Investigation to tackle road safety at five schools following series of collisions

Town hall bosses have commissioned surveys of road safety at five Blackburn schools following a series of collisions.

Last week LancsLive reported how teachers at St James' Primary School had re-trained as lollipop people amid concerns for pupil safety when walking to and from school. The move comes after two children were knocked down in this academic year.

After headteacher Doug Stitcher voiced concerns that his requests for improvements weren't being heeded by Blackburn with Darwen Borough Council the authority has revealed that they have identified five schools, including St James, which will be subjected to road safety audits. The other four schools are Queen Elizabeth’s Grammar School, St Antony's RC Primary School, St Luke and St Philips Church of England Primary School and Audley Junior. School

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A spokesperson for the council said: "We have been working hard on a range of measures to protect the young people of the borough on and around our roads, including those at St James’ C of E Primary in Blackburn.

"We have been working with a charity called Living Streets on their ‘WOW challenge - Walking to School Outreach’ to encourage children to walk to school in an interactive and holistic way. The more they walk the more they earn rewards, and they can also compete with other schools.

"Not only does this help with their health but also reduces congestion on the roads and issues with parking around schools. We ensured that when St James’ came to us with concerns regarding traffic, they were contacted by Living Streets to engage in the programme.

We have also obtained funding for five school route audits (which is led by Living Streets). The aim of an audit is to monitor the walking environment around the school and look at all barriers which may prevent children from walking to school including street lighting, anti-social behaviour, littering, engineering, and congestion.

"The information is then presented in a detailed report with recommendations that we can discuss with the school to ensure any issues are tackled.

"St James' have been contacted about this opportunity and have recently confirmed that they wish to engage with the programme. We are currently waiting on a date for the audit."

The council's road safety officer has also delivered sessions to all pupils up to Year 2 at St James' and has offered the same to those in the next two school years. All year one pupils have been hi-vis jackets to wear when walking to and from school.

The 'keep clear' road markings outside St James' have been identified as needing to be re-painted. This is expected to be completed soon.