Revealed: Number of school crossing patrol officers falls by 10% since 2021

THE number of school crossing guards across Northern Ireland has fallen by almost 10% since 2021, according to new figures.

Crossing guards are employed by the Education Authority (EA) and are managed with the support of the school to which they are assigned.

Figures from Stormont’s Department of Education show that in 2021 there were 441 crossing guards in NI.

By 2023 this number had fallen to 398 — a drop of almost 10%. The EA has three localities in NI: north, east and south west.

Of the 398 patrol officers last year, 160 were in the north area, 127 were in the east and 111 were assigned to schools in the south west. Back in February of last year the recruitment of school crossing patrol staff was frozen as part of EA efforts to save money. It came after the Department of Education’s budget for 2023/24 was reduced by £70m, or 2.5%.

The move led to some principals warning that pupils were being put in danger if their school could be assigned a patrol officer.

Speaking at the time, then EA chief executive Sara Long wrote to schools, stating: “Schools are encouraged to share the road safety advice available on [the] NI Direct [website], as well as reinforce parents’ important role in their child’s journey to school.

“Schools are also reminded of existing guidance that only those employed as a SCP [school crossfor ing patrol] are authorised to stop traffic and therefore indemnified in the event of an accident.”

Last September the recruitment freeze was lifted, but only schools that were previously assessed as needing a crossing patrol. No new applications could be made.

Justin Mccamphill of the teachers’ union NASUWT said the drop in crossing patrol officers is “disturbing but unsurprising news”.

He added: “Education continues to suffer from cuts which are hitting our children and young people.

“The NASUWT is calling on the Executive to ensure that education is properly funded and all schools who need school crossing patrols have them.”

SDLP education spokesperson Cara Hunter said the decline of school crossing guards has impacted schools across Northern Ireland who have “relied on these important staff to keep pupils safe coming and going from school”.

Mrs Hunter noted that the freeze on recruitment last year “left many parents seriously concerned about their children’s safety”.

She said: “The freeze on hiring new staff has now been lifted, allowing schools that previously had crossing guards to apply for new ones. This is welcome and should go some way to addressing these figures, but we also need to see funding from the Education Minister to allow schools to make new applications for crossing patrol staff to keep all of our children safe.”

The EA has been contacted for comment.

Speaking last month, the new EA chief executive raised concerns about funding for the organisation.

Appearing before Stormont’s education committee last month, Richard Pengelly said he could give “no guarantees” that the required money will be available for the body to do what it needs to in the short term.

“We’re not going to have a financial settlement that solves the problems in education,” he said.

“It will be hunkering down for a year or two. I worry services will rapidly approach the stage where they are unsustainable.

“The Executive hasn’t been back for long. They will inevitably start to think about medium and long-term solutions. It’s about survival in the near future.”