Cannock school crossing: Parents lose patrol fight

As term ended at Gorsemoor Primary School on Friday it was revealed that a decision to axe the patrol would go ahead.

More than 1,400 people had signed a petition in a bid to save the crossing warden after the school was warned last month that it was one of 29 schools in Staffordshire set to lose its patrol.

A Staffordshire County Council meeting on Thursday was told that the school, which has 590 pupils, had been given a lifeline, with a reassessment undertaken on Gorsemoor Road that day.

But on Friday it was confirmed the patrol would still be axed – despite a 1,480-signature petition from parents, pupils and residents being handed to the authority at the meeting.

Staffordshire County Council hopes to save £150,000 with the cut.

The school's acting headteacher Barbara Heath said she had been told she would need to stump up £3,500 for its budget next year if she wanted the service to remain. But she said: "Our budget is so very tight and I really mean tight. I have no spare capacity at all. I don't see it as the school's priority to pay for crossing patrols."

A six-year-old pupil was taken to hospital after he was clipped by a car on nearby Badgers Way on Tuesday, a road which Mrs Heath said is quieter than Gorsemoor Road.

Staffordshire County Council's cabinet member for highways and transport Councillor Mark Deaville said yesterday (Fri): "We need to prioritise crossings where they are needed the most, which are ones on the busiest roads where there are no controlled crossings or safe places to cross.

"We have carried out a further review at Gorsemoor and as this doesn't meet the criteria for a patrol, it will no longer be funded from next term. We recognise that many communities value their school crossing patrol and are supporting those who wish to fund a patrol themselves at sites that don't meet the criteria for a council patrol."

On Thursday, Hednesford and Rawnsley councillor Christine Mitchell told Councillor Deaville: "I can assure you, parents are concerned about this road and this crossing but what worries me about this school in particular is not all children are accompanied by a parent or guardian and they need some help to get across the road. It only takes one speeding car to kill a child."

Other schools set to lose patrols in Cannock Chase are Moorhill Primary, Littleton Green Community, Cardinal Griffin Catholic High and St James Primary near Rugeley as well as In Stafford wardens will be removed from Anson, St Peter's, Silkmore Community and Gnosall St. Lawrence primaries and Brewood Middle, Perton Middle and Perton Sandown. and Brewood Middle are also set to lose manned crossings.