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.

It’s has always been the rule at all the schools I know and even when I was at school it was end term of year five or year six. My brother in year 4 wasn’t allowed to leave and walk home with me.

It’s a sensible rule under tens really don’t have the capacity to safely travel alone. Really under is still dangerous as they don’t have the ability to judge the speed and distance of cars accurately enough before age 12.

We live abroad. I would never allow my child to walk to school or back in London. And yet at 6/7 years she was walking to school alone and back from school from 8 years.

The difference is that 1) this is the norm here (Germany) and often kids walk in groups 2) unless you got to a private school - you must go to the nearest primary school 3) i do find that (in general) people and drivers are more aware of kids walking to and from school at those times. And they have massive backpacks!

I also travelled alone to school in the eighties and my school was a sport one so it was on the other side of town . I guess it’s an example of changing general attitudes

DC caught the train from Y5 with a couple of friends, then walked the mile to school together.

@lottiegarbanzo

When did it change? Probably in line with the increase in road traffic and at the same time as children have moved to doing more organised activities in the evening and at weekends, rather than just 'playing out' together.

Our love of cars has a lot to answer for. We have certainly, collectively, prioritised the freedom and convenience cars offer us, adults, over children's freedom to roam and to grow up independent.

A parallel question I would ask, is how many of us knew children who were hit or killed by cars, when we were in primary school? I remember one serious head injury in my junior school years.

Changes in rules and attitudes, even against a backdrop of increasing road traffic, have saved a lot of lives.

I never hear people seriously propose the opposite approach; a drastic reduction in car use and ownership for the sake of children's health, safety and freedom.

A combination of increased traffic, more kids being collected by someone other than parents, but I think the main thing is that kids don’t all go to the local school now. So many live a large walk or drive away.

That in turn has lead to less children walking to school so the “safety in numbers” dropped, which lead to less children walking alone, and so on.

About 8 years ago I'd only watch Y3s go individually to parents til Oct half term and after that they were just let loose. Now we only let Y6 go off with explicit permission from parents, other than that they are all seen off to parents. It's a mix of greater safeguarding expectations from the school but also definitely from parents - I got in real trouble for turning my back to pick up a child's jumper from the table 1 metre behind me (if that - I don't believe my feet moved from the spot) because a Y3 child then moved in front of me, where they waited for their parent. The parent saw it happen and said their child could have walked through the door, past the teacher on the gate and then got run over. Frankly, unless the child has additional needs by Y3 they should know to wait for their parent without being locked in.

I was in primary school in the 90s, I don't remember if there was any rules that children had to be collected by a parent. When we were in juniors we were just let out the front door at home time to the front yard where parents were waiting but I don't recall a teacher making sure we left with a parent. But my mum always picked me up anyway even though I walked to school alone from year 4, because she enjoyed having a chat with the other mums at the school gate! Plus it was the time when I would ask if I could go to so-and-sos house or if so-and-so could comes to ours.

I live in Finland now and DD started preschool at 6 years old, I walked her the first week and then after that she walked alone, all the teacher asked was that I signed a letter giving permission for that year. From 1st grade the school didn't care but did discourage 1st and 2nd graders from cycling alone as they don't do bike safety until 3rd grade. Dropping off and picking up by car is strongly discouraged and there's road signs that go up every August with a picture of children and big words saying "DON'T DRIVE OVER US!"

@Scarby9

Can we work from the other end? I was at primary school in the late 60s and we walkked alone from the age of 6 (a mile, crossing the road outside the school with a lollipop man). It was definitely the norm then.

Anyone with experience in the 2970s?

Early to mid 70s From about age 6 we walked by ourselves - me and 2 db. Ok they were older (2.5 years between us) so elder brother was just over 8 and had responsibility for 2 younger siblings. We walked about 2 miles- maybe just under, to school every day. Home time my mum would collect us or meet us half way to get a bus back the rest of the way, we had to cross multiple roads, walk through a city centre etc. but everyone did the same We also walked ourselves to various other things like the swimming pool (2 miles away). We also were allowed to cycle at will around the city and surrounding countryside. We were basically turfed out in the morning if it was a nice day and only come back for lunch. I think it was still the norm then. I don’t think anyone raised any eyebrows. It was a time when mums left prams outside shops with baby in to pop in quickly. Ok traffic was lighter, a bit slower on fast roads but not around towns. Crime stats don’t hold up to say it was safer for children then vs now…fairly unchanged in terms of murders, abductions. Less knife crime amongst teenagers , sure, but this isn’t the age group we’re talking about. I think some of it is to do with cars. We didn’t have a car. We didn’t have a lot of money. My parents couldn’t afford to send us by bus to school or pool etc. Dad would leave to go to work by train early in morning. My mum didn’t have the time to walk us (it must have taken about an hour as I remember leaving at 8am everyday) as she was working too , so no alternative .

