Can I rant here?

[Al1son]

I know it's not really about SN but I'm really cross and not in the mood for being flamed for no reason.

Our little village school has a lovely lovely lollipop lady who is also a dinner lady. She's been there for at least the last 15 years and in the 10 years I've been going to the school every day I think she's had about 3 days off. She knows all the children's names, who went home with whom, spots if one escapes without a parent and sends them back in. She is firm and careful about the rules of her job and the children know exactly how to behave at the side of the road because of her.

For the past few weeks a supervisor has been visiting her every few days and criticising her style of stopping the traffic. Apparently she shouldn't wait a few seconds for a gap but should hold the lollipop out and step out to stop the cars. The supervisor has been heard being very abrupt in her tone.

Our lovely lollipop lady has done her best to comply with the requests made of her and has always been very conscientious and safe as she went about her job. She's been told to hold the lollipop at a different angle every visit. Never the same two visits running.

This morning she told me that they've hounded her enough and she's resigned. We'll have a crossing patrol until Tuesday and then after that all the children in the village will have to cross at the pedestrian crossing 100 yards down the road. This is the large and very busy A road which runs through our village and I just know that loads of parents will not bother to walk down to the crossing.

The head has been reassured that we still qualify for a crossing patrol but that doesn't help much when nobody is going to want to do the job.

I am sooooooo cross! This lady has always done an excellent job and has been treated appallingly and I suspect it's all been to save money.

I'm dreading telling DD2 that the lady she's crossed the road with every school day since she was born won't be there after Tuesday next week .

Sometimes these little things can have such a big (and unforseen) impact can't they.

The lollipop lady sounds lovely. How sad that she's been forced to resign over some jobsworth . What about a parents' campaign to get her back?

To be honest I don't think she'd come back. She knows we're all really cross and upset for the children as well as on her behalf. We will be complaining anyway.

We will just have to make sure we make a big fuss of her so she knows how much she's been appreciated all these years.

I've told DD2 what's happening but she's refusing to acknowledge it. I guess we'll get it all when she sees her not there next week.

Do you think it is all part of the cutting costs campaign?

Sorry but I am getting quite cynical.

I was considering asking the local paper to do a bit on it even if they just help us acknowledge the commitment she's shown. They might pick up on the way she's been treated too, I don't know.

Cost cutting is exactly what I thought so maybe I'm cynical too. It just so happens that they've recently put in a pedestrian crossing 100 yards down the road. It's quite convenient that there's a safe place to cross now isn't it?

It's all very well saying we still qualify for a crossing patrol but they know full well that they are unlikely to find someone to do the job so it still saves them money.

It's such a shame that people seem to be forgotten in favour of budgets and policies at times like this.