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Martin Silvester – seeing children safely across the road at Digswell

When Martin Silvester became a house husband and started taking his children to school, he soon found himself taking on another vital job.

For the past seven years, he has been the crossing patrol at Digswell St John Primary School, seeing pupils and parents across the busy B1000 road before and after school.

Whatever the weather, every day of term, Martin is on duty from 8.30am to 9.05am and again from 3.00 to 3.35pm.

“Even though the hours are short, it’s a job that needs total commitment,” he said. “It’s absolutely essential to be there on time and to keep your wits about you. This is a busy road in the rush hour – drivers use it as a short cut between Welwyn Garden City and Hertford – so you need to be constantly vigilant. I not only have to assess when it’s safe to stop the traffic but also keep an eye on the children to make sure they stay on the pavement until I can see them across.”

Martin volunteered to take on the job when the previous patrol had to retire at the age of 75 and the school could not find a replacement.

“As I was taking my children to school anyway, I thought I might as well help out for a while and, even though my children have now both moved on to secondary school, I’m still doing it after seven years,” he said. “I enjoy hearing the children talking about what they’re doing and getting involved in school activities – now I also do odd jobs around the school.

“While it is a commitment for 40 weeks of the year, it does mean that, when my wife is at work, I can be there for our children before and after school and during the holidays.”