What age did/will your children walk to school alone?

[longestlurkerever]

Following on from the playing out discussion on another thread I wondered at what age and how people start to introduce independence for their children. Round here kids seem to get walked to school (v small catchments- generally 5 mins away) until y5 or y6 but then often travel by bus or train to secondary school. My dd1 is a way off that yet but it seems quite a big leap and I don't currently imagine her being ready to travel by public transport alone in 5 years' time. How do people build up to it? What age would your kids be allowed to walk to/from school?

I started biking the 1.2miles to school in year 6.
In year 8 I started walking instead.

I always went along the main roads even though there was a bike path that would mean only crossing one road - I wasn't comfortable going through the path.

3rd grade I think.

Y5. In Sept dc1 will have an hours journey to secondary - 20 min walk, bus ride, 15 min walk. It's a jump but doable - they'll be an adult before too long.

Thanks everyone. It's reassuring to see that kids do cope with a leap in responsibility like that. I won't start looking at houses in better secondary catchments just yet! She is very used to public transport - I suppose I just imagine a child on a train or bus that's suddenly diverted from it's normal route and wonder if they'd panic. But you're right - it wasn't so long ago I couldn't trust her to be in another room by herself and not so many years after starting secondary that they are ready to leave home.

To school from y3, so 7. We live very close to school and they've been taught to use the zebra crossing and to be very careful.

To the park - from y5. Again, very close, deciding factor was ability to tell time and decide it was time to head home.

Ds gets bus to school, can pop into town only proviso he tells me what he's up to. Dd1 will be getting the train, but likewise is already being drilled that she must communicate what she's up to.

My dc were in Y4. I had to give the school written notification, as they found it so extraordinary. Other parents hoiked their judgeypants over it, too.

But we didn't get up one morning and say "Right, off you go to school on your own now." They'd started a couple of years earlier, by staying on at the playpark round the corner without me and coming home alone a few minutes later, then going there on their own, then going to the corner shop a little further away, and so on.

My DD is 9 and about to start Y5. It's a short walk with one big crossing with pelican crossing. She is going to start walking completely on her own at some point this year. I've built up by taking her to the crossing and then letting her go the last bit into school alone. My DS is 7 so I'll be walking with him so will probably be able to help in an emergency but want DD to have this freedom.

Our nearest shop is actually a small Lidl with one zebra crossing and one smaller road.. My 9 year old has not been there alone yet but if she can that would also be close to the bus stop to secondary school so I would be confident she could get there :)