Bus prefects to be on duty

Children will be trained by Wiltshire county council's passenger transport unit to report incidents of bad behaviour and help ensure the school journey is safe and pleasant for their friends and peers.

Children will be given bus-shaped badges so the driver and fellow pupils know there is a prefect on the bus.

The passenger transport unit will give children taking part a pad on which to record and report incidents.

They will also be encouraged to report examples of positive behaviour.

Pupils will be asked to report unruly behaviour at the bus stop, or during the journey, and any incidents of bullying, vandalism and smoking, as this type of behaviour can pose a health and safety risk.

After the incident is reported to a nominated member of staff at the school, it will be investigated by the school and the county council's passenger transport unit, which will decide what action to take. This could be a letter to parents about misbehaviour or, in more extreme cases, a period of exclusion from school transport.

Linda Winstock, customer service and training officer, said: "We want to ensure that travelling on school buses is a safe and pleasant experience for everyone.

"Unruly behaviour can be a health and safety risk and can lead to accidents and injuries.

"The bus prefects will have an important contribution to make to help improve behaviour on school buses.

"Wilton Middle School has already run a successful pilot project and the county council's passenger transport unit is planning to roll out the scheme to other schools."

Lavington School, St Joseph's Catholic School, Salisbury, St Edmund's Church of England Girls' School, Salisbury, and Wyvern College, also in Salisbury, have already signed up to the scheme.

The passenger transport unit is hoping that more schools will decide to join the initiative.

Schools should contact Linda Winstock, on 01225 713343, for more information, or if they want to join the scheme.