Primary school pupils ‘exposed to risk’ due to shortage of traffic wardens in Cork

Safety risks to primary school children has led to the chief executive of Cork County Council agreeing to examine measures to enhance local school warden schemes.

Due to a recruitment embargo, the county council had not been able to employ more than 48 school wardens.

As a result, only 45 of the 297 county’s primary schools have a temporary traffic warden.

The shortage has led to fears about school children being exposed to road safety risks.

Two councillors, in particular, have been pressing the issue of the council’s chief executive Tim Lucey.

Fine Gael’s Cllr Susan McCarthy said; “Child safety on road crossings outside schools is paramount, and any decisions going forward should have the safety of the child as the top priority.”

She suggested a practical short-term solution would be for some schools to adopt the junior warden programme which involves pupils, in senior classes, assisting younger children to cross roads.

Approved by gardaí and requiring adult supervision, the scheme is popular in a number of schools.

Cllr McCarthy said: “Of course, this programme would only be suitable for schools situated on quieter streets or secondary roads, where the traffic is mainly for school collection — not main roads where heavy traffic would be the norm.

“It would require co-operation from school boards of management, teachers, parents and the pupils themselves.

“The council would provide the materials necessary while the gardaí provide training,” she said.

The councillor disclosed she had, in her school-going years, been involved in the junior warden scheme.

“I have to say it was a really positive experience. It instills a sense of responsibility, of working in a team for the good of others and also builds on self-confidence as well as leadership and management skills.”

Cllr Seamus McGrath (FF), meanwhile, said there was enormous demand for school wardens.

“This is a critical safety issue and I believe Cork County Council should provide more wardens to meet this demand,” he said.

Mr Lucey confirmed council engineers had carried out a health and safety audit at the participating schools and indicated some works were required to bring them up to an acceptable standard.

Cllr McGrath said: “This is about the safety of primary school children and the funding required is small in the grand scheme of things.”