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

Our local school finishes 15:25, parents start blocking the local area a good hour before. It's ridiculous.

The headteacher has sent out multiple letters about parking but unsurprisingly nobody cares, they can't possibly walk their child to school.

This happens in a school near us too. It’s bonkers. Clearly these people have a lot of time on their hands.

If you're picking up a sick child and can't get a parking space, use the staff car park - even if there are no spaces there and you have to clock someone in, they won't be leaving before the end of the school day anyway, and by the time they come in to ask you to move your car, you'll be leaving.

I walk my dog near a primary school. I try to avoid school chucking out time and aim to be home by 2pm, but, yes, there are parents sat in cars, doors open, on double yellow lines at 2pm. The school finishes at 3.10pm.

I see it in our village, parked up about 2.15, I think school finishes at 3.25, that's when the school clock/bell chimes.

Sad thing is you can identify the children that are walked to school and the ones driven.

"Yes, they sit with engines idling ..."

Stationary idling is an offence under Section 42 of the Road Traffic Act 1988. The act enforces Rule 123 of the Highway Code, that states: “You must not leave a vehicle’s engine running unnecessarily while that vehicle is stationary on a public road.” This applies even if you’re waiting for someone.

The obvious solution to this, and to the parents parking on zig-zags, double yellow lines etc., is more enforcement of the rules (otherwise there is really no point in having them).

We had one set of parent's at my DC's primary school whose house could actually be seen from the playground, it was so close. Yet they drove everyday and parked up on the hazard lines, engine idling, reversing into children once their own cherubs had got in the car. The school was constantly arguing with them, they didn't give a shit. They were pretty obnoxious and anti social in other areas of life as well.

Lots are, our sons old primary had a very small catchment, rather than a size it was specific named street, the longest walk to school was maybe 8 minutes. Yet people would drive to school, the school road didn’t have parking restrictions but the adjoining roads did, the road was then turned into a school street, so now no one in catchment could park closer than their own home.

Some people were genuinely screaming in the street about it in the run up to the change, completely bonkers. One parent set up a petition for a pushchair park and access to free pushchairs as her year 2 able bodied child couldn’t possibly walk to or from school.

I live in a street opposite a large secondary school. Without fail there are adults parked up waiting at least an hour before the end of school. Some sit there reading kindles, some listen to the radio or make loud calls using hands free. There is one ‘grandad’ who always parks up the earliest and falls asleep until the kid comes out. What a waste of life!

Engine idlers are the worst!!! Grrrrr

Most annoying is that most of them ignore the 'no parking 7-10AM' sign and even the 'no parking' signs that the school children have made themselves!**

but that’s about other people and other people’s children. They aren’t important. Their child is special. (Spoiler alert: they are not)

Bloody hell, these CFs take the whole packet of biscuits. Can you put up some penguin bollards or a lockable chain and posts across it?
What happens when you're out and return to find your drive blocked with cars already on it and you can't park? I presume the street is already blocked!
Camera phone at the ready next time?

I obviously mean in accordance with the signage, calm down!

If the school has an carpark, they will normally be fine with a parent parking on school grounds to collect a sick or disabled child. I’ve always done so no problem.

I see the same at DD’s primary and it really baffles me!
We live a 5 min walk from the school so always walk, but every day I see probably 75% of children being driven in. It’s a medium sized town with loads of schools, we have 5 primary schools within 1 mile of our house so I just cannot comprehend why so many people are driving for the school run. Obviously there will be exceptions for blue badge holders and the odd person who has moved away but not changed school.
IMO it’s much quicker and a nicer start to the day to walk in. DH does pick up but again it takes 10 mins in total and he gets a nice little walk in.

Because an hour on Facebook or Mumsnet in your car is not much different from an hour on Facebook or Mumsnet in your house.

(Obviously not everyone has the time for that, but cars are big. 80 of them parked up is a quarter of a mile in old money. So it doesn't take a big proportion of parents getting there early to appear to be a huge number.)

Likely the majority are unemployed.

If the lazy parents have an hour spare to sit in the car they have time to walk.

I teach in a school in which the vast majority of students live nearby and could walk. Every day the car park just outside classrooms fills from around 2.15. Yes, they sit with engines idling and, in this weather, windows down and music playing, disturbing lessons. It's absolutely ridiculous.

Little jnr school here and my neighbour drives it’s not even quite 10 minutes walk as we live just down the lane with a footpath.

I thought state school catchment areas were really small. If coming from work that early surely you would drive home, have a cuppa and the walk to school?

This is utterly insane

So why leave the car there? Because the children were too tired to walk the 10-15 minute walk home at the end of the school day, even though when they had to do it (eg car in for a service, she would carry all their bags🤣).

What a shame!

My DC’s are older now, but our fondest memories are of walking home together.
We made friends with other families ( still my friends years later), bought ice creams, sometimes called for other shopping, played in the park and generally discussed our day as we walked.

Such great times.

I live one road up from a school. Parent parking perplexes me. Coming up to home time, my road and the school road are double parked, people on double yellows. There've been a few times when everything has been at a complete standstill, no one able to go in or out because of this.
And yet, one road up from us, there's 'one hour free' parking bays which are always free. It's around a minutes walk and avoids getting into all the little roads near the school. Hardly anyone parks there.
I don't get it at all.

It's worse round here than it used to be, because of the "school street zone". If you drive into the road nearest the school in the 45 minutes around opening or closing time you get a ticket, so quite a few parents arrive early and park up in the afternoon.