School crossing patrol officer

School crossing patrol officers help children and adults to cross the roads found on routes to and from schools.

Also known as:

• Lollipop person

Work activities

School crossing patrol officers make sure people are able to safely cross certain roads found on routes to and from schools. School crossing patrol officers are placed at points chosen by local authorities. These crossing points have been selected because of:

• The amount of traffic that goes through them.
• The number of children that need to cross at those points on the way to and from school.

Patrol officers stand at the side of the road waiting for people who need to cross. When there is a suitable break in the traffic, the officer will step into the road holding up their stop sign. Motorists then have to stop when they see the stop sign. At this point, the officer will signal to the people waiting that it is safe to cross. Once everyone has crossed the road, the patrol officer will return to the pavement. School crossing patrol officers help children to learn about road safety by providing guidance on the correct way to cross roads. At the end of a shift, the patrol officer needs to report any incidents to their supervisor.

Personal qualities and skills

To do this job well, you’ll need:

• Good communication skills.
• Knowledge of the Highway Code.
• Good concentration skills.
• Experience of being responsible for children.
• Good observational skills.
• Stamina for the walking and standing involved.

For this job, you’ll wear a uniform. And, you’ll have to be prepared to work outside in all types of weather.

Pay and opportunities

Pay for school crossing patrol officers is usually around the National Minimum Wage. Relief patrol officers may get paid at a higher rate. Some school crossing patrol officers are paid outside of school terms as well as during term time.

School crossing patrol officers work before school starts and after it finishes. This should mean starting at around 8am for the morning shift and at around 2.45pm for the afternoon one. School crossing patrol officers usually work between 16 and 18 hours per week.

Demand for school crossing patrol officers is steady. However, in some areas, local authorities are finding it difficult to recruit people and demand is strong.

Employers are local authorities throughout the UK.

Where are vacancies advertised?

Vacancies are advertised on all the major job boards, on the Government’s Find a Job service and on local authorities’ websites.

Entry routes and training

You don’t usually need any qualifications to get into this job. A Disclosure and Barring Service (DBS) check is required, as you will be working with children.

A lot of the training is done on-the-job with instruction from an experienced crossing officer. Most local authorities send staff on short courses before starting work.

With further training, it may be possible to move into supervisory roles. From there, you could think about moving into other areas of road safety, such as road safety officer.

Rehabilitation of Offenders Act: This is an exception to the Rehabilitation of Offenders Act 1974. This means that you must supply information to an employer about any spent or unspent convictions, cautions, reprimands or warnings, if they ask you to. This is different from other careers, where you only have to reveal information on unspent convictions if you are asked to.

Qualifications

You don’t need any qualifications to get into this type of job.

Adult opportunities

Age limits apply to this career. You’ll need to be 18 or over to start work.

No previous experience is required. However, it will be useful to have experience supervising children. This could be in a work or personal role. This is a popular career for people with children of school age.

Related careers

• Road safety officer
• Teaching assistant