Bus Marshals |
The Uniformed Bus Marshals
travel to and from school on public transport or designated school buses.
Marshals ferry pupils in a non-intrusive way to school and from school to
their designated home stop. Bus Marshals travel only on school buses that they are assigned to. Their role is to control the pupils, keeping them in order and ensuring that criminal damage doesn't happen. They also provide safety for the public who travel on buses. The service is quite unique because it incorporates both security and Mentoring for the first time. There is not another service like it in Birmingham. The Mentoring side allows young people to speak up about how they are treated and Marshalling improves safety in schools. Trouble on the busesA major cause of trouble for youngsters has been on Birmingham's important Number 11 bus route at the close of the school day between 3 and 4 pm. They have had to cope with bullying and disruption by a small group of young people. |
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| Just the ticket … Bus Marshals from SSS ensure that pupils behave. Pupils behaving means relaxed travel for other bus users, even on busy routes like Birmingham's Number 11. | |
| Adult passengers, too, found themselves surrounded and intimated. "Some of these students are big," a typical passenger reported. "They showed no respect at all. We were pushed about and shouted at. It really wasn't on - but what could we do about the abuse?" Schools Support Service is changing all that. It aims to eradicate problems like this completely, both for the sake of the pupils who behave and for adult passengers. "We're making the community a safer place," a Mentor explained. "Bus companies were reluctant to tackle the problem physically. They thought that using video cameras would be enough. But this sort of trouble is usually spontaneous. Trouble-makers don't think first of the risk of being on camera. What the community needed was someone on the spot to stop nuisances before they started. This is one of the areas where a Marshal makes a huge difference." Travel West Midlands "Travel West Midlands would like to thank Schools Supports Service for their pro-active work in addressing anti-social behaviour problems on and around the bus network in the West Midlands County." "Their help is much appreciated and the support given to school students is invaluable." Stuart Henry Operation Safer Travel Co-ordinator (West Midlands Travel) November 2003 GoalsInvestigating Birmingham's trouble spots soon showed founders of the Schools Support Service precisely where action was needed. Even in their earliest meetings, the founders settled on some vital goals. They decided that highly visible staff must:
"The work is much more than being an alternative policemen," a Number 11 route Marshal said. "Even the bullies respect authority. When they see us, they know authority is present. But it isn't for us to bully them out of their bullying behaviour. We are subtle. We point out their selfishness, we show them their responsibility towards the society we are all living within. Marshals learn to tackle problems with brains not brawn." |
