Aibu to ask when and why it became the norm for schools not to allow juniors to make their own way home?

[RedHelenB]

Seems they need parents to collect them from the class teacher up until y5 or 6 now, whereas a few years ago my dc orimary school.Just let them out at hometime and stonewalled home, somewhere collected by older siblings and some by oarents. Just one staff member by the junior entrance.

@MrsPsmalls

Its madness. Only at Christmas in year 6 was DS allowed to walk home from school by himself. Come the following September he had to travel 6 miles on two buses to get to his secondary school.

Bur 9bviously that is up to you as the parent with PR....school can say what they like...but they cannot enforce this...children's services would just NFA any referral for this

In a city in Scotland.
P1&2 are released from the door direct to a parent.
P3&4 are generally met at the school gate although many walk home with an older sibling and a small number walk themselves.
P5,6&7 generally see themselves to and from school and p5+ can sign themselves out of afterschool club with parents say so at the start of the year.

Just out of interest what are your school rules for children arriving at school? Do you have to take them to the classroom?

@ElinoristhenewEnid they get dropped at the gate by any random person and handed over.

In fact it'd knock your socks off how many get dispensed from cars that have tucked in on the zig zags. Door opens, kids turf out. God help any cyclists on the near side.

@ElinoristhenewEnid

Just out of interest what are your school rules for children arriving at school? Do you have to take them to the classroom?

Parents are not allowed in the school grounds so those dripping off do so at the gate.

Those children who walk, cycle or take the bus make their own way in.

We could walk home alone from yr5 when I was at school, so 97/98. We have middle schools where I am now (yrs5-8) and most children within walking distance once they're settled into Yr5. My DC have navigated the trip by themselves from this age. As it is the norm here they tend to meet up with friends and head in, plus there are crossings with lights or lollipop people and cycle lanes to facilitate this. I think its fantastic for the kids to learn this independence and skill set from a young age. I appreciate that this is made possible here by the schools set up and extra measures in and around the local town.

High school discos, the yr7s & yr8s (age 11-13) can't leave at 8:30pm without a parent to sign them out

I remember when ds was about that age, he did a holiday activity at our local leisure centre and they told me I had to set a password to collect him. I laughed out loud, and told ds not to pretend he didn't know me or DH so they asked for the password. I suppose if there was an emergency it is good to have a password, but not for routine pick-ups by parents/usual carers.

@Amymegandbethandjo

I don’t actually think primary school aged children should be walking to and from school without an adult, but it doesn’t change the fact that this isn’t the schools call to make.

I agree, but it should be ok for them to go home with a secondary school aged sibling. Yes something could happen but it could happen with an adult, too eg a car could mount the curb while I was walking along the pavement with a dc. And either way it's nothing to do with the school as you say. They're responsible for the child while it's in their care, not before or after.

I think some kids were taken to school in the 70s and 80s, I was, and I wasn't the only one. We weren't laughing stocks at all. But far fewer women drove then and we were very unusual in that we were a two car household, so I guess that was also a reason for kids taking themselves and their siblings.

But since covid, the school run is effectively the rush hour on the roads. It would be so much better if more kids could take themselves to/from school.

In the 90s we walked home from school (5-10 minutes, no big roads to cross) from Year 4 onward. There were about 20 of us going the same way so we walked in a little group... I didn't realise that was unusual!