Fears for schoolchildren’s safety as councils slash lollipop patrols
School crossing patrols were a fixture in the 1960s and 70s, but their numbers are rapidly declining, reports Martin Williams
THEY are the eagle-eyed wardens who have kept children safe for 67 years and became a familiar figure around the country’s schools.
Lollipop men and women were first introduced in London to enable policemen, who had previously run patrols, to perform other duties.
Now it is feared the crossing patrols are fast becoming a relic of the past as their numbers slump, with campaigners fearing the trend is compromising the safety of children.
Figures show one in six of Scotland’s squad of part-time lollipop men and women have been axed over the last eight years.
Some 163 school crossing patrol personnel disappeared north of the Border between 2009/10 and 2017/18 as councils felt the financial pinch, according to data produced by the GMB union.
Joshua Harris, director of campaigns for Brake, the road safety charity, has called for greater safety measures to protect children following publication of the latest data.
“Lollipop people provide a vital service, helping children cross roads safely on their way to school and offering a friendly face that encourages walking and cycling,” he said.
“Cuts to council funding are impacting on the safety of our roads and the loss of lollipop people is a troubling sign of this trend.
“The safety of children should not be compromised and we need to see more investment in safe routes to school, with 20mph speed limits and safe segregated space to walk and cycle.”
Moray Council was the first of Scotland’s 32 local authorities to completely scrap its school crossing patrols. Cutting all 28 lollipop men and women posts was aimed at shaving £120,000 from its spending.
It meant that, from June 28 last year, almost 12,000 pupils in the area had to navigate busy roads without the help of patrol officers.
The council’s online message to parents that confirmed the budget decision stated: “Parents are reminded they are responsible for ensuring their child’s safety on their whole journey to and from school.”
Details of the Scottish cuts also came as the GMB warned Great Britain as a whole had lost more than 2,000 lollipop men and women during the eight years.
In a survey of local authorities, the union found that in 2009/10 there were 7,128 employed by councils across Scotland, England and Wales. By 2017/18, that figure had dipped to just 5,047 – a drop of 2,081.
In Scotland there were 770 school patrol officers in 2017/18 – down from 933 eight year previously.
GMB national secretary Rehana Azam said: “Ten years of austerity have left scars right across our society – and now it’s got to the point where our children aren’t even safe walking home from school.
“No parent wants to get the call that their child has been involved in an accident, but that’s the risk councils are taking because they are so hard-up.
“Austerity is a choice but councils have been left with no choice but to make savings. Our public services need proper funding, so they can rebuild from the ruins left by a decade of savage cuts.”
The earliest lollipop patrol signs were red and black rectangles, with “Stop, Children Crossing” printed on them.
The round lollipop seen today was introduced in the 1960s, while in 1974 the uniform changed to the familiar yellow coat.
Fears over the future of school crossing patrols come as official figures show the number of children injured while out walking in Scotland has more than halved over the same period. In 2018 there were 831 child pedestrian casualties, while in 2019 there were 334.
But Sustrans, which promotes safe walking and cycling networks across the UK, has previously indicated this may be because the number of children walking to school has fallen dramatically.
The organisation has been campaigning for children to walk or cycle to reduce congestion and pollution around the school gates, saying it will also boost mental and physical health. Nearly half of children it surveyed in 2010 wanted to cycle to school but only four in 100 were allowed to.
A Scottish Government spokesman said: “Despite constraints through a decade of UK austerity and the uncertainty caused by Brexit, we are investing in the fairer and more equal society all of us would like to see.”
The UK Government was contacted for comment.