Waverley school receives funding for lollipop crossing patrols amidst construction site safety concerns

About 4,000 properties are being built over a couple of decades at the new community of Waverley, including close to the juniors, which opened in 2020.

Landowners Harworth have now agreed funding to cover the crossing patrols before and after school for a year.

Jaimie Milner, active travel co-ordinator at Waverley Junior Academy, said: “The roads around here are extremely busy and we still have construction vehicles coming past as they are still building new houses at the back of school.

“Because these are not yet adopted by Rotherham Council, there’s not a lot we can do to control the parking and traffic issues outside the school.

“So we contacted Harworth and explained the situation, with the roads still owned by them and a lot of construction vehicles around. We asked if they could help.

“We are very grateful to them for helping keep our children and their parents safe coming to and from school.”

The academy has already netted numerous awards for encouraging children to walk, cycle or scoot to school.

Shortly after it opened, figures showed that the proportion of pupils arriving by car was just a third of the 46 per cent national average.

“We have a lot of children coming off the estate and we’re doing very well with the low number who arrive by car,” said Jaimie.

“But there are still parents who drop their children off on their way to work.

“One thing we’ve done as a school is our Wow! scheme.

“We ask the children to put on a board how they have got to school, and there are rewards.

“If they come by car, we encourage them to get dropped off further into the estate and walk the last part.

“The rewards are things like badges they earn for their blazers.

“The idea is that they won’t want their friends to have a bigger collection than they do.”

Extra bike racks and scooter pods to store the kids’ eco-friendly arrival methods have been funded by housing firm Barratts, Waverley Community Council and RMBC ward members.

Cllrs Amy Brooks and Firas Miro, Rother Vale ward, also used community leadership funding for bike marking kits.

All Waverley pupils are also given the chance to learn to ride bikes even if they do not own one thanks to a link-up with Cycle North, which loans cycles and helmets.

Being a new school in a new community brings issues to overcome and opportunities to embrace.

“It’s a challenge because we don’t know what kind of vehicles will be coming round here,” said Jaimie. “We’ve had people coming into school to talk about safety around building sites.

“There’s also the lake near school, so there have been assemblies on water safety too.

“So there are challenges but it’s also such a beautiful place as well.

“There’s the park by the school and they’re just finishing off the bike track.

“It’s a wonderful place for our children.”