What age is ok to walk home alone

[BipolarBabe34]

My DS 7 is asking to walk home alone now he is in junior school. I absolutely will not allow this at the moment as I personally feel he’s far too young but it got me thinking what age would people say is ok for a child to walk home alone?

we live about 5-10 min walk away from the school. I could even stand at the end of my road and watch him up to the lollipop lady.

TIA for replies xx

Going into year 7 imo! so 11

That’s what my thought would have been. I’m sure that’s when I started walking home alone is year 7

Depends on the child and the route and if other neighbourhood children would be walking the same way at the same time. I'd let my 10 year old do (similar distance for them to school, they are reliable and sensible, our neighbourhood is very child friendly, and the route is always busy with school kids and parents).

Too young and most junior schools don’t allow it until year 5 or 6 anyway
my DCs were year 7 before consistently making their way home
from school

Year 5 (age 9) here.

I agree, 7 is too young. Mine walked home from school from Y5/Y6 (age 10) onwards. We were about ten mins walk from the school, and they generally walked with friends. In the beginning I would shadow them to make sure they were confident and careful crossing roads. Then I would meet them halfway etc gradually reducing until they did the whole walk independently. They also had a tracker on them eg Life360 tile, AirTag for my own reassurance. The school required written permission from parents for the kids to travel home from school independently.

Year 4 here but it was a short route on cycle tracks which meant he didn't have to cross any roads.

Almost all the year 5s at my daughter’s primary school walk home without a parent.

That's quite old as a minimum age to make a 5-10 minute walk.

You should be aiming to build up independence before secondary school, not giving them a whole lot of new things to navigate when they start.

Not allowed at my kids school until year 6

My daughter has just started walking alone in year 5. She is 9, lots from her school are walking home now.

We let DD do it from the start of year 6. But it was about a 15 minute walk, and involved crossing a fairly busy walk. Had we been a bit closer we'd probably have let her start the year before with a couple of her friends

My son started walking to school with his friends when we were a 10 minute walk away in year 3. When we moved to the countryside my youngest had to wait until year 5 to do the 1.5 miles to school down country lanes alone.

But then I do see children in year 7+ walking alone who should not be! They have clearly never been taught to walk down village/country lanes.

Yr5 (9yo) for a short walk.

One of the schools DDs attended did allow it from Yr3, but it was only really used as an option by families who had an older child in Yr5/6.

DD age 9. 10 minutes walk. One busy road with a zebra crossing but always parents about so I feel fairly relaxed about this. Plus she’s sensible.

Thanks all for your opinions. Xx

Our school allows it from the summer term of Y5, which I think is a good age for most. There is a busy road which probably half the kids would have to cross.

I have a 7 year old and there's no way I'd let him now, because I have seen how he crosses roads 😂 He just isn't aware enough of dangers yet.

Our school allows it from year 5, and I’ll allow DD at that age.

It’s a very safe route. Out the school, down a path (that is full of other parents and children - it’s not some dodgy secluded alleyway), down the cul de sac, and she’s there. Less than 5 mins and no roads to cross.
But tbh at that age, I’d allow her even if it was a bit further.

Mine was half way through y5, school allowed from the start but i wanted a bit longer to make sure she was road smart. I started gradually leaving her further and further away from school so it was gradual.
Some friends did the same, most others allowed from the start.

Mine started in year 5. However we built up by walking her so far each day and she then walk alone. So by the end of the year she was confident to walk alone. She then was very ready when she had ti catch the train alone in year 7.

Year 5 or 6 is normal here.

Always makes me laugh that schools think they are the boss of this. And that parents accept it.

Of course they are the “boss” of it, they simply dont release the child until they see the parent is there.

Summer of year 4 for mine

I think it depends so much on the childs confidence, capabilities, and what might go wrong realistically.
If you are renting the old caretaker's house on site, and your child is confident, go for it from age 6, but if you're crossing busy roads without a crossing and walking a mile each way, and your child is nervous, then they might be well into secondary school.
Having said that year 5/6 is a typical starting point. As people have mentioned, the school policy is relevant for the way home, so if you want to go earlier you'd have to stick to mornings only at that point.