Unlike when I was a
child and lived miles from our school and had to be driven to school,
as we live relatively close to Bug's school everyday we complete the
school run by walking to and from school. Whilst I enjoy walking Bug
to and from school especially as we chat without having the stress of
driving through the 'traffic jams of school run time' distracting me
from hearing about his day and I get to babywear Jelly Bean, walking
the school run can be a dangerous as we tackle road crossings and traffic.
As well as having to
avoid perils such as busy roads with cars driving too quickly, hectic
road crossings and copious amounts of dog mess that we do our best to
not step in we also have to face an onslaught of parents abandoning
their cars on the pavements as they rush to get to school on time and
want to get as close to the school as possible even if that means
mounting the pavement regardless of those walking along to school as
we do. I have shockingly and worryingly witnessed cars racing up onto
the pavement only inches away and without a second thought of safety
for a walking family!
As we have to tackle
busy road crossings and manic drivers I have drilled road safety into
Bug. From a young age pre school and school runs, I made sure to
impart the importance of road safety to Bug as such he is very good
at practicing the green cross code and being safe on the roads.
Along with the fact that
Bug practices the green cross code and listens well when walking on
the pavements rather than run along wildly, the school run is made a
little easier and slightly less stressful for me thanks to the
reassuring fact that we have a friendly lollipop lady outside of
school helping the children safely cross the road. I find it especially
reassuring that she is there to safeguard the children from the manic
cars that fight for parking spots, mount pavements and are so
distracted in their rush to get the school run over that they do not
pay attention to children walking to school.
I appreciate the fact
that our school has a lollipop lady.
Thankfully more than
20,000 lollipop men and women across Great Britain are helping keep
children safe.
Unfortunately though it
is a sad fact that many schools simply do not a lollipopper to help
children cross the road safely to school.
In 2000 a UK legislation
was passed that meant that it is no longer a legal requirement for
schools to have a lollipopper.
In the years following
the passing of the legislation the number of schools with a
lollipopper have declined.
Michael
Bristow, from road safety charity, Brake, added: "With the
highest rates of child pedestrian casualties in the UK occurring
during the school run, the provision of a safe road crossing at
schools plays a key part in our work. With a decreasing number of
lollipop men and women on the roads, the safety and lives of children
are being put at risk as other school crossing alternatives don't
offer the same level of vigilance and care."
Hoping to change this
unfortunate fact and reinvigorate the vital safeguarding service that
lollipopper's provide to schools and children across the nation,
Churchill (the renowned Insurance people with the dependable,
friendly dog) have launched The Churchill Lollipopper Fund.
As Churchill's research
found that 95% of parents and 88% of children
(aged 5 – 11) feel safer knowing there is a Lollipopper present on
their route to school and that 91%
of parents see a Lollipopper as being safer than a zebra or
pedestrian crossing Churchill giving funding to 50 schools across
Great Britain to have their own Lollipopper.
Commenting
on the research and findings, Kelly Cook, head of motor claims at
Churchill Insurance, said: "The safety and wellbeing of children
during the school run is so important to schools and parents with
road crossings a critical part of the daily journey.
"With
child pedestrian casualties during the school run still an issue in
the UK, we wanted to gather the opinion of both parents and children
to investigate what they see as being the safest option. Although no
longer a legal requirement for schools, it is great to see that the
apparently evergreen Lollipopper is still valued as the safest option
for parents and children but concerning that many have noticed their
numbers diminishing in recent years."
The Churchill Lollipoppers Fund
Does your school need a
lollipopper to help keep the children safe as they travel to and from
school?
Head over to the Churchill Lollipoppers fund nomination page to nominate a school for funding to
have their very own lollipopper!
If
you have to contend with hectic, perilous school runs as we do and
want to sound off to other parents or get some helpful advice why not
check out the Mumsnet school gates hub.
* I am a member of the
Mumsnet Bloggers Panel, a group of parent bloggers who have
volunteered to review products, services, events and brands for
Mumsnet. I have editorial control and retain full editorial
integrity *
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