NO parking!
That’s the clear message to school run mums and dads taking their offspring to Webheath Academy Primary School.
And to reinforce the message the school’s PTA – The Friends of Webheath Academy – have invested £565 in three new ‘parking buddies’ warning drivers to drop off elsewhere as they are putting young lives at risk.
The school is in Downsell Road, an area notorious for its school run chaos.
The project has been driven by school secretary Lorraine Pitt following a catalogue of complaints and concerns raised by parents regarding the behaviour of some drivers.
It was picked up by the PTA who quickly took action.
“There had been a number of near misses, people not stopping at the crossing and the like and we wanted something nice and visual to remind people to park somewhere nice and safe,” said Hannah Sole, chair of The Friends.
Their solution is the ‘parking buddies’ – three cartoon figures, backed up by a warning banner that reads: ‘No parking – not 5 minutes – not 30 seconds – not at all! You could endanger a child’s life!’
“On the school run some people just seem so fixed on dropping their children off and getting on to work that they don’t think to slow down or think about where they park,” said Hannah.
“Hopefully together the measures will remind people that they cannot just pull up close to the school and put young lives in danger.
“We are all grateful to parents, carers, staff and pupils for the support that they have given in supporting fundraisers such as school discos, which in turn has paid for valuable resources such as these.”
