How does your school "release" Reception and P1 children at the end of the day?

[gilmoregirl]

There have been a few issues recently with children being left in the playground when no one was there to collect them.

I raised the issue with the school when it happened to DS as I was concerned. It happened again to another child last week.

DS goes to after school club but that day they didn't collect him - he was found wandering around the playground by another parent who took him to the head teacher.

Then last week a child was not collected so the parent of another child took him in her car until someone came.

I am concerned that the children are simply let out into the playground as I had understood that the teacher was checking that there was someone there to collect them.

What is the usual practice?

Our reception classroom has a door out onto its own little playground that they use during the day (main playtimes they play in the big playground with all the other children). They get released from that door rather than the main doors. Teachers help them all on with coats, make sure they have bags, reading books, heads etc then call them forwards when their parent arrives.

Sorry to hijack but what dfo other schools do with regards to letting different people from normal collect the kids?

Say someone else is taking your kid for tea or a friend is collecting them? At our school they just pick them up, no questions asked..

Our reception has a little outside play area of their own with a gate onto the main playground. We stand around the gate and the children line up in their play area. The teacher or Ta stands at the gate and each child is handed over individually. If nobody is their to collect the child they have to wait by the gate, but on their side so that they can't wonder off into the playground. Think what your school is doing constitues neglect.

leftmy in the juniors they are pretty relaxed but in infants we have to let the teacher know in advance.

This is alarming on so many levels. How can this take place with the modern safeguarding procedures. It is one of the most important things a school must have in place.
I would have a word with the Head and ask for the school's Child Protection Coordinator to be there.
this needs to be sorted before I child is lost! Nevermind the fact that Ofsted would make the school unsatisfactory if it heard about this!!

ours can't go until the teacher sees parent and tells them they may go, if they go without being told they are called back and made to wait until the end. If someone else is collecting then a written note from both DCs parents (if going for play date) is required. Oh and was amazed that when DH returned from overseas having been away for 6 months and nether picking DS up last year as he hadn't been seen by school even though DS was shouting DADDY he had to show ID as they didn't know him and they checked that he was on the list of allowed people, think they thought we were separated

*never (silly autocorrect)

I haven't read the entire thread, but in ds's school (reception), the children stand in a queue with the teacher inside the building but with the door opened.
When the teacher makes eye contact with the parent, the child shakes hands with the teacher to say good bye and comes to the parent.

works really well.

Children are in a line. Teacher dismisses children one at a time in the order they are standing in the line. Teacher must make eye contact with the person picking up, otherwise child not dismissed. Instead, child must stand to the other side of the teacher whilst teacher dismisses the rest of the line. Any left standing with teacher after 5 minutes are taken to the school office. Also, if not child's parent picking them up, authorisation must have been given to the school in advance, otherwise child not released without phonecall to parent. If your child is in the office for more than 10 mins, you start to get charged for afterschool club, which is £££.

We have a book by the door of R and if a parent hasn't signed an authorisation sheet - with contact details of the other people that can collect their child - it doesn't happen. Said parent then needs to contact the office to arrange alternative collection.
Its amazing how many people don't care who picks their kids up from school. From a school's point of view, they could be giving a child into the hands of a rabid ex - how would they know?
Persistently late collectors find their kids enrolled into after school clubs.
Our school has a collect from door policy for all years (unless yr6 have permission to walk home on their own). This is done primarily so that the teacher is available to answer questions.

Thank you very much for all of your responses, much appreciated.

Just wanted to find out if I was being unreasonable in my expectation that the school should be responsible for the children until someone was there to collect them!

I am very concerned and do worry that it is going to take a child actually going missing or getting run over before they take action....

DS goes to a private after school club and they collect him from school. I must say that I assumed that the school ensured that there was someone to collect him before they let him out but apparently not. One day they didn;t turn up to collect him (due to an error on their part), he was let out into the playground and fortunately another parent spotted him (it is a big playground in a school with c600 children) and took him into the school.

When I found out what happened I contacted the school and the after school club as I was so concerned.

The DHT made it clear that she did not feel the school had done any thing wrong. I asked what the procedure was. She said that DS had told the teacher he was going to after school club so she let him out. I am rather about him having told the teacher this. I think it is more likely that she assumed he was going and let him out. In any case she clearly did not check that there was actually anyone there to collect him.

The after school club were a lot more sympathetic (it was there error but I still feel that the school are at fault for letting DS out into the playground). I suggested that in future the children should stay with the teacher until they are collected by the after school club, rather than just being let out.

Unfortunately this does not appear to be happening and it still seems to be a case of "let them all out and hope for the best"

I work full time but I try to collect DS once a week so I am not fully in the know of what goes on but speaking to other parents it seems there are a few children who are left hanging in the playground as there is no one to collect them when they are let out.

The fact that it happened again to another child last week would indicate that nothing has changed.

Looks like I need to speak to them both again.

We have tightened our procedures up...its an OFSTED/Safeguarding Children thing! We DAREN'T let anyone out of our sight that we haven't had written notification or at least verbal communication from a parent/carer, especially if someone is going home to tea or with a different relative that we may not have seen before!

Reception yr1 and yr 2 (2 classes) are collected one by one by the class doors.

Yr 3 yr4 yr 5 and yr6 (also 2 classes) are lead out to the main play ground by their teachers and have to tell the teacher that someone is there for them (they will not be released until the teacher can see this parent) Lately I have noticed certain children where parent is collecting from keystage 1 will be permitted to walk over there (different part of school but they do not leave the playground) ds (age 10 year 5) says they get told " you may go to see if your mum is there but if she is not you are to come straight back to me"

If after 5-10 mins you are not there the kids are taken into the corridor outside the office to wait for you.

I regularly collect 2 friends kids (we operate a very complex pick up thing as of after half term it will get even more complex) and I am often asked by teacher " who are you collecting?" I am over in the keystage 1 area so much that when they had a christmas production some of the parents asked me if I was going I had to point out I didn't have a keystage 1 child and they looked completely confused before saying " ohh off course you don't dd3 is in year 3 now isnt she) laughs..

We have to phone or write to them when others are collecting. I have just written a letter giving my 2 friends free range to collect either of mine making it easier on the school.

Our school let all the kids out at once( p1-p3 are all out of same door). All the kids know if they don't spot who is to collect them they return to their teacher who is normally in the wee shelter just inside the door. Teacher takes them to the office if noone comes within a few minutes. Even some of the older children who are meant to get picked up, go and sit in the office. It can be a busy place at times!