Volunteers needed for Exeter's school crossing patrols
Devon County Council is putting out an urgent plea to residents in Exeter to help fill vacant school crossing patrol posts across the city.
Six schools are currently without patrols, with another due to be added to the list after the half term holidays. There are also no reserve school crossing patrols in Exeter to cover sickness or leave.
The council has been trying to fill the posts for months, with information and recruitment events around the city, and advertising and promotion through the local media, but nobody has expressed an interest in the positions.
Now the Council is looking to try to find volunteers from within the school and surrounding community.
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Councillor Stuart Hughes, Devon County Council's Cabinet member for highways and transportation, said: "School crossing patrols provide a vital service to help children get to school safely and are highly valued by their local communities.
"Unfortunately a number of staff retired recently and it's left us with a list of vacancies that we urgently need to fill.
"Although the vacant posts are paid positions, we think the answer might be to consider looking to the school and the local community to help provide these services, as clearly nobody is keen to commit to the role permanently five days a week.
"It may be the case with these schools that the local community can step forward and consider other ways of providing a crossing by having parents or grandparents who can volunteer to share the responsibility one day each and provide the level of safety and protection they want for their children.
"I would urge anybody who might be interested in becoming a school crossing patrol, on a volunteer or paid basis, to get in touch with us as soon as possible, and in the meantime we will of course continue all efforts to fill the vacant posts."
There are 5 vacancies in Exeter: Alphington Primary (pedestrian crossing on Church Road, Alphington) Montgomery Primary (Buddle Lane) Ladysmith Infants (Ladysmith Road) St Sidwell C of E Primay (Zebra crossing on York Road) Stoke Hill Infants & Nursery and Stoke Hill Primary (Stoke Hill roundabout, Stoke Hill & Union Road) Walter Daw Primary (Woodwater Lane).
The county council is also looking to recruit reserve school crossing patrols. Interested applicants should contact Devon County Council's School Crossing Patrol Service on 01392 382247 or email crossingpatrols@devon.gov.uk
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