How are you KS2 DC let out at the end of the day? Am I being precious?

[LynetteScavo]

I ask because DS2, in Y3 (jsut turned 8) is alowed to leave the classroom and no one ever checks if he is collected. Normally this is fine...he knows if he is not collected to go to the secretary.

But last week an after school activity was cancelled. The secretary tried to call me at 3pm, and left message on home an mb, then phoned DH's mobile. DH asnwered, and said "I will try to contact Lynette" The secretary explained to DS that his dad would collect him(so DS tells us) and let him out on to the playground to wait. Before DH could call me, another mum from school phoned him, and explained she was with DS, who had told her he was waiting for his dad to collect him. She realised it was a 30 min drive for DH, and asked should she take him to her house. DH said yes, and texted me to let me know where DS was.

Now, I know it's my fault for checking my phone when I leave work (I am not alowed to have my phone on at work, but a message can be given to me in an emergency, such as this), but it's only a 5 min drive from work to DS's school.....So I arrive at school 1.5 hours after the end of the day to find there was no after school activity...the secretary explained had left me a message on the home phone...had phoned DH, who had said "I'll sort it" and she had no idea where DS was now.

I then checked my mb phone and discovered from a text DH had sent where DS was, but DS is an independant little chap, and would have probably walked the mile home, or the two miles to Granny's if no one had turned up (he had already been to the secretary who had sent home out side).

Should the secretary have told him to wait in school, or am I just being precious?

Yes, I fecked up by not telling the school to contact me on my work number first(actually I think I have put that as the first contact ), but they have always managed to contact me in the past when DS has forgotton his lunch/thrown up, etc.

At the dc's school the children are let out into a walkway/waiting area at the front of the school. A teacher stands at the exit of the walkway to the pavement. No child is allowed onto the pavement until a parent has arrived. Any uncollected children after 10 mins are taken to after school care. You are allowed 1 grace period if you are late, if it happens again you are sent a bill from the after school care people.

If a club is cancelled you are contacted and if they don't get hold of you they are allowed to go to aftercare for free.

Lynettte isn't that what all DH's do? Assume you will sort it all out, because that's what you are for.

I have done supply teaching at schools too numerous to mention. Key stage1 I always handed to parents and key stage 2 just went out to the playground.

Handing out at yr 6 is mad. What about the ones who walk home alone? Also what terrible preparation for secondary school. They are not parcels-any normal 7yr old can get to the office with a problem.

I really don't know what mine would have done, we live close to the school and they walked home long before yr 6.

Sorry-walked home alone.

At the dc's school no child is allowed to walk home alone though I think they can be collected by an older sibling.

KS2 are released into the playground. There is a member of staff on duty at the gate to ensure children leave with an adult. Any children still loose in the playground 30mins after the end of the school day are taken to the after school club (and children there have to e collected from its door). If another activity were cancelled, the child would go to the playground then after school club like other uncollected children. There is a charge for the after school club, but this can be waived if another activity has a late cancellation.

Children who go home alone have to sign out in a separate register on their way out. Only children whose parents have signed an authorisation (which the head has endorsed) will be put in that register. Children who are not in it are not allowed to leave alone.

I do worry about our poor DCs these days! My DS used to walk home alone in Yr6 and sometimes let himself in with a key.

Gosh, most of our year 6 walk home alone, and would be pretty insulted to be 'handed out' to a parent. Most secondary school children have to make the, usually, longer journey on their own and need a bit of training up on the familiar shorter route from primary school.

The school should be encouraging it then verity. Utterly mad to have yr 6 collected from the classroom in July and in September they have to get on a bus and in and out of school and walk home from the bus-with nothing in between -and parents do not walk too and from the bus-the DC would die of embarrassment!

There are a couple who catch the school bux and they are escorted to the bus by the aftercare staff. It is a private school so no-one actually as far as I am aware lives within walking distance.

I have however seen a teacher have a "discussion" with a parent who was parked across the road and wanted her child to leave the walkway and go to the car. the teacher quite rightly would';t letthe child. It is a very busy road and there are idiots who speed around the corner.

Whilst the child is in the care of the school the school has a duty of care. If we as parents don;t like it we can always go elsewhere.

I certainly would go elsewhere-they are not teaching independence.

In my case the infants and juniors were seperate schools, next door, most people were like me, you waited at the infants and the juniors found you. You can't be two places at once!

separate

Good grief verity! Schools generally have signs in the reception after the first term saying 'we are trying to promote independence, please let them come in alone'.

meditrina, I like the sound of what your school does.

Y6 children being taken in is kind of...cute.

I know one school where reception children have to go in alone on their first day.

Anyway, I digress.

Should I say something to the head, or let it drop?

First school (up to Year 4), we release to known adults on the door, and not to anyone else unless parents have approved in writing - and there are some children we never hand over to anyone other than one parent. Child protection and all that sort of thing, sadly.

My own children are released into the playground after school BUT there is a rota of teachers who come out too and are always available for children whose carers have not arrived. The school has a register of those who walk on their own so they know e.g to raise the alarm if they don't arrive safely for registration in the morning. If the carer is late, the children are sent to after school club (if registered there) or sit outside the head's ofice until parents arrive.

Have a word with your DS rather than the Head and get it quite clear for next time it happens.

Or suggest to the Head that the DCs might need revision of what to do in assembly, since your DS got it wrong.

From Year 3 onwards the children just file out at the end of the day and go to their respective parents (or whoever they are going with) and that's it. If a parent is late the child goes to the school office and waits in the glass-walled lunch room so that they can see when parent turns up.

In the case of an afternoon activity being cancelled one parent is informed. Once one parent (per child) is informed that's all the school can do, it is upto that parent to coordinate with and make any arrangement with anyone as necessary. If no contact can be made child will wait in the office with the receptionist.

At pick-up or drop-off we also don't have to get off the car at all, they make it nice and easy for the parents . School has a very nice layout with designated drop-off points (so pupils can safely get off and walk straight into the railed-off playground) and roundabouts for smooth flow of traffic. In fact, there's no reason for KS2 parents to use its carpark even though it has over 100 parking spots [stealth boasting].