To tell you the school does not decide when your child can walk home alone

[Itisuptoyou]

I keep seeing this on threads and I don’t want to derail what the thread is about.

But the school cannot decide this. You do as parent. It may be you are broadly in agreement with the school and I am but this is your choice and not the schools.

It irrationally annoys me when people claim ‘the schools don’t allow …’ Not up to the school!

@Ponoka7 The only legislative reasons are vague safeguarding. It is bullshit. No one is saying a 5 year old should be left to cross busy roads alone and walk back home. But schools do not get to decide if a 9 year old say can walk home alone.

There will be legislative reasons and that's when you can see if you can negotiate. The plan then has to be written by an appropriate staff member to be put in place.

There is no legislation to dictate the age a child can walk home from school, in the same way there is no legislation to say the age a child can be left home alone. It’s for parents to assess the capacity of their child and make decisions accordingly, for which they are accountable. School policy, local authority guidance etc isn’t legislative.

In this case, the school would phone social work who would advise. Social work may indeed say to release them; or may come and collect the child themselves.

Telling someone in charge of child protection just to keep your child overnight isn’t a great idea.

@TattiePants

why should she?

id rather be 'that parent' or THE parent of the child, than do something 'pointless' just to comply with a daft school rule trying to parent my child. Back in box!

“@JustanothermagicMonday1 I do understand that for some people this would be too risky to challenge. But if you are in a position to challenge it, I think you should. It makes me angry that schools make these rules and act as if they can enforce them. They are not parents.”

Yes, but sometimes schools have more information. In our area, London, there have been multiple abduction attempts in recent years of young children and older, secondary aged children too. The schools all know this and are told straight away, they keep a clear log. Some schools even had to get police escort on school trips. Not all parents are aware of every incident.

So there is just not one size fits all for all primary schools.

Bloody stupid isn't it.

When DS2 started walking home at the start of y5, they rang to confirm the arrangement. I reassured them that it was a very short, simple walk, and that I'd be home within 5-10 mins after picking autistic y7 from his new secondary school.
I don't mind clarifying that he's going safely with my permission to a safe environment. However they would not have a basis to refuse. I don't have spare £££ to blow on 15 mins in the after school provision or local family or avaliable friends to impose on.

The reality was in y4 that I'd turn up at the playground, and send DS2 off ahead anyway lest DS1 have a post-school meltdown. DS2 much prefers the new arrangement!

It needs to be a case by case judgement as children mature at different rates, have different journeys and provision at home. Blanket bans become very shakey to enforce through the junior years. It's normal practice for y7s to walk/ transport themselves to secondaries that are further away and it's healthy to build that up at the child's pace rather than a big gear change because it's the summer that they turned 11. With DS1 that social confidence has been much slower and needed little steps. That doesn't mean other children should be held back to his pace.

The thing is, parents aren’t always the best at addressing the capacity of their children to walk home. A 14-15 year old May still not have capacity to walk home safely, or a 7 year old May have the capacity. It isn’t about age per se. It’s about keeping the child safe.

In Japan, it's normal for children to go to school by themselves (and home) from age 7. And I don't mean just walking, I mean trains.........THEY'RE SO CUTE lol

@Jellycatspyjamas there are parents who’ve tried this and school got furious, child was caught up in it.

I don’t much care if the school are furious, they need to work within the limits of their authority and not try to enforce decisions that actually belong to the parent. And if they then made my child’s life difficult because of it they’d be hearing from me. I’m supportive of schools, teachers have a difficult job but they don’t know better than I do what’s right for my child and my family.

So, you dd's particular needs don't , in your opinion, impair her judgement for those activities, but there will be a lot of of children with a huge range of different SENs, where the impact is that their RA will be impaired. I'm not sure what your point is.

The thing is, parents aren’t always the best at addressing the capacity of their children to walk home. A 14-15 year old May still not have capacity to walk home safely, or a 7 year old May have the capacity. It isn’t about age per se. It’s about keeping the child safe.

