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.

There is a developmental reason why it tends to start around 7. Something to do with impulse control. I can’t find the research right now but it’s around somewhere. Also there are way more cars around now than when I was a child making it more dangerous.

In the UK, it is very late. In Switzerland where I grew up I walked to school on my own from Grade 1, age 6 years old, with a friend. It was a straightforward 15 minute walk. We loved it. Neighbours/older kids look out for the younger children.

Some kids even walked to preschool alone age 4-5. My British mother was horrified….

At my daughter’s school year 6 may leave by themselves. I remember in the last term of year 5 we were struggling with a grown up to collect DD1 so I told the school she was leaving by herself (to walk to the park for half an hours playing until I could get to her) and I had a fight with the school about it,

I remember running home from school alone to see my new baby sister, I was 5 😳

I also collected same sister, then 4/5 from infant school when I was at the neighbouring junior school, we walked home together and I would prepare dinner ready for when my parents came home!

It depends on the school. At the school I work at, a handful of children start walking home from Year 4. You can get to some quiet back roads through the school playing field.
At my child’s school, down the road, the parking is awful. Very dangerous behaviour such as pulling right up onto pavement, parking on the yellow zigzags, parking on the crossing and dangerous driving. It’s only a matter of time before something happens and it’s not going to be my child. I will pick him up, even in year 6.
Some of them are such selfish drivers and they don’t care. The school have had the police round but the next day when they aren’t there, it’s back to normal.
We walk, obviously (and live further away from the school than most of the parents!).

I think it's very area dependent. We have a Middle School system. They leave First School in year 4 and every single child leaves the school grounds alone from y5 upwards. Many get met half way home, or just up the road/hill.
My Y5 would like to walk all the way home, and it's safe, but I like the chat, so we meet half way. I think he secretly likes it as he holds my hand when we have moved away from all of his friends!

In the 70s (London) my sister and I (twins) caught the bus/walked on our own from age 6. Our local school here seems to be Y6 and sometimes from summer term Y5.

Same as had a life once. Walked home alone or with friends from junior age. Looked after siblings from about 9. Different world

In the 70s I walked about a mile to school with my older sister from the day I started age 4. But as others have said the roads were much quieter and safer then.

My DM recently mentioned that when I got concussion at school, age 5/6 and she didn’t answer the phone I was sent home with an older pupil walking with me in case I was sick on the way!

At the village school my DC went to, up to 5 yrs ago, even the mother who lived opposite the school had to come into the playground to pick up her DC. You can see the house door from the school.

They are your children, if you deem them responsible enough to walk home alone that’s your decision, no one else’s.

I am German and do find it strange that children under 10/11 are ferried around everywhere.

My nieces and our friend's children all walk/cycle on their own unless there is a real reason not to. OK, cycling works as we have a proper cycling network with lanes etc but otherwise I doubt that German children are so different from UK ones.

We actually have traffic education in late kindergarten (so end of Infant age wise) to teach them how to cross road, what to do when walking alone etc.

I hated the fact that I felt I actually stiffled DD's independent instead of teaching her.

I was really meaning more recently as in the last 10 years or so, things seem to have got stricter regarding schools letting children go home alonr. My son went from y3., now if I said he could walk home alone they wouldn't let him go and call SS if I wouldn't collect him, is that the case?

Is there an England/Scotland split do you think? It looks as though the Scottish posters are describing a more relaxed attitude than the English.
I live in a Scottish city and its pretty normal for upper primary school kids to be going about their business sans grown ups in the residental neighbourhoods. I can't really remember the same when I lived in the South East of England but that might just have been because I wasn't really paying attention to that section of society at that time.

They have to let him go. They can call SS if they deem it a CP issue, but while SS would probably advise against it and so would I, I doubt it would meet the threshold for further intervention on its own.

A German girl joined my DCs class in Year 4. The mum was horrified at the restrictions here as her DD had been walking to the bus stop and catching a bus alone since age 6. Apparently it wad the norm there.

I left primary school in 1986. Walked home alone for the whole of juniors. Maybe also infants. I have a much younger sister - my mum asked at a school meeting when she was about 9 - 1995- “when are they allowed to walk to school on their own?” and was met with shocked looks and gasps.

So somewhere between 1986 and 1995.

My DC’s first primary only allowed it in year 6. Current junior school encourages it from year 5 so I’m sure they’d allow it year 4. I think the fact they are a junior not a primary is relevant, and the traffic isn’t as bad as school 1. I love seeing these confident younger children walking to and from school.

@Grumpasaurusrex

Year 5 and 6 are still young. I'd definitely not allow my child to walk home alone before this age (or even at this age!).

But in year 7 many children are getting the bus independently to a different town/village, walking or cycling and crossing busy roads to get to secondary schools. I think it makes sense for a 10 or 11 year old to get used to this by doing a (usually short) walk to primary school, its good practise.

I regularly see year 5 & 6 children walking (or cycling/scooting) home from school alone in our village - south coast England.

My youngest two walked to school together from year 5 & 6, my eldest from year 5 on their own. I felt they were all sensible enough by this age.

@SometimesMaybe

small town in Scotland here and children don’t have to be dropped off/collected from p3 (age7 though most are) and vast majority are walking alone by p5 (age 9).

Similar here too (am in Scotland as well)

Didn't have to collect from the classroom either at younger ages. Kids let into the playground to find their adult.

Back in the 60s at 7 I went to and from school on my own, either by bike or bus, including a return trip at lunch time.

My DS goes to an east london zone 2 primary school - all year 6's walk home on their own. I can't think of one who doesn't.

We are very happy to let our children in these years go if we have written permission from parents. It's not a case of schools insisting that they are picked up, it's parents jobs to assess the danger there. But we don't want something to go wrong on the journey home and then be accused of neglect for letting the child go, so we either clearly hand them over to a named adult or release the ones with permission.

It must be very much an area based thing. My kids were both walking home alone by the end of P2, so were almost 7 and just turned 7. This was in 2004 and 2009, and I now it hasn’t changed since

@tigger1001 amd @SometimesMaybe I’m also I’m Scotland, no written permission needed here, suburb of city