How do you drop your child off at school? Am I worrying too much?

[27]

My DD is 6, at the school that she is at parents go into the playground with their children (there is no playground supervision).

The bell goes and the children line up and the teacher comes out and takes the children into class.

Last year, the parents in my daughters year would stay until the teacher came out and led the children away.

Now a number of the parents just drop thier kids off before school starts. Mostly it works fine, but you do see children leaving the school gates and running about in the road outside the school. The playground isnt secure at all, it is a large school, in a city, with 2 gates.

It would make my life a lot easier to do the same, but I dont feel like I can, as I would then be worrying all day about whether or not my DD had actually made it into school. But now I wonder if I am being overanxious?

If any of you use a school without playground supervison and more than one gate, what do you do with your children?

Do you worry about whether or not they went in or not?

[cory]

Depends on how much you feel you can trust your dd, really. You know her, you know what she can do.

I feel confident letting my 8-year-old walk home from school on his own because I know he is reliable with traffic and won't go wandering off without permission. (is also old enough to understand that I know how long it takes to walk from his school and would notice if he was unusually late)

Last year when he was 7, I was dropping him off at the gate. The year before that I think I dropped him in the playground which at his former school was fairly secure (he could have got out, but not without noticing what he was doing iyswim). When he was 5 I certainly waited until the bell rang and they all lined up.

If your playground is not at all secure and you are not 100% sure that your dd would not be led astray by other children leaving the premises, then I probably would hang fire with this one, even if it is inconvenient.

[saadia]

I don't think you are worrying too much, that doesn't sound right. Does the school have a poliy on this?

Our's has a person at the gate from 8.40 and staff in the playground. Parents of Reception children are expected to go into playground and wait till kids line up, teacher comes out, and kids go in.

Y1 kids and older are expected to be left at the gate, because the playground will get too congested if all the parents go in.

[PinkChick]

i dont/wouldnt let my dd (5) be left in playground and our school IS SUPPOSED to have teacher/t/a supervision on a morning(but often dont)..they could wander outside for ANY reason, not worth the risk IMHO

[ReginaFelange]

Surely the school should have a playground supervisor. I certainly wouldn't leave until I knew my child was in school in your situation

[shinyshoes]

I see him across the busy road (he's 8 years old) then wait for him to go in the school gates.

There is no supervision in the playground, in the juniors the children just walk into school (doors open at 8.30am and school starts at 8.50).

In the infants the classroom doors open at 8.40am and the school day starts 10 minutes later. There is a teacher or T.A in the classroom.

If i'm feeling particularly lazy. DS1 (11 years old) takes DS2 to breakfast club at 8.00am on his way to senior school, then the MDA's walk all the children over to their classrooms at 8.50am.

I have only done this a couple of times though.

I trust he goes in and I thnk that is why I do it because I trust he goes in the school gates, even though I see him go in, and I trust he dosen't come walking ack out again once I turn around and walk home.

I think it does boli down to wether or not you can trust your child. I'm a bit that you said some of the children come back out of the gates.

[blondie80]

hi 27, i drop off dd9 at the gate (she jumps out the car), but do so, so she only has enough time to get to her line before the bell goes.

some parents drop their kids off far to early, by which i mean 10mins before bell is due.

although dd has from she started school not wanted me to accompany her past the gate. which saves me having to find a space to park etc.

[27]

Im glad that you dont think Im being too anxious about it.

I just wondered if I was being a bit PFB about it, and while there are some parents in my DDs year who wait, I think that now the majority drop their children off and leave.

It is a major inconveinience for me, but I think that at the moment that is better than worrying all day about whether or not my DD went into school or not. I do trust her, but she is young, and I dont think she is old enough to be outside without adult supervision.

I have asked about the lack of a playground supervisor in the morning, and the council are apparently going to be asked about funding for this.

The situation does seem unsafe to me - children run outside the gates, sometimes children fall over in the playground and then the parents who are there are having to console a crying and often bleeding child, I'm sure no-one minds doing this, but it doesnt feel 'right' to me.

On the other hand, most parents at the school are happy to drop their children off, so maybe I am worrying too much?

[choccyp1g]

If the playground is supervised, it might be worth (gently) suggesting to the teachers, that the most important part of the supervision is to mind the gate. My DS is a bit older, Y3, and most parents "drop and go" (also down as "dump'em and scarper".) We usually walk, and it does annoy me seeing other children hanging around (effectively in the car park) waiting for their friends. I generally remind them that they shouldn't be out of the playground once their parents have gone.
If there is no official supervision, what about an informal rota of gate minders ?

[choccyp1g]

Bit of a cross post, but we didn't have playground supervision at infants; I think because most parents stayed with them at that age.

[Katiestar]

Only you can say really ,because only you know how your DD is likely to behave.Mine have never shown any inclination to run off and at our school it is very much the norm to drop n run ,but we are a rural school with the gates opening onto a green so not mear a busy rd

[27]

choccyp1g
The playground isnt supervised. It is at break time and lunch time, but there is no-one at the beginning and end of the day.

Is it normal to have someone supervising the playground in the mornings?

[ladypinky]

We do not have morning playground supervision in infants either. This is detailed in the information pack given in reception and on the school website. All parents wait until the door opens and this is watched by the HT/Deputy HT. I would not be happy at dropping DD(6)then leaving and not knowing she had definatly gone into school. I don't think you are being over anxious at all I feel exactly the same, it has nothing to do with trusting her, I know she would not leave the playground if I asked her not too.

[SlartyBartFast]

another who doesnt have playground supervisor in infants and the parents have to wait, sometimes lining up time is late, so it can be annoying, or some parents ask otehr parents to look out for their dcs. no children do run out of the gate.
reception children are allowed to go in the classroom, presently at least, thus solving their parents' problems.

at juniors there is a playground supervisor!

[littlerach]

Ours isn't supervised in the mornong, though there is usually a teacher around.

They say it is because the school day doesn't start until 8.55am.

[kennythekangaroo]

As far as I'm aware teachers become responsible for the children 10 minutes before school officially starts.

ie if school starts at 9am then either a teacher should be outside on duty at 8.50 or the children should be allowed in the building at 8.50.

[27]

kennythekangeroo

Could you let me have a link for that information or let me know where you heard that?
Would be useful if I could show something like that to the school.