Would you send your Reception aged child to school in a taxi?

[Lucky13]

DD (4) is entitled to free transport and the LEA currently provide a taxi service with CRB checked drivers. As of next term I won't be able to take her to school anymore but I'm worried about sending her in the taxi. She probably will be with two other children who she knows, but they are much older.

My other concern is car seats - they don't provide them! She is still under weight for a booster seat, so I wouldn't be happy with her in one of these on a regular journey either.

When they get to school, the driver just drops them off at the entrance and they have to make their own way in with no teacher to meet them. So in theory they could just walk off if they wanted.

What would you do?

Those popping at us who are saying no, its not the CRB checked driver that concerns me, its the handover arrangements, no way could my 4 year old be trusted to make his way from the car park to his classroom door, it involves a good, crowded walk, and he is easily distracted.

It is, from reading this, not the norm at all, for no handover to take place for children so young.

Totally normal here (rural area). Small school, drop off point 10 yards from supervised playground, teachers on hand to make sure they get in okay. Not heard of any disasters, upsets or lifelong issues....

You need to speak to the school - how do they manage the transfer from taxi to school? Also the taxi company for car seat set-up. It is perfectly do-able with the right systems in place.

This is really common round here- we're very rural. But certainly at all the schools I've had anything to do with, Foundation stage children are always met, not just dropped off.

We've always used taxis as back up- we live 5 miles from school and always have a couple of fares home in credit with our local taxi service just in case. It means that the dcs are never stranded if my car breaks down, or school finishes early and they can't get hold of me or something. Huge peace of mind all round- I recommend it!

My daughter has been taxied into school since her third day of reception, she's now in year 2. Admittedly she's always had her big brother with her, but the arrangement works well for us. They're picked up from the drive and escorted into school by a TA. The council has provided booster seats for them.

If you can make sure that she's not left unsupervised at the other end and she can take a booster seat, I wouldn't hesitate. (It also saves all the grief of the school run, not to mention petrol and time, and means I don't have to get dressed in the morning!)

It's really interesting to see how opinions of rural parents differs so much from that of urban ones. I got the school bus to primary school and I can't say it scarred me for life!

Also as a comparison, if she gets the taxi, she will be with her friends on the way to school. If she goes with a childminder, she won't know anyone, which initially may be more upsetting for her. I have asked her about it and she would be happy to go with her friends.

There has been a lot of helpful advice on here thank you. I have spoken to some of the parents and there will be at least 3 reception class children in the taxi, so hopefully it will now be met by a TA. The taxi driver is always the same one (bar illness of course), so will also be a familiar face.

I will phone the school transport dept and ask about child seats.

I'm glad that so many rural parents have found that it works well for them. If I can get the necessary arrangements in place, I think I can ignore the hysterical comments and feel happy about it.

Interesting insight into rural life. I live in the middle of a big city, so of course no one is even going to let a teenage child alone into a taxi, let alone a small child. But it sounds like some of you have been doing this and it works.

Car seat law for a regular journey would be the same as if you had your own car, ie not a "one off". In the USA, car seat laws are so strict they wouldn't take a 7 year old in an airport shuttle without a car seat that we had to provide.

Good luck with resolving this, OP.

"I live in the middle of a big city, so of course no one is even going to let a teenage child alone into a taxi"

Why on earth not? My dd has been alone in taxis in several big cities and appears to have survived the experience!

Lucky, yes my comments do need to take into account there are 90 children in DS reception year alone, just to give you an idea of the size of the school and how many people and cars are milling around in the mornings at drop off time.

I don't allow my 16 year old in a taxi alone late from our town centre either, but thats because I don't want him fighting the drunken masses for a taxi, not because I dont trust the driver.

I am doing an independent research project at college and the research question is "School dinners or packed lunches - which is more nutritious?"
I would welcome your views on this.
Thank you.

Masika you need to start your own thread, and should probably run thi past mnhq first

marykat - would you really not let a teenager in a taxi on their own?? I live in the middle of a big city too and would be happy for a child of 11+ to go alone in a taxi Or on a bus.

Sam - I don't have a teenager (yet), it was a good friend whose son was going to babysit my DD (I was at his birth nearly 16 years ago, and they were the first to see DD when she was born, so we are all quite close). My friend said that she would not want her son (age 15) to take a taxi alone from my flat to hers late at night. We live about 1 mile apart. I haven't got to the point of making decisions like that about my own child.

Absolutely no, no way. Never

Marykat- your friend is bonkers!

seeker - in her defense, we live in central London. There are lots of cab firms around. If you phone one late at night you are unlikely to have ever seen that driver in your life, nor might you ever see him again. Even if it is a 'registered taxi' you really have no idea about who the driver is. Not the same at all as someone in a rural area sending a child along with a CRB checked driver who they are likely to see and get to know quite well over the years. I mean I was shocked by this thread at first but then I saw that this is normal in the countryside and the issue was about car seats and being met at school and not about the taxi itself.

I live in a city too and don't know anyone who wouldn't let a 15 or 16 year old take a taxi!

Marykat you can find reputable cab companies even in London, and it would be far safer in a Taxi than on public transport. I wouldn't recommend using some small private hire firm, unless I knew them, but a big Taxi company is fine.
My son travelled around London on his own at 15, despite coming from a more rural area.

When I was little I had a taxi to school, I am now a perfectly sane adult with no adverse effects from it. As for not allowing a teenager to do a taxi in central London, totally bonkers and hysterical. I have credit for DD and DSS with our local taxi firm just in case.

Not exactly central but zone 2. Slightly less safe than the very centre of London I would say. I don't know at what age I would let my daughter go in a taxi on her own.