Castlebar - County Mayo - New Look for Junior School Wardens in Co.Mayo

Drivers will be seeing yellow – fluorescent yellow so there will be no excuse for not seeing the Junior School wardens.

The new issue uniforms to Junior School wardens , is part of a major drive by the County Council to keep children safe outside school gates. From the end of this month the Patrols will wear fluorescent yellow instead of the traditional all white coats and a modern base ball cap.

The Junior School Warden service is designed to provide safe crossing facilities in the vicinity of primary schools in provincial towns and villages where a 50 km/h. speed limit applies adjacent to the school. The Junior School Warden Scheme has been operating in Ireland since 1969. Its' continued success is due to the dedication, hard work and co-operation of all involved in its' implementation, including Garda trainers, school principals, local authorities and most importantly, the pupils themselves.

The new uniforms will help keep the hard working teams of wardens warm and dry throughout the year as they help hundreds of school children safely cross roads to and from school as well as improving the safety of the wardens by making them more visible to other road users.

Road Safety Education Officer for Mayo County Council, Noel Gibbons, acknowledges the work done by the Junior School Wardens during the year.

“Each of these pupils is doing a superb job in ensuring that their fellow students are kept safe crossing our roads before and after school each day. We are aware of and very grateful for the excellent commitment given by each of these pupils and we hope that others can lead by their example, we would like to see more Schools getting involved in this scheme.”

If a school wishes to be assessed for suitability to partake in this scheme a written application must be submitted to the Roads and Transportation Unit. On receipt of a request for the introduction of a Junior School Warden Scheme, a preliminary examination is carried out by the Council's Road Safety Officer, in consultation with the local Area Engineer, Gardai and other engineering staff to assess traffic and safety factors. Agreement to the scheme is sought from the Gardai, Area Engineer, School Management Board, the School Principal and parents of the children involved. The Council sponsor the scheme and provide the Wardens' uniforms, road markings, signage, etc. Training is carried out by members of the Gardai and Certificates are presented to the Wardens on completion of training Garda Caroline Taaffe said "The wardens are all volunteers who do the job because they care about the safety of their fellow students and are an inspiration to fellow students and It would be encouraging to see this scheme extended to other Schools in the County.

“Thanks to the Junior School Wardens more children make their way safely to school. It’s healthier for them and the environment as it cuts down on the so-called ‘school run’ of cars ferrying pupils to class,

“The wardens provide a vital service safeguarding of children in the town on their journey to and from school. Their commitment is remarkable.

“I am really pleased with the new look hi viz wear. They not only look good but they have the added safety feature of a new colour.

“There is no excuse for drivers saying they can’t see our patrols now.”