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An Independent councillor is calling for a review of the council’s school crossing patrol service.
Cllr Kevin Etheridge, Leader of the Independent Group, has submitted a notice of motion to Caerphilly County Borough Council to review the way it assesses a school’s need for a lollipop person.
When a school crossing patrol officer resigns or retires, the school is assessed by the council to see if it meets the criteria for a replacement.
Earlier this month it was revealed that Blackwood Primary School’s lollipop lady was not going to be replaced.
This decision followed an assessment by the council. The school has had a crossing patrol service since it opened in 2001.
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Cllr Etheridge said: “The current review process has caused much distress and upset which has been keenly felt with the withdrawal of the service at Blackwood Primary School, and we ask for the school crossing role to be reinstated.”
Cllr Etheridge said that he believed the current assessment does not consider the number of entrances to schools, and there is not enough consultation with the schools, parents and governors.
The assessment for school crossing patrols in the borough was approved at an Education for Life Scrutiny Committee meeting in January 2014.
Earlier this month, responding to calls that a patrol should be reinstated in Blackwood, deputy council leader Jamie Pritchard said: “Independent, Plaid Cymru and Labour councillors on the Education for Life Scrutiny Committee fully endorsed the current policy and in fact, recommended the benefits of school travel plans to headteachers and encouraged governors to endorse it.”
He added there was “strong agreement” for the policy at the time, but said he would be happy to meet with councillors to discuss the matter further.
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