What age can a child go home from school alone?

[Elliebelli]

Just wanted to find out at what age does your school allow a child to go home by themselves?

At my DC’s school, it’s the start of the summer term, which I find far too long to wait.

Sorry, meant to say, start of the summer term in year 6

Y5, but must have written permission.

At my dc's school it's in Y6.

I asked our school. Year 5, if parent signs the disclaimer form.

Small village so pretty much Primary 1 (age 4-5) but realistically no one does. There are a few P2's that do though (age 5-6).
That being said, the village is so small that they're not really walking alone. There are so many school kids around that it's more like a walking bus to school.

Year 5 and 6 can go home alone and collect younger siblings to take home. At one stage they could not collect from EYFS but they are now allowed to (not sure anyone is utilising that change though seems very young).

And to answer your other question, I’m happy with it being my decision from Y5 as to whether my child is ready to walk home alone. As it happens, dd1 is very responsible and reliable and has been walking herself to local after school activities since the autumn term of Y5 with no problems at all. Which is great as it opens up the range of things she can do beyond After School Club aka childcare in a noisy room with younger children (which she doesn’t enjoy).

YR5 with written permission from parents. I don’t really know any who do though.
DD comes home herself very occasionally but we live 5 mins from school with no roads to cross and there’s always loads of other kids walking the same way.

Year six with parental permission.

We’ve had local issues and those collecting yr5 and below need to be 18+

Legally as their parent you can have them leave at any age, although if it was very young and they were unsupervised the school would be within its rights to contact the necessary authorities regarding its concerns. However the school cannot keep your child if you have stated otherwise.

year 3, age 8.
not many do so.
most seem to start around y6 in preparation for secondary

Yr5 & 6 can go home themselves but only until October half term. From then on until Easter holidays school they have to be picked up.

No idea, I see year 6s walking without parents and some have younger siblings but I don't think you'd need the schools permission.

Depends on the child but my house is ten mins straight road from school so if they were independent enough as it was then maybe 10.

It appears our school is the youngest, Year 3, all of them, Yr 3 age 8 seems particularly odd rule, some kids able to do it for the whole of the year, others not until YR4.

Really shocked by the older ages at schools, so even if they simply had to walk next door, they'd still need a parent to actually go and collect them?

I think Year 4, but the Year 3's can walk to the school gates by themselves and don't need an adult to collect them from the teacher providing they have written permission.

At my children old school was year 3 but at the new school, i think year 5 and 6

Year 3 so age 7-8. But for a sibling to pick up they have to be 14.

@sir Fred with a written slip and discussion with teacher they can go home younger but yr 5 is default no discussion or slips needed.

The school that doesn't allow it oct-Easter is that rural or somewhere with bad lighting?

Y5 and 6 they suggest to parents to do it, especially after Xmas in Y6. And I think they will let a child go with anyone they say they can, whereas in Y4 they check to see if the adult is on the list.
They also have exceptions - ds had a classmate go home in Y1 alone as he lived on the same block and mother was disabled with a baby, but mostly they are Y5 or 6 - inner London, lots of fast traffic nearby, no crossing staff any more.

Year 3 but aged 8, not 7, fits with the Children Act, I think? Ours are a long way out of primary now and would normally be picked up by one of us or their childminder, but certainly we had no problems with DD and DS2 walking home together without an adult from the time that they were in year 5 and year 3 respectively. Under strict instructions (from us) to come by the longer route with the pedestrian crossings over the two main roads, though.

I got roasted by school for allowing my 10 year old Y5 DS to catch the bus to school when I was ill, I could see the bus stop from my kitchen window & he got off the bus at the end of the path to school, he had a mobile phone & texted me as he got to school to let me know he was there. I was housebound & he wouldn't have got to school otherwise.

MarchingFrogs I certainly can't see anything relevant in the Children Act - and if it was, then DD's school is breaching it, as they are -happy- okay with 7 year olds walking home alone.

Y5 & 6 at our school, with written permission from parents. Y3 and 4 sometimes arrive alone in the mornings, as parents with infants too (different site) tend to let them walk from the end of the lane by themselves/with friends.