What age can children walk to school alone?

[Atlas15]

I can't remember the age I started to walk to school with my sister, we used to have to get a bus to school in primary. But I do remember I used to get a train to school by myself in secondary and I was 11 (this was 2003). So what minimum age is appropriate now ?

I would have let DD walk in y4 with her friend if only friend hadn't moved away.
Very much depends on the child and the area, no hard and fast rule.

I'm in greater London. Our school says they don't expect children to walk independently to school until yr 5. We live 400m away from the school gate, no main road to cross so we might start in yr 5. However, I think I will keep my DD in wraparound care until yr 6.

Walking to school alone is one thing. Spending 1 hr in the morning and 3 hrs in the afternoon by herself is a completely different matter :)

Depends on the rules of the school, the area where you live (traffic etc.) and the sensibleness of the child. Where I live most children walk (or bike) to school by themselves after the first week or so but they don't start school until 7 so that's around year 2/year 3 I think in the UK. DD will be walking as soon as she knows the route.

It depends. How responsible is the child? How far is the school? Any roads to cross? Is it a busy area or tiny village? Are they alone or in a group?
In our small village it is not unheard of that some children in Primary 1 class (aged around 5 years) walk together to school with other local children or siblings in they year or two above. My kids are 9 and 6 and walk to school together. If it's just the 6 year old I'll walk her up to the gates.

Yr3 and 4 at our school are expected to be met in the playground. Parents have to give written permission to allow them to walk down our very long
Driveway to be met. Year 5 and 6 can walk on their own.
Nursery to year two have to be strictly supervised and handed over to a recognised person at hometime , and are expected to be escorted up to the school doors in the morning by an adult.

Headteachers or any teachers have no say in it around here.

It very much depends on your individual circumstances as to what's appropriate - mine have gone on their own from age 5 because we are practically next door to school and I can see them walking the whole way, and into the playground. If I lived a 2 mile walk from school which involved crossing several main roads, they would be accompanied for far longer.

This is a decision you have to make for yourself based on what you know of your own child, the route and so on. There are huge variations locally. In some areas people will be shocked to see a child of a certain age walking to school unaccompanied, while in other areas people will accuse parents of overprotectiveness for insisting on accompanying a child of the same age! This just goes to show that many people make their decisions based on what they see happening around them. If you move house, you may find that ideas are quite different in your new neighbourhood.

QuiteQuietly is right. Some schools seem to think it is up to them but it is not. They are not in loco parentis when the child is off the school grounds, and have no right to dictate about travel arrangements. They cannot require parents to deliver children to school or collect them, whatever the child's age. It may be necessary to let them know in writing that you give permission for your child to go home alone.

If the school disagrees with your decision, I'd expect them to try to persuade you against it, and if they thought you were being completely neglectful then they should contact Social Services. But it would have to be a fairly extreme situation for SS to take an interest.