Maidenhead & Windsor

Maidenhead Borough colleagues have said a fond farewell to a woman who retired after providing service to pupils with special educational needs for 30 years.

Barbara Dorsett worked as a passenger assistant, travelling with pupils with special educational needs on their minibus journeys to and from school. Passenger assistants ensure the safety and wellbeing of pupils during these journeys and provide reassurance for the pupils when they see a familiar face greeting them each morning and afternoon.

Barbara started work 34 years ago as a lunchtime controller at Maidenhead Larchfield Infant School and a few years later began escorting children to Holyport Manor and more recently Kennel Lane Special School in Bracknell.

A farewell lunch was held for Barbara at the Maidenhead Town Hall on Monday March 5 where she was joined by her fellow passenger assistants.

Barbara, who lives in Larchfield, Maidenhead, will now be going on holiday to visit family in New Zealand.

Shazia Khan, home to school transport officer, said: "Barbara will be very much missed by the schools with which she has worked and the pupils she looked after to and from school."

The Royal Borough of Windsor and Maidenhead