Safety restored to school crossing with help of Foresters UK sponsorship

A £2,500 sponsorship means that children attending a primary school on a busy Kent road without a manned patrol will soon be able to cross safely again - thanks to the support of Foresters UK.

The international financial services organisation - whose UK head office is in Bromley, Kent – has sponsored the school crossing patrol at the C of E Primary School in London Lane, also in Bromley.

This is following the announcement from Bromley Council in February last year that it is axing funding to lollipop patrols all over the borough in a bid to make savings of £233,000 a year.

While the Council has agreed to still maintain and insure the school crossings, schools will either need to find salaries for lollipop staff themselves – or have an unmanned patrol.

A lollipop patrol salary costs £5,000 a year to run and the Foresters’ sponsorship means that the school will only need to provide the other £2,500 in order to have a manned crossing.

The school – which dates back to 1716 and is the oldest London Borough of Bromley educational establishment - has not had a patrol since the start of the school year after their lollipop lady left.

Foresters were alerted to the situation by one of their members whose granddaughter attends the school – and stepped in to help.

Foresters UK Membership Director Steve Dilworth said: “We strive to improve the community in which we operate and in which our members live.

“We do understand that the council has to look at how they spend their money. We think, however, this is a very important cause. It is at the very heart of safety for children and families.”

Talking to the local press, Hilary Richardson, Head teacher at the school, commented: “It’s marvellous there’s a company out there willing to be in the community and to guarantee the children’s safety.

“The school is on a busy road so it’s not great we haven’t had anyone there this year. Parents have been sensible about it but it has caused disappointment”.

He added: “It’s such an important service for the community and for the safety of our children”.

Currently, only 28 out of the 48 schools in the Borough have been able to commit to funding their own school patrols.

To find out more about Foresters UK, please visit: www.foresters.co.uk

Ends

Contact:

Steve Dilworth, UK Membership Director, telephone: 0208 628 3400 or email: steve.dilworth@foresters.co.uk

About Foresters

Foresters is an international financial services organisation which has operated in the UK, US and Canada for over 135 years. We are committed to understanding your financial needs and to offering products and membership benefits, which will assist you with your financial security and peace of mind.

Our purpose is to enhance the well being of members and their families, and we measure our success not only by financial strength, but also by the positive impact we have on our members’ communities.

In the UK last year we supported more than 100 charities and raised over £4m for those charities and other community partners. Thousands of our members provided much needed volunteer hours to help communities throughout the country.

As an example, our work with Cash for Kids in their 2010 Christmas Toy Appeal helped 200,000 children to have a better Christmas and 600,000 toys and gifts were delivered to needy children.  Our support for UK children’s hospices has helped these organisations to provide a range of services to nearly 10,000 families.

Foresters have received an "A" (Excellent) rating for the eleventh consecutive year from A.M. Best Company*. This independent rating assesses Foresters ability to pay claims and is an important measure of the organization's strength and stability. A.M. Best also gave Foresters an issuer credit rating of "a " with a "stable" outlook.

*An "A" (Excellent) rating is assigned to companies that have a strong ability to meet their ongoing obligations to policyholders and have, on balance, excellent balance sheet strength, operating performance and business profile when compared to the standards established by A.M. Best Company. In assigning Foresters rating, A.M. Best stated that Foresters rating outlook is "stable", which means it is unlikely to change in the near future, assuming Foresters financial strength is maintained and operations grow. A.M. Best assigns ratings from A to F, A being superior ratings and A and A- being excellent ratings.

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