Last week Year 6 took part in ‘Speedwatch’ with our local Surrey police team- lots of parents commented on the increased police presence that morning and this was why! Teams of children worked with officers to monitor speeds on Crawley Down and Copthorne Roads. Drivers who were noticed to be driving over the speed limit were stopped and given the choice to talk to the children about why they were speeding; the children were also given the chance to ‘educate’ the drivers on why driving safely, particularly outside a school, is important.

We have had a note to let us know that, during the time they were out, 20 vehicles were stopped. 12 drivers were educated by our children. Police also issued 5 tickets for speeding, 2 for seatbelt use and arrested an additional driver for a drugs offence (dealt with away from the children, naturally).

We are increasingly concerned, not just with parking dangers, but with the speeds observed on Crawley Down Road and our governors will be working with Mrs Thorp to approach our local authorities about ways which we think may reduce the dangers outside school. These may include speed limit reductions, better signage and more. Our families’ safety is of the greatest importance to us so it’s brilliant that the police were able to help the children feel really involved in how we can improve things.