Freeze in recruitment of lollipop men and women lifted

Some schools will be able to resume recruitment of "lollipop" crossing patrol staff, the Education Authority (EA) has said.

The EA froze the recruitment of crossing patrol frozen by the EA in February to save money.

The authority now says recruitment can resume for schools that were previously assessed as needing a crossing patrol.

However, no new applications from schools for crossing patrols can be taken forward yet.

School Crossing Patrol staff are employed and managed by the EA but assigned to schools.

Funding for Northern Ireland's education system was cut in the 2023-24 Stormont budget.

The EA had already warned that it needed to make substantial savings, and freezing recruitment of crossing patrol staff was one of the measures it had decided on to save money.

Some principals had warned that pupils were being put in danger if their school could not be provided with a crossing patrol.

• No new lollipop crossing staff in bid to save cash

In a statement to BBC News NI, the EA said that "following further consideration of the 2023/24 budget and taking on board a wide range of feedback from parents, schools and the wider community, a decision has been taken to resume the assessment and recruitment of School Crossing Patrols (SCPs) at existing sites.

"The resumption of this process will be undertaken in a phased approach and a letter for affected schools, providing an update, is scheduled to be sent to affected schools on Tuesday 26 September.

"The pause for site assessments and recruitment of SCP officers at new sites will remain in place until further notice.

"The safety and wellbeing of children and young people remains our highest priority."

'Peace of mind'

In a statement, the DUP MLA Diane Dodds said that "the return of the lollipop men and women to schools who have faced vacancies will be warmly welcomed by everyone".

"School crossing patrols are a vital service helping to keep children safe on their way to school," she said.

"Whilst the patrols are not a statutory service which must be provided by law, they perform a crucial role and it offers parents greater peace of mind."