Parents demand action after child is hit by car outside Sheffeld school
A mother has issued a plea for urgent action after a pupil was hit by a car near to a Sheffield school.
The child was struck at a pelican crossing outside Brightside Nursery Infant School on Holywell Road, Wincobank, and taken to hospital.
The child is now back at home recovering from the incident on Friday, February 27.
In a statement to parents, the school said: “Unfortunately on Friday, a pupil from Brightside was knocked down by a car at the pelican crossing on Holywell Road. The pupil was taken to hospital for medical attention and is back home now.
“We really hope they feel better soon.”
A parent with a child at the school said the incident has exposed what she describes as long-standing road safety issues.
Nicole Linds, aged 26, whose four-year-old daughter is in reception, said: “Last Friday, a child from Brightside School was hit by a car near the school grounds.
“This incident has understandably shaken many of us and highlighted serious concerns about road safety around the school - especially during busy drop-off and pick-up times.”
She added: “It is just terrible what happened and as a parent it makes me angry. It’s not safe for kids, or for parents.”
Nicole claimed dangerous parking is common around the school.
“There are people parking all the way up the pavement which isn’t safe. Sometimes this can block your view when you are crossing the road,” she said.
“Some older kids might cross on their own and this is so unsafe for them.
She is now calling for immediate intervention from Sheffield Council.
“We are calling on the council to put additional safety measures in place, such as a lollipop person, additional pedestrian crossings, safer crossings at all junctions surrounding the school, improved signage and traffic calming measures,” she explained.
“Our children’s safety must come first. No family should have to worry about their child simply getting to and from school safely.”
Nicole said the current layout is inadequate for the volume of families leaving the school each day.
“This junction in particular needs a crossing at all the junctions. It’s about 500 kids coming out using the one crossing - some cross in the middle to get to the opposite end,” she said.
She added: “The council think one crossing is enough to keep our children safe on a busy, well-used street used by lorries, Meadowhall users and people going to work.”
Nicole is now urging the wider community to apply pressure.
“Please can we ask as many parents, carers and local residents as possible to email the council and request immediate action. The more voices we have the better the school will be listened to,” she added.
In response, Sheffield Council said it is working with the school on safety improvements and has several measures either in place or under review.
A council spokesperson added: “Any collision involving a child is always upsetting and the council has been in touch with the school to check on the condition of the pupil and I’m pleased to hear that they are on the mend.
“However, it doesn’t take away from the fact that we are determined to rid Sheffield’s streets of such incidents as part of our Vision Zero project.
“The council has been in regular contact with the school about how we can work together to make the roads outside the gates as safe as possible for the children and several measures have already been installed including temporary 20mph zones during drop off and pick up times and a puffin pedestrian crossing.
“The school have also requested bollards or railings outside, and we are looking at this with our transport team.
“Parking outside schools is always a problem but I would urge parents, in the strongest possible terms, to be considerate when dropping their children off, keep in mind the safety of others and residents on the roads.”
The council added: “Let me be clear, we are working hard to make the streets outside our schools as safe as possible with it being a priority for the council. I’m delighted to announce a second pedestrian crossing will be installed at the lights on Tyler Street, Holywell Road, Jenkin Street with work starting as part of planned upgrades to the lights in April.”
The council also confirmed several safety measures already exist around Brightside Nursery Infant School.
There is currently a permanent 20mph zone surrounding the school, alongside a temporary 20mph restriction outside the gates during the start and end of the school day.
Officials said the site has also been assessed for a School Crossing Patrol Warden after a request from the school, but the presence of a puffin pedestrian crossing means a patrol would be considered a duplication of resources under current guidelines.
Some locations across the city still have both, but these are legacy sites installed before the current rules were introduced.
The school has also requested additional bollards or railings outside the entrance, which has been passed to the council’s transport team for assessment.
Requests for crossings, patrol wardens and other safety measures are assessed through a citywide, evidence-led process that takes into account traffic levels, road layout, visibility and the number of children crossing.
Locations that meet the criteria are then prioritised alongside other sites across Sheffield.
The council also confirmed its education team visited the school in February to deliver road safety lessons, and that it continues to work with parking services and South Yorkshire Police to promote safer parking behaviour and enforcement where appropriate.