Siblings collecting from primary school age

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What age can siblings collect younger children at your primary School? Just interested as ours recently changed the rules due to a new head teacher and went from 14 to 16 so my 10 year old couldn't be collected by a 15 year old sibling but can leave alone in September 🤔 what's the rules at your kids school?

16 at my children's school

At both the school at which I teach and the one my children go, we can release to any older sibling from secondary school. My 12 year old now collects his Y5 sister on one day a week (no major roads to cross on the way home and he has his phone). From Y5/Y6, the children can walk home on their own with parental permission so it makes little difference.

I think it's 16 at ours. They are allowed to leave alone from y6 so age 10/11.

At our old primary the rule was they had to be collected by someone over 18. Under much sufferance they allowed y6 to walk home if you signed a pile of forms. What happened in practice was hordes of kids were released to a handful of parents who had turned up and everyone went their separate ways once out of the gate. There were a couple of parents in school uniform themselves, and that must have blown the primary school staff's minds.

year 7's can pick up siblings so age 11.

Can leave alone from year 3 so age 7 ( although no school can stop a child leaving alone of any age with parental permission.)

They can walk alone in year 6, and need to be collected by an adult (over 16) if they are younger than that.

Wow! That would never be allowed here, age 14 was only for years 3-5, 16 for the younger years it's now all 16

year 6 only allowed to leave alone at our school

Walk home alone from year 5. Junior school allow secondary age siblings to collect, so 11/12yos collecting 7/8yos. Not sure what the infant school policy is - I've never seen teenagers collecting.

That's the norm for all the local primary schools here.

Allowed to walk home alone from Y5, siblings can collect from age 12. In practice, they let any sibling collect as Y7 will be turning 12 within the year anyway. I've sent my big one to collect the small one a couple of times when I was poorly or running late. I think she was 13 the first time she collected an 8yo.

Wow I am considering moving kids school I find ours very strict.

Any sibling in a high school uniform can pick you up here, so even Yr7, but it's not allowed until Yr 5.

My year 7 can collect my year 5, although he's usually with my year 9 too. To be fair we live across the road from the school, most of the siblings collecting live very close to the school.

Legally the school have no say over this. If a parent wants their child to walk home by themselves from a young age then they can. The onus is on the parent to know the child is responsible. If something happens to the child (depending g on what it was obviously) then it could be argued that the child was not responsible enough to be on their own and the parents could be in trouble

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It's not up to the school. If you want a sibling to collect, tell the school that's what you'll be doing. Similarly if you want your child to walk home alone. Equally that's your decision as a parent when you feel they are ready to do this.

No that wouldn’t work, they wouldn’t release the child. I’ve seen them refuse more than once.

It’s over 16 UNLESS you’re the parent here. Y5 and up can get permission to leave alone (easily granted). I did have to explain carefully once that my childminder’s daughter was (a) 18 and (b) had known DSs for their whole lives as Reception were querying me giving her permission to collect.

It's all very well saying that and maybe that is the law. But it doesn't stop the school being extremely difficult about it. Are you really going to send the police over every time they don't let your children leave at the end of the day? And would the police even be interested!? School can dig their heels in and refuse to let the children go citing safety and duty of care and all those things. And you would have to go down there every day to liberate the kids. So, find a way around it. Another parent nods to take the child home and they part ways at the school gate. Choose your battles.

I agree, a lot of people say it’s not up to the school but I’ve never known anyone to actually challenge it. The school just wouldn’t release the children here as they don’t till they see a known adult anyway. A lot of parents are annoyed as the school is a couple of minutes walk from a secondary school, so pupils use to collect younger siblings which now they cannot do.

At our school primary 4 and above can walk home without an adult, so that in effect means they can be collected by an older sibling. So 8/9 they can be collected by an older sibling.

In Scotland these decisions are up to parents and children can, and, walk home from P1.