School Wardens

Unlike school patrols, school wardens, sometimes called traffic wardens, don't step into the road, stop or control traffic. However, they provide a valuable safety check for school children-most commonly at unmarked crossing points, but also at pedestrian crossings where no school patrols are operating and at traffic-light crossings.

School wardens wear the same uniforms as school patrols, but use their arms, as 'barrier arms', to stop pedestrians crossing the road until it's clear of approaching traffic. School wardens don't use STOP signs. 

School wardens usually work in pairs, with one designated the leader, with a supervising adult.

All wardens and supervisors must be trained in their roles by your police school community officer.

1. Getting ready for your school warden operation

As a first step, your school board of trustees must advise the road controlling authority that you'd like to set up a school warden crossing.

Working together, your school, your school community officer and the road controlling authority will decide whether you need a school traffic safety team and, if so, where to locate your crossing points. This means taking into account:

• where pedestrians usually choose to cross
• the places likely to be most convenient for children and other pedestrians to ensure the children use it.
• the need for good visibility for both school wardens and approaching drivers. This might involve restricting parking close to the crossing point.

The next step is to choose up to 15 students. Just like school patrol members, they should:

• be willing and physically able to do the job
• be reliable and punctual
• be comfortable about, and confident in, making decisions
• have good judgement
• find it easy to concentrate 
• take their responsibilities seriously
• turn up for duty on time, every time

You also need to:

• get signed permission from the children's parents or caregivers
• contact your school community officer to arrange training for your school wardens and supervisors.

1.1 Developing rosters

When developing your rosters, try to give each warden a regular turn. Give them copies of their rosters to take home, so that their parents or caregivers can help to ensure they turn up on time. Supervisor should also have copies of these rosters.

1.2 Establishing warden start and finish time

The best start and finish times for your school wardens will depend on when children arrive and leave. Ideally, they should be on duty 30 minutes before school starts and at least five minutes before school finishes.

You need to have a system for ensuring a replacement person is available if a school warden unexpectedly fails to turn up on time.