School demands action over 'dangerous' crossing

Parents and staff at Hazelwood Academy are calling for urgent action to be taken to improve safety on the road outside their school.

Their concerns have been raised following the retirement of the school lollipop lady earlier this year - with the council telling the school that it cannot afford to fund a replacement due to a recruitment freeze.

Hazlewood head teacher Suzanne Lloyd said: “As a school, we are extremely concerned at the level of risk posed to our pupils and other members of our community since the retirement of our crossing warden. Other schools in the area have a number of measures and crossing wardens. What we have requested is that a full and thorough assessment of the situation on Stokesay Drive is carried out in order that appropriate measures can be put in place to safeguard our pupils.”

She explained that the school has more than 200 children on its roll and also an attached nursery.

“We’ve got some very young children who use the crossing so this is a real worry. This is not about us asking for resources from other schools, we are calling for an assessment to be carried out on this crossing. Most drivers are considerate, but we do occasionally get people speeding down this road and we have already had a recent near miss involving a taxi.”

Mrs Lloyd added that she hopes measures are put in place by the start of the new academic year in September.

Since the crossing warden retired, the school has been told by the council that a traffic survey had been commissioned. But five months later, there is still no resolution in sight and are children continue to be exposed to potential danger on a daily basis while crossing Stokesay Drive. The road is often used as a shortcut for drivers wishing to avoid queues on Tewkesbury Way.

Rania Raza, whose three-year-old Mishal will attend the nursery in September, said: “I find it appalling that they knew in February that they were not going to have anyone else to take over the crossing warden role but that they have not done anything about it. Cars can come down this road really fast and it’s a real concern.”

Parents with children at the school have submitted a petition with more than 400 names to highlight the concerns over the crossing.

Academy Business Manager Kate Ayliffe explained: “Over the last few months, the Academy has been in touch with the council repeatedly. A petition from parents has been submitted and meetings have taken place with the police. We have been told that we can’t directly recruit volunteers from our parent community.”

A spokesman for the Highways and Transport Department of Swindon Borough Council said: “The budget situation means that we are not in a position to recruit new staff to fill existing vacancies at present. This budget position was agreed by cabinet at their meeting in February this year, requiring a budget saving in this area in order to help relieve the wider financial pressures on the council. We may consider additional engineering measures at some locations if appropriate.

“School crossing patrols are a non-statutory service. The majority of schools in Swindon operate without any school crossing patrol in the vicinity. Parents are responsible for ensuring their children are able to travel to school safely, whether or not the local authority is able to provide crossing facilities.”