Long walk to school

The school near us has had parents pushing back for years but they won’t budge on it.

It a wonderful school in every other way and would be my first choice but the phone thing just puts me off. The only way of getting the cheapest option of the weekly / monthly bud pass in our area is on a phone app. It’s madness.

Schools don't get to dictate whether DCs have phones on them on the way to and from school, although they can have a policy of having to hand them in when DCs arrive.

Two of mine had medical conditions which could potentially become very serious, even life-threatening, during a 40-minute walk. I'd be totally ignoring pushing back hard on that policy. As PP have said, a basic phone at the bottom of a school bag is a sensible rule.

Just let her get the bus. There will be plenty of other people with phones so she can call you if there is an emergency. My ds was hopeless with numbers when he was little, so I wrote my phone number inside his shoes.

You could put a tracker in her bag as well. But that tells you where her bag is, not your DD so can be misleading.

Fair enough OP.

It still needs a lot more practice if she still hasn't got it. The confidence will come when she does. Also practice her getting "lost". We used to walk DC to somewhere on our estate then they had to find their own way home. Also if there's somewhere she can find a loo or buy a drink on the way home it might be worth checking that out with her. We have a cafe marked out for loos and make sure she has the right card or cash to buy something if needed. It's a bit complicated at the moment - a lot of shops have gone card only but some are still cash only under £5.

I'm doing research at the moment on airtag vs similar things (we're on Android) and would be interested in what you find out on that.

I'd push back on this. A child walking a busy, 40 minute journey to school and back needs to have access to a phone for safety reasons! It's vanishingly unlikely but children get abducted on these sorts of journeys precisely because they're alone. Obviously that's a very extreme example.

But what if she got lost? Or fell?

I have a 15yr old DD and the rule is no phones out at school - they're confiscated immediately if seen - but hers is switched off and in her bag during the day.

Your daughter surely can't be the only student walking to school. Check with other parents in the area.
But I agree that a brick phone, in a small bag, switched off, at the bottom of their normal bag, is not going to attract attention.

I'd also suggest that future secondary school parents should take note - build up freedom/independence for your DC gradually (over, say, a couple of years). Don't leave it until a few weeks before they start secondary school.

I am usually the first to be anti-phones and definitely anti-bending rules, but this seems like a no brainer, and a safety issue. Your daughter needs a phone if she is walking alone for emergencies. I would get her a basic, non internet phone, and either tell her to keep it off at the bottom of her bag and NEVER get it out in school (if she does, the punishment is deserved and on her) or to hand it in a the office each day.
As for the 40 minute walk, this is normal at this age, and within a few weeks she will hopefully have made some friends to walk with.

Phone SWITCHED OFF and at bottom of the bag should be a non-issue. Even DC's school with a similar strict policy turned a blind eye to this. Just stress that she must not get it out within sight of the school (at the bus stop for example).

We live 3-4km in a village from our local secondary and all the secondary kids walk together in small groups. It takes them about an hour. It's absolutely the done thing. They get quite excited in primary discussing it.
This may not bother you or her, but I would say I'm fairly sure you will be the only parent walking a year 7 child to school. If it doesn't bother you, fine. But, just in case, I'd be walking the journey every day with her from now until school starts in case she's absolutely mortified on the first day.

