Dismayed parents and schoolchildren have said their goodbyes to lollipop men and women after Wandsworth Council stopped funding the service.
Dismayed parents and schoolchildren have said their goodbyes to lollipop men and women after Wandsworth Council stopped funding the service.
17 sites across the borough will no longer have a school crossing patrol (SCP), saving Wandsworth Council £198,000 a year.
Mobile phone provider Talk Talk has agreed to fund three SCP sites. A total of 19 sites will still be funded.
The decision to cut the patrols has incensed many parents, some of whom no longer feel comfortable letting their children walk to school.
“The council is showing flagrant disregard for the safety of children throughout the borough,” said mother-of-three Florence Brocklesby, speaking to the Evening Standard.
Along with other parents at Honeywell School, Ms Brocklesby says the council have backed down on a promise that if they raised the money themelves, they could keep the service.
The Battersea school raised £20,000, including a sponsorship with estate agents Savills, but parents say that long-term lollipop lady Geraldine Diggins felt she had no option but to resign.
An official wrote to Mrs Diggins last month telling her that her salary of just over £8,500 was safe for the time being, but a panel would reassess her wages next year. She feared losing her long-service benefits if she signed a new contract.
“Their treatment of Geraldine… is absolutely disgraceful. Geraldine knows every child’s name and she would come out in the wind, rain and snow,” added Ms Brocklesby.
Nearly 450 parents signed an online petition against the Honeywell cuts.
Photo courtesy of Lewis Clarke, with thanks.
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