Today's "Courier" has covered concerns raised by parents of pupils at Blackness Primary School about the school crossing patroller (or lack of) on Hawkhill.
The "lollipop" patroller for Blackness Primary School has been absent through illness for some time and in recent weeks, there has been no temporary replacement provided. I have received calls from worried parents, including members of the Blackness Primary Parent Council, about the situation.
Hawkhill is an extremely busy road at the best of times, but with the current roadworks on Perth Road, traffic is being diverted onto Hawkhill, including the bus services, and I was extremely concerned at the lack of a school crossing patroller for the children of Blackness Primary School.
I have spoken with the Director of Education to express these concerns to her directly and I am pleased to say that the Education Department is taking immediate steps to recruit new supply patrollers and I hope this serious concern will therefore be urgently addressed.
The "lollipop" patroller for Blackness Primary School has been absent through illness for some time and in recent weeks, there has been no temporary replacement provided. I have received calls from worried parents, including members of the Blackness Primary Parent Council, about the situation.
Hawkhill is an extremely busy road at the best of times, but with the current roadworks on Perth Road, traffic is being diverted onto Hawkhill, including the bus services, and I was extremely concerned at the lack of a school crossing patroller for the children of Blackness Primary School.
I have spoken with the Director of Education to express these concerns to her directly and I am pleased to say that the Education Department is taking immediate steps to recruit new supply patrollers and I hope this serious concern will therefore be urgently addressed.
The Education Department has now written to me in the following terms:
"I appreciate the concern of parents regarding the long term sickness absence of the School Crossing Patroller on Hawkhill for Blackness PS.
"We appointed a new crossing patroller for the new crossing point on Arbroath Road in January. As this crossing point was not to be ready until after the Easter Holidays this new patroller was happy to be deployed and do his initial training at the Hawkhill point. It was hoped that by then the original patroller would return to work at Hawkhill.
"Regrettably the original patroller is still on sickness absence.
"We have now arranged to interview five applicants on Wednesday 14 May for Supply School Crossing Patrollers, from which we hope to appoint (for Hawkhill)."
I have written to the Director of Education asking that she contacts me after the interviews on Wednesday to update me on the situation.