The most common and most likely answer to this crossword clue is the 8 plus 6 letter word LOLLIPOP LADIES
I've seen this crossword clue in The Daily Telegraph
L
O
L
L
I
P
O
P
L
A
D
I
E
S
More clues leading to the result LOLLIPOP LADIES
Buddy explains!
The straight part
We know that "they’re/often found near schools" is the straight/definition part of the clue. The straight part is often a synonym or definition, in this case they’re/often found near schools = lollipop ladies.The cryptic/wordplay part
In cryptic crossword there's often an wordplay/cryptic part as well.This part involves a more complex hint, such as an anagram, homophone, hidden word, etc.
Sadly, We don't have an explanation for this specific crossword clue yet.