Primary school charges parents £45 to drop children off by car

A primary school in Staffordshire has become the first in the UK to start charging parents to drop off their children

Primary school charges parents £45 to drop children off by car

by Kayleigh Dray |
Published on

Mums and dads, would you pay to drop your child off at school?

Well, parents taking their children to St Gregory’s Catholic Academy could soon be doing just that.

"The safety of the children has to be put first, above everything else"

The Staffordshire primary school feel that the lives of their young pupils lives are constantly being put at risk by inconsiderate drivers.

And so, in a bid to ease traffic issues, the school have planned to create a 50-space car park on site for parents to use.

They intend to charge parents up to £2 a week, or £15 a term, to use the facility - which clocks up to a cool £45-a-year.

Principal Margaret Yates explained to The Stoke Sentinel: "We have problems with dangerous parking, people parking on double yellow lines, obstructing the vision of other cars and putting pedestrians and children at risk.

“As the head, and also a parent, I fully understand the difficulty in parking around the school, but the safety of the children has to be put first, above everything else."

Stock image
Stock image

She added: "We have a budget for the education of our children and of course safeguarding comes into that. But we can not spend that money on a car park, which is why we must look elsewhere to cover the costs."

The controversial scheme has seen a mixed reaction from parents, with many saying that they will happily fork out the money if it means their children will be safe from dangerous drivers.

One mother explained: "People park dangerously or park on double yellow lines and that shouldn't happen. It is wrong.

"As parents we want what is best for our kids and we don't mind paying a little extra. I'm very happy with what the school is doing."

Another added: “It is like putting your child in God's hands walking down that road."

However one single mum told The Mirror: "I'm a single mum and can't really be doing with extra charges - especially for just dropping off my daughter at school.

"I don't think it is a good idea."

Would you pay £45-per-year to drop your child off at school?

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