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.

Staggered at schools escorting yr6 DC to their parents!

They'd be out of luck here then, my DD (yr 5, almost 10) has been walking home alone all this year . Lots and lots of yr5s and 6s walk home alone or with friends. In fact it's more the norm than not.

Anyway, KS2 all allowed out on their own here, it's a junior school so it's easier to have that policy.

Lynette I think you need to talk to husband and son but not the school really.

years 6 and possibly 5 are allowed to walk home on their own. though dd would have a bit of a job to manage that as it is about 2 1/2 miles where some extremely busy dual carriageway roads have no crossing points

Apart from the message getting garbled between your dh, the secretary, and your ds, I don't see that the school acted wrongly. Your dh gave your friend permission to take ds, from that point it was not the school's responsibility any more.

Perhaps the three of you need to agree a strategy together, about what to do in similar situations.

KS1 Handed to a parent.

KS2 just let out. Again, children should do to the office is no-one is there for them - they are responsible enough at this age (or the parents must arrange an alternative if they are not)

I have recently moved and have been very heartened to see that around here many junior DCs are walking to and from school without adults.