Pupils at a West Bromwich school are taking on bad parking. Children at St Mary Magdalene CE Primary, in Stanway Road, have designed banners that are now on display outside their school.
The signs ask parents and carers to help keep pupils safe by not parking on the zig zags, double yellow lines and the red route outside the school.
The winning designers – five-year-old Libby and 10-year-old Gillianna have seen their banners printed and put up outside the school to encourage everyone to follow the rules.
Sandwell Council’s road safety team have run assemblies encouraging the children to talk to their families about the inconsiderate and illegal parking outside the school, as well as the banner design competition.
The school has also been working with West Midlands Police as part of the Sandwell Road Safety Partnership. The school has begun a programme to train some children from school as Junior PCSOs, and they have been carrying out parking patrols outside their school.
Sandwell Council’s cabinet member for sustainable transport Councillor Jackie Taylor said: “The great thing about the banners and the junior PCSOs is that it’s the children themselves telling the parents and carers why they shouldn’t be parking illegally. The pupils and staff all want to make the school safe for everyone, and we’re really glad to be helping them with that.”
Headteacher Kelly Duff said: “We are delighted to have the whole school community coming together with Sandwell Council’s Road Safety team and West Midlands Police to make the area around St Mary Magdalene safer and healthier for all.
“Our children are passionate to get the message across and to educate all adults, including their parents, giving tickets for leaving engines running and parking illegally and dangerously.”
