Being ready for year 7

[Mum2Girls19]

My eldest is in Year 6 and she will be going to and from school on her own from Year 7.
At the moment I drop her off at breakfast club with her siblings and my husband collects them after work.
What tips can you give me to introduce going to school alone and coming home from school alone?
I want her to be ready for next year with ease.

And how long is reasonable to be left alone?
Hubby wont get home til 5pm after collecting from care club at primary school..

It worries me slightly, I think its just a new stage of life we all need to get used too but I want her to be safe.
She is used to going to the shops just not used going to and from school or being left after school for any length of time.

Any advice would be great x

start to leave her alone at home gradually. so, when you are popping round to visit a friend, or the supermarket etc, leave her at home and get her into the habit of having her mobile off silent and with her. in terms of walking home, get her to text you once she has gotten inside of the house, and walk the route with her so you can show her where is safe to cross etc. also set some ground rules about being home alone (no cooking/boiling the kettle for example)

Dd2 was often alone until 5 after school from mid way through y6. Her older sister would be there some days, but she often has clubs etc straight from school, so would be on her own 2-3 days per week.

As long as you set some ground rules (no using sharp knives, no answering the door to people you don’t know etc) she’ll be fine. Dd2 has always quite liked her after school alone time.

You’ll be surprised how much they grow up once the start secondary school, she may seem young to be doing now, but by this time next year she’ll be a pro and you won’t give it a second thought.

Maybe after Easter when it's light again in the early evening let her walk home and text once in the house and like pp said no cooking. My son also year 6 walks home on his own and lets himself in - most days I'm here, sometimes back at 4.15 - he's fine usually just watches tv or goes on PlayStation- often brings a mate home too!

School is currently 4 min walk from home tho, secondary school will be a bus into the next town.... I plan to start letting him get the bus on his own or with friends in the summer for trials. I more worry about him getting himself ready and out of the door on time to get the bus to school than getting home though lol he is not a morning person!

As well as the great advice above I would also look at helping her to get organised.

After Christmas of Y6 I gradually stopped reminding DC about homework, PE kit etc. and really started pushing them to get their own bags ready, uniform out.

In my opinion it's much better for them to forget a few things in Primary School where they know the teachers, even if they get into a bit of trouble and learn to deal with the consequences than waiting for Senior School to suddenly have to start thinking for themselves.

I found it harder than DC did as I was in the easy routine of doing all of the thinking but it's not doing them any favours if you carry on doing it all for them.

Thanks ladies, your advice has been great :)
I'll let you know how I get on..
DD11 is used to me doing most things for her, i think maybe getting an alarm clock and perhaps a diary for her to organise her day might be helpful too xx

My ds started yr 7 this year. In yr 6 he started walking home twice a week when I was working from home, moving to letting himself in every day from Summer Term. He is left alone any time from 4.30-5.30, depending on when my dp finishes work. He rushes straight to his iPad 🙄so no worries about him starting to cook or anything! The only issues I've had are him freaking our at the boiler clicking on when it first started to get darker in the evenings and him feeling bored, lonely and isolated in the school holidays. In the oct half term I worked shorter days and left him alone for 5 hours just for 2 days and had 3 days off... but even that was too long for him.