School not letting my child from the school

[Kutika]

I have read numerous discussions where people mention that schools cannot legally prevent a child from leaving, yet I find myself in this exact situation. The school is refusing to allow my child to leave, despite my clear instructions. I've sent an email, filed a complaint with the trust, and even contacted the police, but to my surprise, none of these actions have resolved the issue. I was told by the head teacher that the law does not apply to them. Any ideas on who to contact?

Did you miss that this is not infants? It’s year 5 ie junior school. Of course they don’t hand over kids individually to named adults in junior school.

They have no authority to do so.

This is getting tiring now.

This is an issue I think overall that we coddle and protect children and primary school and try and protect them from things under the guise of safeguarding before throwing them into high school and expect them to survive a completely different environment

walking home from 10 a sensible distance is a completely practical and sensible step for getting children ready. DS certainly did as we live down the road and it was just crossing a road. Others who lived farther away would pick up at ours at the beginning before they were allowed to go by themselves in year 6

its not like a switch goes off in the Septemver before high school that gives them the skill set they need gradual experience and exposure

and year 5 is the time to start

They have no legal authority to insist on uniform either…

Well hang on, this is outside of school hours. What jurisdiction does the school have at 2pm on a Saturday afternoon or 10pm on a Sunday night? Once the school day finishes the responsibility falls on the parent or guardian, and this parent has already given permission for her child to walk home.

@EvangelicalAboutButteredToast totally different. The school is releasing the child from their care and needs to be sure they'll be safe.

@Kutika if as you say it's an estate with everyone going that way, can't you ask a parent if she can walk home with their children?

Unless of course there's nobody there to let her into the house

Incorrect:

“Pupil non-compliance
Teachers can discipline pupils for breaching the school’s rules on appearance or uniform. This should be carried out in accordance with the school’s published behaviour policy.
We would expect schools to deal with pupil non-compliance in a proportionate and fair way. Guidance on behaviour and discipline in schools is available.“

I read your comment and agree—they shouldn't be able to do this. Yet, they are holding my child. The last email I received stated that if I don’t collect my child, social services will be involved. My response was simple: let's involve them and explain why you’re not allowing my child to walk home. I won't keep my child in school without collecting but maybe I need to speak with her to explain the reasons behind it.
It looks like the ASC is part of the same school and the trust. I will be questioning their insurance policy regarding the child without consent.

It’s not totally different at all. The parent could turn up at school and insist they take their child at 3pm and the school would have to hand the child over. The parents rights trump the schools.

That’s the perfect response. Call their bluff. Social services will not have an issue with what you are doing.

@EvangelicalAboutButteredToast but it is. The parent wants their kid to go god knows where alone. OP is very insistent that people will be home but doesn't answer why the people at home can't just go and get the child!

There has to be better battles that your energy could be put towards. This really is a case of refusal to back now and where it is about winning.

We moved to this estate two years ago, so I don’t know many parents here. If it were our previous school, this wouldn’t be an issue. Yes, there is someone at home and the Child will not be alone. Anyone whos saying for my Hubby to take 20min or 10min or 5min. Sometimes he cant do it because of the meetings. For someone with really great companies maybe they can be flexible but this is not the case. Again the school is not releasing the children dead on time to arrange the exact moment of picking up.

I still can't see the point in having such a fraught combative relationship with the school over this issue. You don't even want to change this rule for everyone, just for your specific exception. Why would you even want to send your child to a school where you have called the police on them, written formal complaints, and they have responded by suggesting that social services should be called? How is any of that of benefit to your child? How can you trust the school if you think they are acting illegally to the point that you call the police? It's all so extreme.

@Kutika that's an excuse. Approach a parent.

You've changed your tune from him getting home just as the child would arrive, to your husband working from home and not being able to leave?

So presumably you phone school when your child doesn't arrive home on time and they say she's in the ASC? At that point (having already sent an email like was suggested earlier), I would reiterate that I would not be collecting my child from the ASC either and that she would need to walk home. On a darker and more empty street so less safely.

They will find that the police and SS are profoundly uninterested, so I don't see what alternative they will have to sending her home.

Honestly you’re wrong. We had training on this recently from both the head and the CEO of the academy trust and they have stated the school has no legal ability to stop a child from walking home. They can express concern and involve the relevant authorities, but they can’t stop the child from leaving if the parent has given permission. There is no legal age for a child to be left alone either. There is an age for a child to be solely responsible for another child and that’s 14.

If someone will take your child and won't let it out what will you do? Sit, stay and follow what was told to you. This is what you have to do? The reason for this is that there would be an alternative option for everyone in Year 5/6. As I noted previously one rule doesn't fit all.

I would collect my child. Not "sit, stay and follow", I'm not a dog. If I thought the policy was unfair, inflexible and so on, I would raise it at the next parent partnership meeting, with the class parent rep, the parent governor etc etc explaining why I thought my version of the policy was better for everyone.

You can raise but you are ignored.

The OP has explained that her daughter would be going home, not god knows where, and that hr husband works from home but can't always leave for 10 minutes to pick his daughter up, as he may be on calls or in meetings.

I think you're over dramatizing a bit.

I'm gathering from your absolute refusal to confirm who actually is at home, that the only person in the house at the time your dd would be walking home is your 14 yr old dd. I imagine that is the real problem

I don't know how you have the energy to cause such a fuss over something which will change in a few month's anyway. Isn't all this stressful for your child/ being told one thing by you, another by the school, not knowing what's going to happen at hometime etc. is it really worth all the aggro?

Well op you sent your child to a school that has a clear policy on safeguarding with respect to allowing children home unsupervised. In year 5, many schools might have a policy that allows this but you are being very unreasonable to expect them to implement differing rules based on the character of the child and the exact route home how likely they are to be influenced by peer pressure to pop down through local shops or park etc.

You are talking like they have kidnapped your child and calling the police etc but schools have in loco parents responsibility to keep your child safe as you well know. A parent telling them "fuck that you have my permission because it's 300 yards to let them walk home alone" does not absolve them of this legal duty.

Either arrange for someone to collect the child for you like other working parents, make after school arrangements or send them to a different school whose policies you agree with.