25. MOBILE TELEPHONES/TECHNOLOGICAL DEVICES 25.1. Years 7 to 11 25.1.1. Mobile telephones have proved to be a source of constant disruption. Staff waste valuable time dealing with issues such as theft, losses, texting during lessons and lessons being disrupted by call tones and vibrations. There are also increasing concerns surrounding text bullying and taking mobile phones in to public examinations, which is strictly forbidden. Mobile telephones are, therefore, prohibited in school for Years 7 to 11. 25.1.2. Any devices with the capability of recording footage or sound and taking photographs are prohibited. This includes ipods, MP3 players and SMART watches (this list is not exhaustive). POSITIVE BEHAVIOUR AND DISCIPLINE POLICY 17 October 2021 25.1.3. Academy Procedures: 25.1.3.1. All mobile phones found on the Academy site will be confiscated. These will only be returned to an adult by appointment at the end of the next day after the phone has been confiscated (3.00pm) following its confiscation or later. If a phone is confiscated on a Friday, it will not be available for collection until the following Monday at 3.00pm at the earliest. Phones will not be returned before the end of the following day, without exception. 25.1.3.2. On the first occasion, the student will be placed in isolation. 25.1.3.3. Any student who breaches the mobile phone policy more than twice will have their phone kept for two working days starting on the day after confiscation. This means, for example, that phones confiscated on Thursday will not be returned until Monday at 3pm and if on Friday, not until Tuesday at 3pm. 25.1.3.4. Students who persist in bringing mobile phones on site may be subject to an external exclusion. 25.1.3.5. The Academy retains the right to search for phones if a student is suspected of having one in their possession. Students who refuse a search will be sanctioned appropriately and parents may be requested to immediately attend school site to resolve the issue. Students who refuse to hand over their phone will be subject to further sanctions (they will remain in isolation until the phone is returned to school with the SIM card in the phone.) If this matter persists for an extended period of time, school may decide to place the student at an alternative provision.

Come on OP don't be so passive. Sew a secret compartment into bag or get her to keep it in a wash bag marked 'period products'.

Schools need to be taught they can't overstep. Banning the carrying of a phone which it switched off is over stepping their remit. Teach your daughter some resourcefulness here!

Put the littke phone in a makeup bag type thing & put a paid off knickers & some pads/tampons in at the top. They're unlikely to delve further if they do a bag check.

I would send her with a very basic phone that doesn't take photos. Be VERY clear it's ONLY for Emergencies off the school premises. she mustn't take it out of her bag at school At All.

what's the actual distance she needs to walk? There's no one else local she'd like to bus/walk with.

I do think you need to do this between now & starting. Having mummy walk her to school in year 7, is not going to be a good start for her.

One of our local schools has the complete phone ban as well, they are not allowed them even switched off. They do ad hoc bag searches.

Is it a public bus or one put on by the school?
Just tell her to be careful if she does take her phone. At my old school we always had random bag checks. I had a little hidden zip pocket in my bag that teachers couldn't find.

There are other options than air tag that use a phone signal and GPS. Have a look at “GPS tracker” on Amazon or eBay, or at Vodafone’s little child tracker.

There are watches to do this too.

That is a ridiculous rule about phones. How on earth do they enforce it? Bag check every pupil every day? How would they even know if someone just had a silent phone in their bag?

My DC get the bus to school and the bus pass is now an app on their phone. No other way to get the bus pass. They are not allowed to have a phone out during the school but no problems with it just being in their bag. Many have long journeys and absolutely need it to be able to contact parents if there are any bus issues. They also occasionally use them in lessons.

In your situation, I would send her with a phone in her bag but with very strict instructions that it must not be taken out of the bag during the school day. It's for the journey to and from school only.

Put the phone in her bag.

Unless they are going to do bag checks they won't know. U less of course she starts pulling it out in school.

If she sticks the the rules she will be fine.
Stick the phone in her bag.

Ridiculous rule about the phone. My DD's school lets students have a phone off in their bag, and they are only allowed to use it offsite and outside the school day. There has been an occasion when my DD needed to tell me about a police incident near her school so that I didn't get worried and to say she was going home a different way. Sometimes kids need to call their parents urgently!

Why can't she get the bus? Then she will only have to find her way to the bus stop. Honestly though she will get used to it faster than you think.

I'm pretty sure most kids will have phones in their bags too.

Yes, you can use an air tag for this. Once she learns the route would cycling her a better option?

An air tag will tell you where she is every time she walks close to another iPhone.

It would be better if she can call if she gets lost though? Surely she can have a phone in her bag.