Emma Pritchard

Road safety for some of the youngest members of the Grafton community will be enhanced in time for their return to school in the new year.

Following the Nationals in NSW Government’s decision to employ extra school crossing supervisors outside the Grafton Public School Infants Campus in Mary Street, the Clarence Valley Anglican School Cathedral Campus in Victoria Street, and Westlawn Public School, students will have better protection when crossing the road to and from school.

Mr Gulaptis said the safety of schoolchildren was a very high priority for the NSW Government.

“When we were first elected to power in 2011, we promised flashing lights outside every school and we delivered that, now we are going one better with 300 extra school crossing supervisors across the state,” he said.

Principal of the Grafton Public School Infants Campus Michelle McDonagh and teacher Howard Avery welcomed the announcement earlier this week and said they had been strongly advocating to improve the safety of school crossings.

Ms McDonagh said the school crossing in Mary Street, which links the Grafton Public School Infants and Primary campuses, is frequently used by a high number of students and teachers.

She said the welcome addition of a school crossing supervisor will improve the safety of students and staff.

“This is something we have wanted for a long time and this announcement is fantastic,” she said appreciatively.

“Hopefully, we’ll have a crossing supervisor when we welcome students back to school for the start of Term 1.”

Deputy Premier and Leader of the Nationals Paul Toole, who is a parent and former schoolteacher, said crossing supervisors were now at more than 1000 sites across NSW.

“We just want to make sure our kids get to and from school safely and these additional roles offer more protection for children and improved visibility for motorists,” he said.