Category Archives: Community Safety

The shadow of the axe still hangs over Brent’s school crossing patrols, despite Labour’s decision to abandon their original proposals to cut 30 of Brent’s 47 lollipop men and women.
 
Brent Council announced last week that it plans to “puts the brakes on cutting school crossing patrols,” but the Executive report due to be considered by leading Labour Councillors on Monday (19 September) reveals that Labour may still be committed to cutting the service.
 
Twenty sites are set to lose their lollipop patrol if the Labour Executive backs the proposals but this will be done over time through “natural wastage” (i.e. not replacing crossing patrol staff if they resign, retire or die) rather than in one fell swoop.
 
If a member of staff leaves a so-called “high-priority” site a replacement lollipop patrol will be poached from a “low-priority” site – leaving the school children to make their own way across the road.
 
Liberal Democrat road safety spokesperson Daniel Brown said:

Labour’s revised proposals plunge schools and parents into a new round of uncertainty. Schools which Labour says are ‘low-priority’ face having their crossing patrol suddenly disappear with no replacement.
 
It also places unfair pressure on the school crossing patrol staff, who know that children will be left without someone to see them safely across the road if they leave their job.
 
Some of the so-called ‘low-priority’ sites are in fact busy roads where children will be at risk.

According to the report Labour is trying to persuade schools to cover the cost of the patrols, despite the fact that schools are legally prohibited from using their main budget to subsidise the service.

The twenty sites which are still on Labour’s hit list are:

• Aylestone Avenue – Malorees Infants & Junior
• Brentfield Road – Swaminaryan School
• Brondesbury Park– Malorees Infants & Junior
• Canterbury Road – St Mary’s RC Primary
• Chamberlyne Road – Kensal Rise Primary
• Church Lane – Fryent Primary
• Dollis Hill Lane – Our Lady of Grace Juniors
• Dollis Hill Lane – Our Lady of Grace Infants
• Harrow Road, Sudbury – Sudbury Primary
• Hillside – Stonebridge & Our Lady of Lourdes
• Manor Park Road – John Keeble Primary
• Mapesbury Road – NW London Jewish School
• Milman Road – Salusbury Primary
• Mount Pleasant, Wembley – Lyon Park Infant & Junior
• Neasden Lane North (2 sites) – Wykeham Primary
• Oakington Manor Drive, Wembley – Oakington Manor Primary
• Park Avenue – Convent of Jesus and Mary
• Princes Road – Roe Green Infant and Junior
• Salusbury Road – Salusbury Primary

 The report says:

Reductions in the number of SCP [School Crossing Patrol] sites can be expected in future years through staff natural wastage at lower priority sites and as improvements to priority sites, such as the installation of controlled crossings, result in those sites being reclassified as lower priority sites (page 90).

Savings of around £18,000 could be anticipated from 2012/13 onwards until such time as the service is reduced to the minimum acceptable level (page 107).