Is it OK for a Yr7 pupil to be home alone for an hour after school?

[Pipsquiggle]

Trying to sort out my childcare from Sept onwards.

At the moment I pay quite a lot of money for wrap around care for my 2DC - long story, but they currently go to different primary schools, one of which didn't have any breakfast or afterschool clubs. Both DH & I work FT

My eldest starts secondary school in Sept. They will take the train. They will get back at 4:30ish each day. We will get in usually around 5pm-5:30pm. Would it be OK for him to be on his own for this amount of time? Is it the done thing? They are usually pretty sensible.

I am thinking this will be a couple of times a week, as they will probably join some form of clubs / societies.

As long as they are sensible and you trust them not to do anything stupid.

I wish there was some actual legal framework around this as I honestly have no idea when these things are ‘allowed’. I was home alone from early primary so by the time I was eleven it was zero big deal. My kids on the other hand have never been alone and I’ve no
idea when it would be okay to say yes with SS being interested.

Yes. I have a year 7. Many year 7s here are also responsible for picking up their primary siblings. We see them at school pick ups and I know they are DC1 classmates. DC1 is also our backup if DH and I both need to go to be in the office. We usually do the pick up.

My year 6 dc has been coming home (2 minute walk) by themselves and waiting until I return from work. Usually maximum 1.5 hours. I am contactable and have ring doorbells etc to check they've arrived safe. They just get a piece of fruit and do homework.

Entirely normal for the majority of kids.

Yep I have a DD in year 7 with autism and I would feel comfortable with her being in the house for an hour after school.

This!

Yes. It's absolutely fine.

This depends on the maturity of the child. But could be acceptable if the child displayed adequate maturity to do so safely.

Yes. Mine were with a childminder and it was normal for all the kids there to finish when they started secondary school. As others have said - we had a rule that I was messaged to know they were home and emergency numbers if I was further away than normal.

My year six has been doing this to build up to doing it regularly for high school.

I started by letting her walk home when I was wfh but now she lets herself in and is alone for an hour before DH or I is back.

We have bought a Ring doorbell so we know when she has made it home. She also messages when she gets in to say she's home, how her day was etc.

However like others say, you should start preparing him now. Is he walking to and from school alone? Do you send him to the shops around the corner to buy stuff? Can he open the door? Have you left him at home while popping in to the shops or taking the younger one to club?

You don’t want him to learn it all in September. He will be taking the train himself, be able to use a bank card, get into the house. So start now.

Maybe look at getting a lock box for the key, so it doesn't have to be taken to school. My DD has locked herself out twice now

My oldest was from year 7. We've since installed a Ring doorbell and it's brilliant seeing the children arriving home when we're out.

If they can get the train to school I would think they should be able to be home alone for an hour after school. My eldest did at that age, the only issue was that I came home to a messy house!

Yes. Get a ring doorbell or something so you can see when they get home, and a phone tracker (we have location sharing on find my iPhone) so you know where they are. Mine loved having time at home. They’d have a hot x bun, toast etc, flop, do homework or play Xbox.

It's fine assuming no additional needs? DS was home before school for half an hour and after for two hours from year 7.

Whats the reason for your DH thinking he should be at homework club? The vast majority of 11 year olds would be absolutely fine but there’ll always be a minority who aren’t for various reasons. If your child is sensible and happy to be left then I always use that as my guideline. I’ve left my super sensible youngest DD from age 8 (10-15 mins) but eldest has SEN and I only started leaving her when she was 14.

Only you know your child, but generally, yr7, if they’re sensible enough to travel alone, they’re sensible enough to be home alone for a bit.

DS locked himself out once, so jumped the fence and sat in the garden for two hours in the cold. I told him to just walk into town to the library next time but he never did it again.

My dc will be staring year 7 in September too. I would have no concerns in him being at home for an hour until we got home from work.

Yes, but build up to it now by getting him to let himself into the house whilst you are there. For mine the most important thing was, be aware of what is going on around you. The front door key was attached to one of those retractable keyrings which was attached to their school bag so they can't lose it. Key in door, unlock, remove key and open the door. Once inside immediately close and lock the door and only then do you turn the alarm off.

Know what to do if there is a fire, don't answer the door, rules set as to what they can do whilst at home re food, ie no cooking, expectations of what snack they will make themselves rather than gorging on crisps etc.

A Ring doorbell may be a good idea, you can see them then, know they have got home and when. It triggers to record on movement not just when someone presses the bell.

Lots of year 7s let themselves in and are home alone for a bit. I did used to witness on a primary school run a secondary aged child having their mates round as school used to finish early on a Friday and they would then be kicking out all their mates for primary pick up as their Mum would be coming home and they weren't supposed to have anyone in (from the conversations I heard them having on the doorstep) so a Ring doorbell might be the best thing ever.

Ds is year 6 and has been walking himself to and from school without an adult since January. In September we started off with me walking him halfway there and then just increased it. I wfh 4 days a week, the other 1 day he gets home and if dh isn’t home (and he sometimes is) then I get back around 4:30 so he’s on his own for almost an hour. He knows what to do about getting in, not to open the door unless he’s checked the camera and knows who it is (ie a relative!) gets a snack and basically sits and plays fifa or something until one of us gets home.
We’ve built up to it with small bits of independence, him going to the shop alone,
me going to the shop and leaving him alone, me going to the supermarket for half an hour etc. Just build it up slowly so they get used to it, solving small problems for themselves makes them feel really accomplished!

I'd say it's absolutely fine if you think they can manage. Our DS is a young Y7 (August birthday) and with ADHD but he's fine to be left alone for a bit.

I think generally once they get to secondary school one doesn't need to go through contortions to arrange childcare if it's a matter of an hour or less without supervision.

Of course. If he can take the train, he can sit at home for a bit until you get back.