Crossing patrol set to start
A school will have its first crossing patrol in three years after a grandmother was finally approved for the job that she applied for six months ago.
Mrs Yvonne Cooling (65) will start as the crossing patrol at Holy Trinity Infants’ School, Southwell, next week.
She applied for the job in September after reading an appeal in the Advertiser.
Mrs Cooling passed her medical and interview, received her uniform, and started the job in November.
But she had to stop after a day because child safety checks from the Criminal Record Bureau had not cleared.
The Advertiser highlighted the delay two weeks ago.
The checks have now been completed so Mrs Cooling can restart her job.
She said: “I’m really relieved because I was starting to think there was something wrong.
“A few people haven’t been very nice about it and said I should just give up, but I stuck it out.
“I hope it will make it safer for children on the roads.”
Mrs Cooling stepped forward after repeated attempts by the school to find a crossing patrol had failed.
She said: “Nobody seems to want to do it and I’ve got time on my hands in the morning and evening so I thought I would try it.
“It was something I had always wanted to do and I’ve retired so have nothing to do. I am looking forward to meeting children and their parents.”
Mrs Cooling hopes once she starts the job more people would be encouraged to become crossing patrols.
She said: “I’m hoping people will see it’s a job worth doing and will follow on.
“It is something that is needed in Southwell.
“I have lived here all my life and I wanted to help do something for Southwell.
“I hope people now think of the Lowe’s Wong schools and give their time to help them.”
The Nottinghamshire county councillor for Southwell, Mr Bruce Laughton, felt Mrs Cooling’s application was quickly dealt with after the local MP, Mr Patrick Mercer, got involved in the case.
Mr Laughton said: “It should be down to the education authority and the county council and they should have the clout to be able to speed up this process because, at the end of the day, the crossing patrols are important to the safety of children.”
Mr Laughton said Mrs Cooling would improve the safety of children crossing the road outside the school.
He said: “It should make a considerable difference not only to the safety of the children but to the way the parents feel as well.
“It’s not good for parents to wake up in the morning and worry about the dangers of walking to school. It can cause a lot of anxiety.”
