What age do you let your children walk to school alone?

[Soubriquet]

And how many roads would they have to cross?

Dc’s school have a policy that children can do the school run alone from year 5 but year 6 is preferable.

Mine are year 2 and 4, so not walking alone yet.

When they do, they would have to cross one ‘main’ road (which I would supervise as it’s outside our house) and one back road.

The main road is the only road through the village but even then it’s not overly busy.

The back road sees a maximum of 10 cars a day.

Summer term year 5 is common where we are. Certainly all the year 6 like to walk with friends.

Year 5, I don’t think many schools would let them walk alone before this. It’s common from year 5 in my DC’s school and virtually zero year 6’s travel home with parents.

My DD’s are year 5 and 6 and walk home alone, have done since September. It’s a 1.7 mile walk with one main road but since it’s a small town, it’s not really busy.

Summer term Y5 for ds. I can't actually remember if it was allowed a little earlier, he occasionally did an after-school activity and parents could sign to say the kids could walk home by themselves. But I don't know what year that was. He definitely started coming home on his own in the summer term of Y5 though.

People from other countries must laugh at our overprotectiveness when their kids take themselves to school from about 6 years old!

Although my daughter is at the age to be able to, I still don’t let her. Just not worth the risk, I’m going to give it another year or so. She’s 9.

Really depends how careful they are with roads, sensible enough not to take too long and who they are with, and how confident they are going without an adult.

Mine doesn't have any busy roads and oldesr walks with a group of good friends/neighbours who go together. They are fairly organised and worry about being late so have been going themselves since about age 9.

My youngest is a bit more full of nonsense, so are his friends. Not sure when the time will be right for him. Expect a little older, will assess when he starts wanting to go without me.

2nd grade, age 7. There's 1 busy road but it has a zebra crossing. It's about a 7 minute walk. But it's normal here for children to start walking/taking the school bus alone at 7 so although some are still taken by parents most aren't, and by about 4th grade (9/10 years) they ALL walk or cycle alone/with friends (we're not in the UK).

It’s a mile here. About 20 mins walking.

Summer term yr5. West London. They could either get the bus or walk crossing 2 reasonably busy roads that have zebra crossings.

Year 6 here and it's a 15 minute walk. One village road but a blind bend.

I don't worry about the traffic, I worry that DS is hot headed and impulsive. I genuinely worry that he'd end up going to the park instead or when grumpy, just won't go to school. He starts y6 in September and I don't know whether I'll let him.

I'd happily let my Yr4 come home with her Yr6 sister but it isn't allowed.
But its crossing the big road with the Lollipop lady directly outside school, and one small side road. Less than 2 minutes walk. There's a slightly longer route with a pelican crossing if the Lollipop lady isn't there. She can in Yr5.

(Before someone says the school has to let her... I have no intention of making schools life difficult for saving myself 5 minutes. I respect the reason for the rule)

My yr 3 child used to come home with her yr 6 sibling once a week. School weren't too happy but I felt the risk was minimal and told them so. 10 minutes walk, one main road with zebra crossing and our quieter road.

I'm intending to request DC comes home by herself in yr 5 when she will be rising 10. We shall see what the school says. I think it's good for them to have incremental stages of independence from a young age rather than all at once in yr 7.

My younger one would love to walk to school alone age 4 but that's not happening!

Age 10. 2 busy roads with zebras...about 1.4 miles

My Y5 age 10 DD has just started walking to school and back alone thing week. We were starting to think about it anyway, then me and her dad both got Covid so it made sense. It's a 5 minute walk with one main road (right opposite school, so always lots of families crossing and people in cars are aware) and a couple of small roads/driveways.

So far so good, but she said she misses chatting to me so I'll probably go back to walking with her most of the time when we're better.

Y6 as the school didn't allow it earlier.

Saying that, nobody realised when the older ones walked in on their own, so for most of Y5 DD just walked far ahead of me. It was a good practice as I could see how confident and secure she was crossing roads, incl. one with a nasty bend.

Until Y6 you had to collect so she had to "suffer" meeting me in the playground after school.

Year 3, occasionally, but usually with older brother or friends. There’s a crossing patrol, one straight road, good pavements and 15 mins walk. He’s very sensible and his pals are too. I don’t worry about him except right outside the school where stupid parents in 4WD park on pavements or try 3 point turns when kids are crossing with the lollipop man.

Never in primary school.

(And I might have followed my eldest like some sort of shit private detective for the first term of secondary, but I have massive issues with letting go. Backfired though as he’s 20 this year and has chosen one of the most dangerous careers you can do).

Ours are allowed to walk home from Y5. Mine were allowed to walk to school by me from summer Y4, as it's 200 yards down the same road from our house. Youngest is now Y4 and has walked to school a couple of times on her own as she's old for her year and is super sensible.

Y6 here but as I'm down there to get Y4 DD we all walk home together. I think there are only a couple of kids on Y6 who walk home.

Age 10 my son started to go to school and his basketball practice alone

Dd walks alone (year 5) but there are no roads to cross.
I trust dd to cross roads safely but I don't trust drivers to drive safely.

I run several times a week around the local roads and almost every day I see cars go straight over zebra crossings, exceeding the speed limit. Cyclists and motorcyclists speeding through a green man at pedestrian crossings when they have limited visibility of who's crossing etc.

Maybe in other countries drivers/cyclists are more considerate and lawful so its feasible for younger children to cross roads alone safely.

And of course if more measures on roads are introduced to try to slow traffic down, the 'I ain't takin' no bus' lobby are up in arms.
(That's a real life quote by the way from a driver driving the wrong way up a two way street, after mounting the pavement).

I live in a city and very few of the children go alone in primary. You might get the odd few in year 6 but the school is very strict about it as well, prior to year 6 it isn’t allowed and the dc need written permission. Too many roads, very busy ones. Too many people.

My daughter is in year 5 and has started walking to school this week on her own. 2 weeks before,I'd walk a bit behind her,seeing how she crossed the road etc. It's about an a minute walk with a little side road to cross and a main road with traffic lights. Always busy as near 3 schools. The main road does worry me though. She has a mobile with life360 installed so I can track her walking then she messages me when she gets to school anyway.

Should say 8 minute walk

DD walked home from the bus alone in summer Year 5. About 0.3 mile. One road to cross. I could have collected her, but it made her maturity level increase. She really enjoyed the independence.
She’s back to walking home again now the weather is lighter.

Summer tern yr4 is standard in our area.