to think I should be able to park near the school?

I completely understand the on your way home from work /school /nursery awkward timing. I’ve a feeling they aren’t ALL doing that though

It’s the idling though, what is that about? No recognition it’s adding to the fact it’s hot.

I live down a road where the back gate backs onto a school. Parents arrive up to 45 minutes early to pick up their kids. What makes it even more ridiculous is there is a car park with over 100 spaces that they are allowed to park in about 200 meters away but god forbid they have to walk a bit further 🙄. They also ignore the parking restrictions. No wonder we are one of the most unhealthiest nations as most, if not all of these parents could park at home and walk due to the catchment area of the school. It infuriates me so much, I sometimes move my car so they can’t park in ‘their’ space 😂. Petty, but I like watching them curse from my window when they can’t park 🫢🤣.

Yes at our school parents go up to an hour early to park and work from the car, etc

I’m another one that finishes work and heads straight to school often getting there 30 minutes early, but to go home would make me late.
I used to nip into the local supermarket so I wasn’t as early but I just end up spending money that way :(

Are you a model? In magazine layouts? Walked the runways? LA? NYC? London? Paris? Milan?
lol

They actually park on your drive?

They'd get an earful from me if they did that.

We're lucky in that there is a council car park by the school and parents are given permits to park there at drop off / pick up times.

However, I walk in, and have to walk through the car park and it is absolute carnage with parents desperately trying to get the spots nearest the school. The car park is maybe a couple of 100 metres long at the most, and yet some parents feel they really must be closest to the gate. Completely bonkers!

Oh, and it's a small town. There will be some kids coming from rural locations but the vast majority would be able to walk there. It's pure laziness.

Why do you allow it? They would not do it on mine. They would have a real fight on their hands. They are doing what you allow.
Also just for good measure I would park my car in such a position that they would not get on the driveway.

I live next to a primary school but work and have only ever worked in secondary so I didn't really get this parking thing until recently.
My road is one way and the council agreed to do that pedestrian only thing during pick up and drop off. And OMG I am now totally converted to this.
The little kids walk or cycle, or my favourite , scoot down the middle of the road. They look so happy and some of the parents join them. I watched a tiny little girl couldn't have been older than 5 scoot downhill at breakneck speed. Her very young very athletic dad sprinted after her, he was in running gear, both of them clearly having fun. This was before 9am on a Thursday.
It's so safe and relaxed. I really want more roads closed now so more people can feel that freedom. And it is so good for the kids to be able to exercise safely and take risks.
I'm not anti car by any means I just want us to share the roads and inject some fun and joy into our everyday lives.

I think I’d suddenly be needing to go out every day at that time if it was me…pure coincidence of course

We allow parents of sick children to pick up from the car park (for the child’s sake more than the parents convenience). But yes parents arrive ridiculously early to get a parking space.

They are annoying but could you not go in the school car park in these circumstances?

I used to be an early parker. One day a week I'd pick up DC in the car cos one had a club after school we had to drive to. I am a very nervous driver so would get there early to make sure I could park at the end of a row of spaces. I didn't care if it was a couple of streets away as long as it was easy to park by and easy to get back out.
It was never about "the best spot" TBH I wouldn't have been driving at all if there was another option but because I had to I made it as easy as I could for myself.

It doesn't tend to happen in our primary school. We're in London and there's a tube station five mins walk away, an Overground station 8 mins walk and there's also a private coach drop-off. The council have put in a School Street so parents can't park on the street that the school is on, for an hour in the morning and afternoon. A handful of parents drive and park on adjacent streets, but not many.

We live a 5 min walk away as it was important for us to have a simple short commute.

I do this altough in my case doesn’t affect anyone as our very tinny school is only 20 students . I do it because my youngest nursery finishes 1 hour before school it’s 25 miles away and school is a further 16 miles so can’t go back

I see this a lot too, everyone trying to park as close as possible even if it means parking like an idiot and causing chaos for everyone else.

We mostly walk to school but sometimes I drive for various reasons. I try to park as close as possible within reason so I don't block drives, don't park on double yellows and don't double park opposite another car. It means walking for an extra minute, that's literally all it is, it's madness how people will cause problems just so they can avoid that tiny walk.

I'm almost never that early either, there is the odd occasion I've been out somewhere and made it back with time to spare so I'll park somewhere and wait because I don't have time to go home and do anything productive.

I wouldn't leave my house on my day off earlier than I needed to just to sit in the car for half an hour and I doubt many would.

On the rare occasions I am really early I will get one of the closer spots, park and enjoy a sit down for a bit. Life is so hectic sometimes that it's nice to just take a break before the next lot of chaos begins!!

I park early. It’s easier to park up and continue what I’m doing in a good space than rush to park later

Lots of areas are still catchment based. Our catchment school was our 5th nearest and not walkable.

I collect my DD early so I have to get there early and I often pop in even earlier for a meeting. There are the same group of parents there from 1.30/1.45 when school closes at 3.15

Is there some special medical reason why your child needs to go to the scholl that's so far away that you have to drive them?
If not, go to the nearest school and walk there.
Nobody should be driving to school..

This happens at dds primary school too.

I walk and usually get to school a good 5 mins before they open the gates. The amount of cars parked up with the engines still running is bonkers. There’s even cars parked in the bus stop outside the school ( although the school started posting pics of the idiots offending cars, so its not happening as much)

The part I don’t understand, is there’s plenty of parking available, literally 1 min walk either side of the school. It seems no one likes to walk these days.

Yes they do that at our school, they clearly have a lot of time on their hands. Some of the ones that get there later just park on the corners/double yellows/zig zig lines. Whereas others like myself park further away and walk. I think there is an expectation from some parents that they are entitled to park as close as is physically possibly to to the school as they couldn’t possibly walk a bit…

Mellowcritic beat me to it but round our way, it is the home leg version of the beach towel game!