To think Year 4 is too young to walk home from school alone

[user63214]

School have just announced years 4 and above can walk home alone. My DS has autism so maybe my view is distorted but he is only 8. Whilst it’s obviously still up to us they seem to be pushing it abit reminding us to sign consent forms.
We are off a fairly busy road and the parking/driving situation at peak pick up times is not always very safe.

I get it from year 6 preparing children for secondary school. AIBU?

In Scotland it is generally around P2-3 ie Y2 with them being told if you are expecting someone and they aren't there to walk back into school. England is not intrinsically more dangerous than Scotland , France Germany etc. Scotland is not all rural villages the same rules apply in Glasgow Dundee etc
Ultimately it is parents decision but with some schools it might involve sending A formal letter then simply not showing up, the school will not refuse to release all evening social services are not interested in school rules unless there is an actual specific safeguarding risk to that particular child.

Depends where you live when my eldest was younger we lived opposite the school and their was a lollypop lady think about 10 steps and he would be home so it was a bit irritating having to fetch him everyday before they allowed him to come home himself but now we live further from the school I will be collecting my 2 youngest until their much older.

It depends on the child. One of mine would be fine and one has SEND so would be a definite no. Just don’t give permission if your child isn’t ready.

Mine walked alone from 7. It was only about 200 m with one busy road which was right outside the house so i could watch them over.

As others have said, depends very much on the child and the route. Also how much independence the child is used to. My first child was obviously less independent than my third for example. The third child was very keen to do things on his own, loved to be able to be off on his own. If you have confidence in your child’s abilities then a good parent will allow the child the space and opportunity. But definitely all children are different and it’s up to the parent to decide what they are happy for child to do alone.

It depends on the area, route, and the child. It might be too young for your child but that doesn't mean its too young for other children. In my country they start school at 6/7 years old and they all walk or bike alone unless they live further away and get driven in (only one school in my whole town so some are coming from quite far, though if over 5km they get picked up by the school bus). My DS is 7 and walks to school by himself but doesn't walk home alone as he goes to afterschool club and I don't want him coming home to an empty house yet so I pick him up after work. One day a week my 14 year old picks him up and that's also fine. He also walks/bikes to friends houses by himself, yesterday I let him cross the main road, after reinforcing once again the rules for crossing the road. Next year I'll let him walk to town (3/4km away but very simple route straight down the main road) to go to his hobbies by himself, others his age are already going to hobbies by themselves but they live closer to the town centre than we do.

I have a year 3 (one of the oldest) and I wouldn't let him walk alone to and from school but it's a mile away. Instead he walks with his brother in year 6 (one of the youngest in his year) with me trailing from a distance so I can just about see them. Then when we are nearly at school I let them go alone and I turn around. I can't see them after that but they are 30 seconds away with loads of other parents and the lollipop lady so it would be pretty obvious if somebody tried to kidnap them.

There will still be some people uncomfortable with what my children are doing and insist they will get kidnapped if they aren't directly next to me and there will be others who were letting their child walk to school at 5 who think I'm being to OTT.

It's very much child, parent and area dependent so whilst it's a bit young for me it might not be for someone else.

It doesn’t mean school think all children are ok to leave and walk home at this age it just means that school are allowed to let parents make the decision from that age. The point is that school are not making this decision, you are.

Some parents at my child’s school park up nearby but allow their child to walk to the car which when parking is an issue/or time, can be helpful. Or they wait down the path from school for them but they can leave school alone. Some meet them on a local park nearby in summer so as not to be dragging younger kids to wait in the playground. Some walk home with older siblings.

We allowed our yr5 to walk home when we are WFH and a friend from the street was walking home too. When our son is in Year 4 if our daughter was in year 6 I would be happy for them to walk home together.

Lots of options before doing the full walk home with a door key.

I find it hard to believe you’re being pushed into letting you kid walk home. The office will send reminders because ppl will expect to let their kids walk without signing.
if you don’t want, just don’t sign surely?
and your question is unreasonable. The same answer doesn’t apply to every kid obviously! There are so many factors to take into consideration.

