Personally Speaking: ‘Every child deserves to arrive at school safely’
- 21 hours ago
- 3 min read
Every child and every parent deserves to walk to school safely, without the fear that they may not make it to the school gates.
Every teacher should know that the route their pupils are walking to get to the classroom is not paved with obstacles and danger.
This goes for all of us who live here, work here and learn here. Sadly, far too often, the roads and infrastructure around our schools fall short of that simple expectation.
Instead of supporting safe journeys for our children and their families, there are too many unnecessary risks at the very moments when care and attention matter most.
The most glaring example raised with me by local people is outside Meadows Primary School in Madeley.
A couple of weeks ago, I was out with local parents and residents, and what struck me most was the care taken by the children themselves.
They wait patiently, follow the Green Cross Code to the letter and cross the road with impressive discipline.
The hedgehogs from the road safety adverts I remember from my own school days could hardly have done better.
They are also well shepherded by Jill Whitmore who, even in her bright hi-vis coat and with her giant lollipop raised high, is too often ignored, weaved around or left to face down high speed vehicles as she guides children safely across.
And yet, the road does not hold up its end of the bargain.
Time and time again vehicles approach too quickly. The stretch of road leading into the village includes long open sections and fast bends, which allow drivers to gather speed before reaching the area outside the school.
By the time some motorists reach the entrance to the village – and the point where children are walking and crossing – they are already travelling far too fast for their surroundings.
This is not simply a matter of one or two drivers making poor decisions.
If it were, the number of near misses reported outside Meadows Primary would be far lower.
The issue also lies in the way the road itself is designed and how traffic flows through the area. When an open road feeds directly into a place where young children are arriving at school, we have to ensure that the layout, signage and speed limits work to protect them.
School entrances should be among the safest points on our roads, not locations where parents and teachers feel anxious about the speed of passing traffic.
Given the seriousness of the situation, and what residents – including the parents holding signs begging vehicles to slow down at the crossing – told me, I took these specific concerns about Meadows Primary directly to Parliament to ensure they were formally raised.
Sadly, the concerns raised with me about Meadows Primary are not unique.
Residents across Newcastle-under-Lyme have spoken to me about similar issues.
In Chesterton, people living along London Road have shared their worries about vehicles travelling far too quickly along what is a busy residential route.
Families, older residents and children regularly need to cross the road, yet the speed of passing traffic can make their safe passage feel impossible.
Roads like this are not simply transport routes for vehicles. They are part of the communities people live in every day – places where children walk, neighbours meet and families go about their daily lives.
The freedom to move around our communities – whether travelling to school, work or home – should not be compromised by ill-thought out infrastructure.
That is why I have been raising the issue of road safety with ministers, in meetings and in Parliament, including with Minister for Local Transport, Lillian Greenwood MP.
Improving safety on our roads requires action at every level – from national policy and funding to local enforcement and road design. Where communities raise genuine concerns about dangerous roads, those concerns deserve to be heard.
Locally, residents have begun backing a petition I’ve launched demanding action. It calls on Staffordshire County Council to create a tailored road safety plan for every school, taking proper account of the unique concerns and challenges faced by each and every child walking to school. I strongly encourage anyone who shares these concerns to lend their support.
At its heart, the principle is simple. Every child deserves to arrive at school safely in the morning and return home safely at the end of the day. I will continue working with residents, schools and ministers to hold Staffordshire County Council to account and demand the improvements needed to make that a reality.
