Safety and security stepped up at two Nailsea schools during holidays

Two Nailsea schools spent thousands of pounds during the Christmas holidays improving safety and security on their sites.

Golden Valley Primary School installed a controversial fence on the edge of its campus next to the bridle path and Nailsea School enlarged the speed humps on its entrance driveway.

Golden Valley Primary School headteacher Kevin Lynch said they were forced to put up the six foot green mesh fence to keep out the 'unwanted and uninvited visitors' who were using its playground as public open space.

And Nailsea School operations manager Chris Perry said the speed humps were needed to slow down traffic using the campus.

Mr Perry said: ""The ever growing community use coupled with a number of parents picking up and dropping off their children has resulted in a marked increase in traffic.

"This volume of traffic increased the risk of potential accidents between vehicles and pedestrians or between vehicles on the site and to reduce this risk the school installed traffic calming measures during the Christmas break."

Mr Lynch said his primary at Nailsea Park was situated on 'the most open and vulnerable' school site North Somerset.

But earlier consultations with Nailsea Town Council who own the small stone wall along the bridle path boundary provoked an outcry.

Councillors were horrified that a part of the undulating green field could be surrounded by huge metal railings.

But governors and parents supported the move.

Mum Ceri John said: "Nailsea town councillors are sat in their Ivory Towers and not concerned with child safety."

And Janet Lindley said: "I think that the wire fence at Golden Valley has been done really well -very unobtrusive."

Work by J & G Fencing finished on Friday.

Mr Lynch said: "The contractors have been brilliant... they had the most atrocious weather both before and after Christmas in which to work, but they remained focused and professional...nothing has been too much trouble.

"They even stopped using their mechanical digger and dug most of the holes for the posts by hand, for fear of the vehicle churning up the school field.

"The reaction by parents and visitors has been very positive; many of those who were worried that the fence would be imposing have been surprised by how unobtrusive it is.

"Staff and children are very pleased; it is very difficult to put into words, but several members of staff say they feel just a little more relaxed and less 'on edge' when supervising the children outside, because there is no possible entry point for any uninvited visitor on the school site.

"Over the Christmas break, the caretaker picked up only two pieces of litter, typically after a holiday period he collects two to three dustbin sacks worth of rubbish.

"Now that the fence is just about finished, we can really unleash the potential of the school site.

"We have plans to replace our ageing wooden 'trim trail' with something bigger and better

"The Golden Valley School Association is well on its way to raising £10-15,000 for this to take place."

The estimated cost of the mesh fencing of £20K will be paid for out of capital funds.

Prior to the fence being installed dog walkers, secondary school students, horse-riders, cyclists, picnickers and casual sports enthusiasts use the school grounds with no regard for lessons in progress, said Mr Lynch.

He said they were 'trespassers' who had no right to be using the playing fields without permission and without the wire fence the safety of his 406 pupils and 65 staff could not be guaranteed.

This is a point made by Ofsted and health and safety inspectors in several recent reports which expressed concern about the 'openness of the site'.

The single-storey Nailsea Park primary school was built 35 years ago.

The building became more exposed in 2003 when temporary classrooms which shielded the school on one side from the bridlepath were removed when a large extension was completed.

Despite a petition from neighbours a 2.4m high security fence was installed at Kingshill C of E Primary School and Ravenswood Special School, at Pound Lane, Nailsea in 2005.

The height of the speed humps at Nailsea School built by local company Paul Allen Construction at a cost of 'a few thousand pounds' is also proving contentious.

Mr Perry said: "Since the opening of the new Nailsea School site off Mizzymead Road in September 2009 there has been a considerable increase in the usage of the facilities by the community and it is now open almost every day including Sundays.

"The demand for some facilities including the all weather pitch has exceeded availability.

"The school already had a five mile per hour speed limit but many drivers were exceeding this and some by a considerable amount.

Mr Perry who is responsibility for Health & Safety recommended that humps be installed to slow traffic down.

Librarian Ellie Taylor said: "I've driven over many a speed bump in my time but none as big as the monsters I drove over going to work at Nailsea School today.

"You may have heard the term 'sleeping policemen' before but I tell you these are 'sleeping jolly green giants'."

And another visitor, who did not want to be named, said: "My car nearly took off when I unexpectedly hit the first hump and I feared for the suspension of my BMW.

"I was forced to go into first gear and crawl over the raised road surface at two miles an hour."

Mr Perry added: "The school feels that the installation of these humps will ensure that students, staff and community users that walk across the drive between the car park and facilities are now safer.

"Signage informing drivers of the humps have been installed at the vehicle entrance and the speed limit has been reinforced; white lines defining the humps will be installed shortly.

"Since the school reopened on January 3 there has already been a significant improvement in driver behaviour and a speed reduction which the school welcomes.

"The school is grateful to everyone's contribution in making Nailsea School a safer environment."