Mine walked from age 7/8. With friends not alone. 5 minute walk through residential streets, no major roads. He was always super sensible though. Played out from then too with all his friends after school, who were also all neighbours. Really is child/area dependent.

I let DS start walking places by himself in yr4.

It's a quiet estate, no big roads nearby. He doesn't actually have to cross roads to get to school. We have lots of neighbours that he knows and would help him if needed.

He's sensible and can be fairly mature in a way that many of his peers aren't. Id have said a had no to many of them in yr4.

For some children it's totally appropriate from yr4. For others absolutely not.

It depends on the child and the area.

YABU because it depends on the child. My dd walked to & from school from the age of 8 as we could see the school gate entrance from our house & she wanted to do it. I'm a bit sick & tired of hearing about how the world is so unsafe these days when it's no more unsafe than 50 years ago

My DD asked to be able to walk to school on her own for an 8th birthday present!

It was a pretty safe route, so she got her wish.

Just tell the school you plan to continue to pick your child up for now.

It used to be normal for kids to walk home alone from 6 or 7 years old. What has changed in the meantime, except adults' perception of how dangerous the world is? Because traffic was a lot more dangerous in the 80s/90s, and I don't know of any evidence that crime against children has increased in the last decades. I think it's really important for children to learn that the world outside isn't too dangerous for them to survive. An 8 year old who is walking home alone (it's actually more likely they'll be walking with friends) gains in self-esteem and problem solving capacities. At least that's what I decided when I realised my 8 year old couldn't even unlock the front door without struggling because there had always been an adult to do it for him!

I find it odd the difference in attitude between England and Scotland. We live in a Scottish city and most will walk on their own by the end of P5, some much younger. We only had to collect them from the classroom in P1, so from P2 onwards I just waited for them at the gate.

Depends on route and child.

We are in Cornwall and my DSs route was safe in many ways but he was a dreamer! He would wander up our hill in his own dreamworld and possibly miss cars coming straight out onto the road from their small hidden parking spaces. So, we waited to allow him to walk home a few more years than his sister.

This is purely a culture question, 8 year olds in the UK are no intrinsically less able or safe then 8 year olds elsewhere in Europe.

It's right that the school are leaving this to parental choice rather than imposing their own opinions.

I think it depends enormously on the exact details of the route (any difficult road crossings, roads without pavements, remote areas etc), the maturity and understanding level of the individual child and whether there are likely to be any issues with bullying. I would certainly not make a blanket statement that it is unsuitable for any Year 4s. I personally would have been happy for my own children to walk home alone at that age (very short journey, one road crossing with a lollipop man) but that particular school didn't allow it.

But you know your child best and if you don't think he is ready, you absolutely do not have to let yourself be pressurised into allowing it. You might even find that if you are still collecting him, some other children who nominally walk alone rather like walking alongside you.

My 8 year old in Year 3 could easily and safely walk home from school. It's 0.3 miles from our house.

I think it should be up to parents to decide at any age. Both of mine were perfectly capable from year 1, and would sometimes go on their own at that age when needed (school never noticed). From year 3 the school would release them after school to either walk or go and find their parent so could walk both ways on their own from that age, saved me a fortune in after school club and my DC were much happier.

I'm in Germany so primary school starts at 6yo. I've never heard of a school stopping children from walking home alone. Of course you can collect your child if you want to but that would be unusual a 6 let alone 8!

Just because he’s allowed doesn’t mean he has to - you do what’s right for your child and others can do what’s right for theirs.

anecdotally my daughter walked home in p6 (so 9/10) but my son has always been more independent and started walking himself home in p4 (he was 8). It’s a mile to the school with several crossings. But he’s unusually early and I don’t think many in his class are walking themselves even now a year later.

Depends on the child, the route, so many other factors. In Scotland we generally do not have these set rules about what class the children need to be in before being allowed, schools leave it to parents to judge.

At my local school there are lots of 8 year olds walking home in groups or with siblings.

DS is in year 4. He’s capable of doing it but there’s a big road to cross and I nearly got run over crossing it so I would worry about him crossing it solo.