West Lothian is struggling to find recruits to become lollipop men and women.
There’s currently 17 vacancies for school crossing patrol guides.
Although not a statutory responsibility for the council West Lothian has provided school crossing patrols for many years and there are 82 sites in the county with crossing patrols.
Jamie Fisher from the council’s Operational Services told a meeting of the Environment Policy Development and Scrutiny Panel (PDSP) that the number of vacancies represents of a fifth of the total workforce. There are also regular requests for new crossing patrols.
In his report Mr Fisher said: “Over recent months recruitment of School Crossing Patrol Guides has been increasingly challenging. Vacancies tend only to be attractive to people who live nearby. The positions average 10 hours per week, one-hour morning and one-hour afternoon for 38 weeks per year.”
The job has an hourly rate of £9.34.
The posts are regulated and require Disclosure Scotland PVG checks to be undertaken as part of the recruitment process. This is where problems have occurred as often the process is slow or delayed and potential applicants lose interest or are put off by the process.
Mr Fisher’s report added: “Some prospective candidates are put off due to having to apply online when they have limited digital skills and the current pandemic is also impacting on recruitment due to anxiety around contact with others and staying safe.”
Councillor Chris Horne suggested that the council kept up regular engagement with applicants as a way of ensuring applicants stayed the course and maintained an interest in taking on the job. Councillor Alison Adamson suggested recruiting among PTA groups and parents.
Recruitment drives have so far taken in community centres, leaflets drops, social media, and there have even been campaigns written up in Polish.
Mr Fisher said a further campaign can be done covering all recent targeted areas again.
