A CUBBINGTON school has been told to pay up or risk the safety of its pupils on busy roads.
After the school’s crossing patrol warden stepped down earlier this year, Cubbington Church of England Primary School was told by Warwickshire County Council the warden would not be replaced following a review.
Council chiefs informed the school there were no immediate plans to replace the warden, and if one was to be positioned on the busy Church Hill crossing, the cost of some £4,000 would have to come out of the school’s coffers.
School governor and Cubbington councillor David Saul said: “Its a real outrage that we cannot guarantee the safety of our children crossing these roads without a crossing warden.
“We had the previous crossing warden for over five years and suddenly after they leave, the rules seemed to have changed and now we don’t meet the standards set by the council in order to deserve one.”
According to the county council website, the criteria for requiring a crossing warden depend on factors including the number of pupils and the amount of traffic.
But acting headteacher Juliet Jones said nothing had changed.
She told The Observer: “Our numbers have not changed dramatically and the volume of cars that drive through the school area remains the same. It seems they’re moving the goalposts a little on us and have just found an excuse not to give us a new warden.”
But the council insisted the criteria for a warden was no longer met by the school and there been a change in the number of children walking to school and the volume of traffic during the five and-half-years the last warden was in the job.
Pupils, parents, teachers and governors took to the village streets on Tuesday (January 27) to protest and make their voices heard. They gathered outside St Mary’s Church with signs and banners and chanted “save our crossing”.
