Park Road South Crossing

Dear parents, 

We are writing regarding concerns that are being raised regarding the Park Road South crossing to Tesco.  

We made parents aware at the beginning of the school term that crossing patrol service had been discontinued by Hampshire County Council. This was disappointing as the school had repeatedly expressed the view that it is an essential service in order to keep our children at Bosmere safe. 

We asked a member of our governing body who has supported the school with the transport plan to monitor the crossing at the end of the day. I would like to thank those parents who use the crossing safely and responsibly. It is essential that adults model safe behaviour. The majority of our children who walk independently were also crossing safely.  

However, our Governor did observe behaviour that has caused the school leadership team a great deal of alarm. Over the course of several afternoons our governor observed many parents flagrantly ignoring the highway code by:  

• Crossing to the area outside the fenced pedestrian area and standing in random places on the central reservation 
• Crossing when the Red Pedestrian light is showing 
• Running to ‘beat’ the oncoming traffic 
• Crossing several meters away from the designated markings on the road 

In the majority of these cases parents had their children with them! Not only does this put your child at risk in that moment, but you are also teaching your child unsafe behaviour that they may repeat in the future when you are not there to supervise them. You are also modelling this to other children who are walking independently and it is very likely that a child will think they are doing the right thing by following another parent’s example. 

We appreciate that making the crossing safely can take time and there is limited space in the central reservation that can create a queue. But to those parents who are crossing unsafely please ask yourself; how important are the five minutes it will take to queue and cross safely? What would be the repercussions if your child or another child was seriously injured or worse due to your negligence? 

Can we take this opportunity to remind parents that Bulbeck Road Car Park (behind Majestic Wine) is available FREE to Fairfield and Bosmere parents/carers during term time between the times: 8.20am to 9.05am (for morning school run) and 2.50pm to 4pm (for afternoon collection). You do not need to display anything to park there during this time. It is now a potentially safer option as the children do not have to cross a major road to get to the school gates. If you are incorrectly issued with a parking ticket when using the car park within the time periods specified then please contact Mr Adam at the school office. 

We are in touch with members of the Road Safety Team and other professionals who help to ensure children’s safety on the road. We will continue to press for the crossing patrol to be reintroduced but in the meantime we need parents to act responsibly. Road accidents remain one of the main causes of child mortality. There were 1,694 deaths and serious injuries on the roads in England between 2019 and 2021. Let's do everything we can to ensure that no child at Bosmere becomes part of a similar statistic.

Thank you for your support.