Should I let him get the bus to school alone?? Help!

[Cmarie74]

Hey fellow parents,

So we recently got a section 21 to be out of our home this month, we have now left and staying with family until our new house is ready, partner is using his mum's car to take our 10yr old to school at the moment (we've moved out of the village we were living in) but once we move into our own house the only way for our Son to go to school is the bus.. he's in year 6 and I've been against changing schools during his last year incase it's too distressing for him, he also doesn't want to change school and says he will try the bus, only problem is, its a 2 bus journey! 15mins each with a quick change over at the bus station between the 2 areas .. does anybody else's child do this? He's 11 in 4months but he's a bit of a nervous kid in certain situations and I'm worried he'll panic doing the journey alone.
Advice please?! Really don't want to uproot him from the school and friends he loves but am I being too soft about it? He really wants to stay there 😞

I think it would be fine. Does he have a phone he can call you on?

I thin it would be fine. You will need to do the journey with him several times so that he knows where the various stops are.
Also make sure he leaves plenty of time in case there are cancellations.
Also make sure he knows what to do if the bus doesn't turn up etc.

My DC changed school for Y6 and was doing a train/bus combo with the change in a busy town. He managed fine.

I think it depends where you live.
Absolutely no way my kids would be doing that journey - but then our local bus station is a vile place, and I don't particularly feel safe there.
If it is a busy, well lit, decent Interchange, and a kid who knows buses well, it sounds possible.

You would need to do the full journey with him for a bit, and then maybe a bit longer meeting him in the middle.

Thanks guys, I've said I will do a few practice journeys with him before we move so he knows where he's going.. it's a decent bus station too, quite big but not a maze, it's our local one so he's been in it a million times with me.. he did have a phone but broke it a few weeks back but I'll definitely be getting him a new one now incase he needs me..
@Seeline how did they manage a train and bus? Were they scared or did they just get on with it as needs must?

They managed fine. The train station is only a few minutes from us, and then 2 stops. The bus stop was right outside the station the other end and stopped outside the school. He started in the Junior form of a indy secondary so there were lots of other students around at the bus stop to follow. He had a phone and I was able to go and collect in emergencies.

I’d take a day’s annual leave if I were you, and do the journeys there and back with him, letting him take the lead. Just one day, maybe two. He’ll feel confident enough then.

Tell him what to do in the event of bus cancellations etc (download the bus company app) and insist he keeps his ‘phone on. You could add the FindMyPhone app if you wanted so that you can keep a virtual eye on him at the beginning.

Good luck in your new home!

Do some practice runs with him at quiet times and try to take a day off to do the first morning journey with him if you or his dad can. I think it's best to let him finish year 6 at his current school and that doing the journey alone will increase his confidence.

Do some practise runs with him, and he'll be fine. Loads of kids do this in Y7 anyway so good to get used to it.

That's great @Seeline, having other local kids around to follow always helps.

Thanks Pastor! Still waiting for references to complete but hoping to be in next weekend, then we'll see how he goes 😊

@AegonT @PinkRoses1245 practice runs will be done for sure, and I rationalize that loads of Yr 7s do this everyday so there's not much difference really, Yr 6 is a big year and I'd hate to disrupt it.
Thanks guys ❤️

Do the full journey once or twice before the move, and maybe for the first two days do the home-station part with him.

Is his old school a feeder for the high school he will go to in September? If not, what is the point in keeping him with friends he will be separated from in September anyway?

@SecondUsername4me yeah I think that's an idea, a few times before then a few real days half way sounds good 👍

@KaiserChefs yeah it is, the high school is less than 5mins away from his primary school, but we're moving about 15min away by car so not sure if he'll still be able to go to that school based on the new house being right near another high school, I assume he will though because I see kids from out of the area coming up to his school by bus from the other side of town, so technically if he's okay on the bus to primary he'd be fine carrying on doing the same for the high school in that same area, alot of his friends will be going there I think, another reason I don't want to change now!

With that update re the likely high school, definitely go for it. He'll be an old hand at using the bus by the time he starts there so one bit easier at that transition. And he'll be motivated to deal with using the bus now as he wants to stay at his primary.

@ErrolTheDragon these are my exact thoughts now yes, it makes sense doesn't it.. if he stays in this school he'll still be able to go to the high school he wants, good incentive to be brave enough to use the bus now.