You really think parents don’t know their own children and their capacity? My 10 year old would be perfectly able to get himself safely home, my 12 year old wouldn’t. I don’t need a teacher to tell me that. I live with my children, love and support them, I foster their development and know them better than anyone. I also, more than anyone, am deeply invested in their care and wellbeing. That’s the case for the vast majority of parents, and where that’s not the case walking home from school is usually the very least of the concerns.

@GneissGuysFinishLast And what do you think Social Services reaction will be if a school refuses to release a child into her 16 year old brothers care to walk home? SS will refuse to get involved. It is a case of the school being ridiculous, not of neglect that SS would get involved in.

I think we need to stand up against petty rule-setters exercising their power in ridiculous ways.

Yeah, because it's SO easy & so much better to find another school and disrupt your child. Than the alternative is to explain the YOU are the child's parent and YOU are giving the child permission to walk home.

Same with Drs/Dentists appointments etc. I'm not asking the school permission to take my child, I'm simply informing them.

@Padamae But the school has no right to set a rule. If they think there is neglect they should tackle that. School are way overstepping their authority.

That’s fantastic. The vast majority of parents ARE able to make this decision.

Some aren’t though, and of course the school should intervene to protect those children.

I’m saying this as someone who saw an unaccompanied 7 year old walking home at least half a mile, alone, while throwing stones at passing cars, running across roads forcing cars to slam on brakes, and shouting abuse at anyone who tried to help.

I agree with Dr and Dentist appointments as well. I value my kids education. I do not take them to the GP for every sniffle. But if I decide they need to go then they go. I am letting you know, that is all.

@GneissGuysFinishLast A child behaving like that at 7 - walking home alone will be the least of their home issues.

in Scotland the general rule appears to be that P1 (YR)are handed directly to a parent, for P2 and p3 ( Y1-2) the teacher comes to gate and asks kid if they can see their parent, P4 (Y3) onwards kids ages 7-8 are let go and told to come back to the school if they were expecting to be met and no one was there
This applies in Glasgow as well as remote Highland villages what is intrinsically different about kids south of the border that need to be so much older

at the end of the day if you send a letter to school saying we consider little cottage cheese old enough and mature enough to walk to and from school alone so from now on he has our permission to arrive and leave school by himself. That in 99% of cases is the end of the matter the school may consult LA or SS but unless school has deep real concerns that this is a serious danger to the child because of SEN, the route etc then the parental approval can't be overridden

I agree OP.

My friend is a headteacher and she's said exactly what you are saying. The school cannot enforce this policy. So if they don't release a child and you don't turn up to collect, they won't get very far with social services!

We teach our children to only cross when there are no cars or the cars have already stopped so they don't need to judge speed. And drivers are taught to watch out for children, slow down and prepare to give way if they see children at the side of the road. I'm learning to drive right now and everyone has to do compulsory theory lessons which cover this (along with our teacher telling us several stories about children getting run over, to really drill it home), with campaigns at the end of summer every year reminding drivers that schools are starting back soon and small children will be walking (they like to put up warning signs with a picture of children and the words "don't drive over us" on)
DD's route to school doesn't even have pavements for half the way so they have to walk on the road but still haven't heard of any accidents involving children in all the years I've lived here.

I do not live my life as if life is very dangerous and any risks should be totally avoided. Not everyone's view, but I view that kind of life as a life half lived. And I do not want my children to live like that either.
Life is for living, I have encouraged independence and tackling challenges confidently in my children. I want them to be able to travel abroad at 18 and manage by themselves for example - if they want to.

Most parents work until 530 who could then have Up to an hours commute which would then leave a child below the age of 10 if they were allowed to walk home from school alone in the house for several hours

Parents aren't allowed to leave their kids home alone below the age of what 14???

Trust me I would LOVE to let my kids walk home and not have to spend a fortune on before/after school care