Having to pick 11 yr old up from school

[Knitwit101]

Our school has a new head. Been there maybe a month. He has announced that in the winter all kids must be collected from school. I have an 11 yr old in p7 (Scotland) who has been walking home alone since p3. We are really near the school and he has only one road to cross, it has a crossing. This is a ridiculous rule, right? Surely an 11 yr old can walk maybe 4 minutes home alone if his parent says he can? It's not even nearly dark at 3.15pm.

To add to my irritation my 6 yr old finishes 20 minutes earlier. There is nowhere sheltered outside to wait and we are not allowed to wait in the school. There's no point walking home, sitting at home for 10 minutes then going back out again. So I am expected to stand outside (in weather and light that is unsuitable for 11 yr olds to be alone in) with my 6 yr old for 20 minutes to collect an 11 yr old who is perfectly capable of walking home alone.

I have complained, as have several other parents. The school have said that they are not making judgements about the capabilities and journeys of individual pupils, it's the same rule for everyone and that's that.
One parent refused to come and collect her dd. She was made to wait in school and her parent was called to collect her.

Yesterday I offered to 'collect' a bunch of kids and walk them to the school gate then let them go. So i basically collected every p7 kid then let them walk home like they usually do. I half thought the school would have phoned me this morning and complained about deliberate flouting of their policy but they haven't. Another parent is going to collect them all today and walk them round the corner out of sight.

AIBU to think this is a ridiculous policy?

[Cachailleacha]

Be glad that this HT cares more about your kids than you do.
Would you be saying this if you were required to collect an 11 year old in England from school, so year 7 of secondary school? How about a 12, 13 year old? Awful things have happened to children this age too, but you can't wrap children in cotton wool forever just in case.

[FlamingoPoet]

This drives me mental. YANBU. My DC’s school also take it upon themselves to try to parent out of hours. They even called to say a member of staff will have to walk them home if I don’t. Well you fill your boots! It’s not preparing them at all well for high school. The children’s welfare is legally YOUR responsibility after school hours, I wrote and reminded them so. Love that you’ve found inventive ways to flout the rules but really, just write and tell them to stick to parenting during school hours.

[Olderkids]

As usual, Ht's and Teachers are damned if they do and damned if they don't.
The day that something really awful happens, you will all turn around and blame the school for a lack of care.
Be glad that this HT cares more about your kids than you do.

[sleepylittlebunnies]

We are in England and my DC primary school only year 6 are allowed to walk home alone and even then only in the last term after Easter. This was fine for DS who was still 10 and autistic as I had to collect his younger Sisters. My neighbours DD though is a very mature 11 year old who has walked to school alone from Y4 but the HT won’t allow her to walk home alone.

[TheOrigFV45]

"An email arrived later this afternoon saying that parents can notify the school in writing if they are happy for their kids to walk home alone."

Was that not in place already?
I'm baffled.

[Graphista]

Why on earth didn't the head do that in the first place?!

Actually that also rather suggests he had absolutely no good reason for implementing the policy at all!

[Canuckduck]

Ridiculous. Almost all of the children from about age 9 and up walk themselves to school. It’s very definitely winter in Canada as well! At the beginning of the year you are asked to fill out a form about walking / pick ups etc. I walk my 6 year old but my 9 year old daughter is more than capable of walking herself. Won’t an 11 year old in the UK be in secondary next year?

[diddl]

Let's hope that common sense has prevailed.

I'm in Germany, admittedly only a small town, but when daughter left Kindergarten, one of the things on the checklist was walking home without an adult.

Not unusual for 6yr olds to walk to & from school without an adult.

[Ngaio2]

Good outcome, OP. I like you’re sprit. Too many people defend ill thought petty decisions and rules which can’t be legally enforced, merely because someone in authority has said so.

[MutedUser]

That’s a good outcome for you OP anyway .

[myrtleWilson]

Maybe boos town/city are trying to adopt some sort of informal Purge like day. Tying up police officers in unnecessary activities like escorting children to church to allow local "wrong 'uns" a clear day for criminal escapades...
Glad it is all sorted Op although mildly disappointed with lack of drama!

