing Patrols in Warwickshire can be found online: https://www.warwickshire.gov.uk/schoolcrossingpatrols