What age is considered appropriate before a child can do this...

[Poppymayday]

Get themselves home from a local school, let themselves in and stay home alone for an hour or so until adult gets back home?

8? FFS 🤣

What's wrong with being in an empty house for an hour in the late afternoon? They're not cooking, they're not laying an open fire, they're putting on the TV, reading a book or playing on consoles. They can get some squash and biscuits if they need a snack.

Eight is fine.

My mum did the journey to and from school alone age 6 in the 50s! (Although my gran was at home when she got there).

These days, I’d say 10.

Funny how despite mobile phones, CCTV etc we’re so much more risk averse now, rather then less.

Internet has a lot to answer for.

That what your kid did, is it.

10/11 years old at least.

11 I’d say.

Mine too, I wasn't especially comfortable with it but there was little option, they did get a lift back so really were just home alone for an hour.

what if the door bell goes, what if a stranger follows them, what is there’s a gas leak- why’s it so crazy to think that an 8 year old should still be under the eye of a responsible adult at all times.

Year 6 if they're sensible. I'd let my yr6 child trial it and see how they do and feel about it,

To an empty house? Ie no one knows if she's there or not/no one's expecting her? And school are ok with that?

Secondary school age for any child without SEN (does childcare even exist for those in secondary school? I've never heard of it, so what do people expect working parents to do?). Some may be ready a bit earlier.

A ring door bell doesn’t stop cars being stolen or mean the police care any more- you can just see your car being stolen

Getting themselves home is done by children as young as 4-5 where I’m from IF the distance, roads etc are appropriate.

But they will have a parent waiting at home and checking whether they get home within the expected time frame (which is crucial). Which wouldn’t be the case in OP‘s scenario…

Our school will allow children to walk home alone from the summer term of Year 6. My daughter is late-summer born and still a bit immature. Her friend is early autumn born and very grown up. She has made the point that she will be nearly a year older than my daughter when they will both be allowed to walk home unaccompanied.

However, walking home from a local school and being at home alone are two different matters, so whilst I would be happy for my child to make a short walk home from the summer (particularly as she’ll be walking most of the way with friends), we would still want her to come home to an adult.

It feels pretty normal to me to be making your own way to and from school. Including using public transport from beginning of secondary school. However, I don’t know how I would feel about her being home alone even aged 11. I guess it depends on how long for, and what the parents are out doing. Whilst I realise you could be run over/have a heart attack just popping to the shops, knowing that one parent would be home shortly after the pre-teen is different to, for example, one being away on business and the other having the chance of being called into 8 hours of surgery.

I think I did this from about 9/10. But that was the eighties and I did have animals ( dogs, cats and my rabbits) to keep me company and keep me busy until my mum got home a couple of hours later. I was very happy on my own as a I remember, but I am like that generally 😉
I would say for my kids from about 11/ 12 they could manage the same kind of home alone scenario.

Why would school know who is going to be at home?

No, that's what I did. And some kids did lay open fires because they had been taught how to do it safely. We smother and baby children too much these days.

Exactly this. 8 is too young to deal with an emergency. I don't care how sensible/intelligent the child is; it is too young, and too vulnerable to be home alone.

I would say 10 because there are so many factors, the route, if they fall over and who could potentially be watching them let themselves into a house and be alone for an hour every day.

To me it isn't worth the risk. Also locally a 10 year girl walked less than 100 yards from her house to the corner shop when she was abducted by a serial killer in the 1980s, that haunts a lot of parents here. We are overly cautious because although rare, it happened right here.

And as I remember by about 11 I was lighting an open fire, walking the dogs by myself in woodland and then starting the dinner ....
Times have changed and we are far more anxious / risk aware now. Whether that helps or not is debatable I guess 🤷

That is precisely my issue with this as well.

I would want to know whether said child made it home safely.

Whether that‘s by agreeing on a phone call as soon as the DC gets home, tracking via an electronic device etc. If that is possible and if it’s a safe area, I’d guess about 11+ for most children. But it will depend on the child.

Can't you ask the child to stay in a school library for an hour or two? And then pick him or her up?

Thank god we have advanced in the world to learn, and move away from the, "well I was fine/it worked for me" attitude.

Why would it be any of the school's business?