Bus prefects help to keep travellers safe

Inspector Noel Rogan, Larne PSNI Sector Commander, explained that approximately 500 children are now travelling from Larne to secondary school in Carnlough since St Comgall’s, St MacNissi’s and St Aloysius’ College amalgamated to become St Killian’s College.

“The majority of students travel by bus and police officers in Larne, the school principal and Translink came together to develop a scheme that would help ensure children stay safe on this journey,” he said.

“We worked in partnership to develop a bus prefect scheme that aims to address safety and behaviour issues at bus stops and on the bus,” he said.

Inspector Rogan explained that senior pupils have been nominated by the school as bus prefects and will monitor student behaviour.

“The scheme is about raising awareness of problems to teachers to enable them to intervene and address any issues that arise,” he said.

St Killian’s principal Jonny Brady said: “This is a great opportunity for all of the students at St Killian’s to be recognised for their good behaviour on the school buses.

“We work closely with the PSNI and Translink to ensure the safety of our students is our number one priority.

“The bus prefect scheme augments all of the good work that is currently going on with our partners and I believe is one of the main reasons why our students are aware of the importance of good behaviour on public transport.

“I am delighted that we have initiated this scheme and expect it to be a pro-active opportunity to address issues that may arise. I would like to thank both Inspector Rogan and Sam Todd for their support and involvement with the college.”

Sam Todd, Translink service delivery manager, said: “We are pleased to work in partnership with the PSNI and St Killian’s College on this important initiative.

“Translink is the leading provider of school transport in Northern Ireland, delivering thousands of young people to school safely every day.

“Throughout the year, we use our dedicated safety bus and teaching resources to engage directly with pupils and promote safe and responsible behaviour from a young age.

“This innovative bus prefect scheme is another important measure to ensure that the journey to and from school is an enjoyable one,” he added.