These bollards shaped like small children have been installed outside a local school’s main entrance to grab the attention of motorists and make it safer for children to come and go.

Karen Kondo, headteacher at West Acton Primary School since 2018, led the project to install ‘Billy and Belinda’ bollards in a bid to improve road safety around the school and to encourage drivers passing by the school to slow down and be mindful of where and how they park.

“We are continuously looking for ways to improve the safety of our students,” said Karen. “Anything that we can do to raise driver awareness that there’s a school in the vicinity and young children on foot is a good thing.

“From day one, I had parents expressing their concerns about the heavy through traffic and cars parking near the school gates.

“We now have four bollards installed just outside the main school’s entrance and the result is fantastic. We have seen drivers being more considerate of their speed and they now continue along the road cautiously.”

The four bollards, which were designed to represent the diversity of the school’s pupils, have been installed near the school gates on Noel Road.

They have received a positive reaction from the school’s community; and parent governor Dr Makezini said: “Without parked vehicles, drivers will have a much clearer view of children as they come out of school which helps to keep them safe.”

Jenni, a parent, said: “The bollards are really eye-catching, I think these make drivers be extra cautious and help to slow down car traffic as well as scooters and bikes. It is much more obvious that there is a school here and these bollards discourage people from parking on the zigzags.”

The funding for the bollards was secured by the school, the council’s local ward forum; and also the school’s parent teacher association; and the project was then led by Ealing Council’s transport department.

For more information on how your school can get support to improve road safety and sustainable travel, visit the council’s healthy streets around schools page.

Councillor Yvonne Johnson, the council’s deputy leader and cabinet member for schools and children’s services, said: “I’m delighted that schools in Ealing are actively working on road safety initiatives and hope to have more schools getting involved.

“We hope these bollards help to limit accidents and make motorists become aware of road safety issues and encourage them to reduce their speed and be more vigilant when passing by a school to ensure children’s safety when arriving and leaving the school.”