You can promote independence without kids walking home from the age of 5 or 6. And walking home, on its own, won't promote it. So I don't really understand that objection.

My year 6 now cycles home by herself. It worries my slightly as a mum, but she wants to do it and I know it’s good for her independence. I was cycling all over the place at her age.

My brother and I started school aged four. One week of pick ups so you knew where you where going then you where on your own. There and back.

Not sure why a 5 year old needs to be that independent anyway

When dc1 left primary in 2013 juniors were allowed to leave without a parent if you had written a letter to state you were happy with this. By the time dc4 left in 2020 only y6 were allowed to leave. I’ve no idea what happened to prompt the change. I only heard about 2 “complaints”, both involving y6 dc and both non-issues and I think if anything had happened I would know because I’m a right nosy cow.

I started going to school and walking back home when I was in year 4, that was in 2007. My sister was allowed to walk home from year 5 and that was only 4 years ago. Couldn’t imagine both of our schools saying you can’t go home by yourself and you’re in year 5/6.

I definitely think it’s good practice for when they start commuting to secondary by themselves anyway. Guess it depends where you are

I went to primary in the early / mid 70s. I walked on my own from age 6 (now yr 1) but my mum crossed me over the road outside our house and there was a lollipop lady to cross me over the road outside school. No other roads to cross.

My DC went to primary about a decade ago, they started going to and from school on their own or with friends from yr 5 and had a couple of roads to cross by themselves in a fairly quiet village.

How can the school enforce it? If the parent instructs in writing that the children is to leave, what legal ground would the school have to keep the child back?

They can’t, I said this up thread.

@Icelandicsox

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.

Does look like there’s some England/Scotland split. My DC’s school says they need to be collected by a parent in P1 and 2, but they can make their own way from P3 (age 7/8) and quite a few do. By P6 most kids who walk are doing it alone unless a parent has younger siblings to get too. I like it in principle, although the number of idiot drivers around the school worries me.

My husband swears he went to and from school alone when he was 5. He had to catch two buses each way. It would have been the early 50s and busy area in a big city.

This isn't a "thing" in Scotland. There are no rules about who can and can't walk home from school on their own, it's left entirely up to the parents. Usually for the smallest children the teacher will make sure the child can see who is picking them up before sending them off, but some might walk home with a 10 or 11 year old sibling.

We live very close to school - literally a 1 minute walk down a path - and my kids would come home on their own from day 1.

It seems very odd to me that schools in England are insisting on older children being picked up. No idea how old year 5/6 is, assuming 10 ish?

In Scotland, particularly in areas where there are several small schools and thus small catchments it makes more sense for kids to walk home alone. In our old place there was one main road crossing to get to the school - it has a lollipop lady. New place is opposite direction same school. There's a lollipop lady right outside leading to a housing estate - I'd happily let DC walk home to that estate from pretty young but not beyond because of an unpattrolled road just on the edge of catchment. 1 P2 goes home alone but parent has to wave from the front door before they're released... so they're VERY close.

In England with the less solid catchments there's much more traffic and fewer kids walking - and obviously more parking chaos!

How odd.

Both DSs walked on their own to and from with friends from the age of 8. We're quite rural but the roads are busy at peak times. They knew how to use the crossing and crossed together where there wasn't one.

I was the same age when I did the same.

@zoeFromCity

How can the school enforce it? If the parent instructs in writing that the children is to leave, what legal ground would the school have to keep the child back?

They can’t.

If they have genuine concerns they can contact SS. It would take a massively dangerous route, and probably other major issues, for SS to actually get involved though.

I walked home by myself when I was 7 (yr 3, in the 80s).

DCs school: norm is yr 5, but some of the yr 5/6s are allowed to collect and walk with siblings in yr 3 and 4. But that's on a case by case basis and depends on how far home is etc.

@ancientgran

My husband swears he went to and from school alone when he was 5. He had to catch two buses each way. It would have been the early 50s and busy area in a big city.

He probably did. The Beaumont disappearances were 1966 and that involved very young children alone on a beach and getting on and off buses here

I know that’s Australia but I don’t think the attitudes were hugely different.

@zoeFromCity

How can the school enforce it? If the parent instructs in writing that the children is to leave, what legal ground would the school have to keep the child back?

They can't can they. When my younger two were at primary in the 90s we were told they can't go home for lunch, well yes they could, and they couldn't walk alone at 8 and yes they could do that as well.

I always find it funny the things schools think they can dictate and the things they claim they can do nothing about.