[manicmij]

If it's due to the weather that the head is imposing the rule and with it being in Scotland you can surely challenge this. Children are being encouraged to walk to school and an 11 year old is certainly old eniugh to do so on his own. The Head is taking away the children's independence in a small way. Contact education department LA with your view and also evidence of legislation allowing this to be imposed. Have any children suffered injury eg frostbite, hypothermia or road accident due to his reasoning.

[Booboo66]

Wow, here from P3 teachers don’t hand kids over and it’s permissible to walk to or from school. No one actually does this with their primary 3’s but that’s the parents choice/responsibility as it should be. Usually by p5 though many are walking. I’m also finding the concept of a police escort to church unusual. We have a school roll of 600 and due to hugely increasing intakes over the last 3/4 years a large proportion are under 8’s. We are just outside the city centre and the walk to church is about half a mile with several roads. Teachers and TA’s manage no problem. I went on a walk of our local area as the only parent helper with 60 primary 1s (that’s only half of them) the other week and had no problem stopping traffic.

[BlueJag]

I can't imagine 1500 parents turning up to my son's school every day. It would be gridlock. It's madness to make parents collect their kids.
My DH works in Germany and for example a few days ago I was stuck in a hospital appointment. Our son walked home with his friends. No problem.

[Nicknacky]

It’s Scotland, we don’t have school governors.

[Icanttakemuchmore]

All the parents against the new rule should make a complaint to the school governors.

[Amazonian27]

DS’s school has this from after school clubs. But children were allowed to walk home if parents had agreed by signing a consent form. Could you not suggest this.

[Earthakitty]

Ridiculous.
I walked myself to and from school from the age of 6 . About a 10 minute walk.
Kids are so coddled these days they cannot cope when they get out into the real world.
If we'd been collected from school by our parents we'd have been scoffed and jeered at for being a big baby. We'd never have heard the end of it. There wasn't a parent in sight . Nowadays school yards are swarming with parents.
It is insane, it is ludicrous and it is teaching kids nothing.

[Ticketybootoo]

There have been issues at my daughters school similar to this - she is 11 .
I understand why the teachers are concerned as there has been an attempted abduction recently and I have been told there are sex offenders with previous convictions in the playground by a very good source😲
It’s difficult when you need to work - I am trying to let my 11 year old walk home 4 mins to get a bit of independence . We are in the South East not far from London so not much better here !

[Supermum29]

Why don’t the school just encourage parents and assist in making sure all the children are aware of road safety etc (I’m sure they are all aware at that age!) that’s ridiculous what about parents that are at work? What do they do?

[8misskitty8]

Someone mentioned walking on a school trip and that teachers can’t stop traffic.
Yes teachers can stop traffic to let pupils cross the road. Each school will have done a risk assessment.

Our whole school goes to church services at Christmas, Easter and harvest time. The 2 deputy’s stand on the road to stop each side and each class cross between them.

I work in the nursery and we go on various trips and we do the same, 2 staff members stand on the road and the children walk between us with parent helpers.

To get a police escort is just rediculous. You would hardly ever get to go on trips in the local community.

[Kikithewitch]

Why would the PTA step in, they are usually a fundraising group and have no say in how the school is run. Maybe you mean the school governors?

[masterblaster]

That's MAD. Our dd will be in 2ndary and having to negotiate a bus to and from school, across London by her age. Ask for the PTA to step in.

[MiniMum97]

I would say that is not up to the school. It’s after school time so up to the parents. I would refuse to collect. If they called me I would refuse to pick up on the basis that it’s my decision as a parent and I think they are perfectly capable of coming home themselves. And the school are not in charge of me. If they want to walk my child home they are more than welcome. They won’t hold them there all night. It’s a battle of wills!

[PhilomenaSnowflakeButterfly]

Knitwit that's what sensible schools do already. I wrote a note saying "I give permission for [DD name] to walk home alone every day."