Primary Children Going Out Of School At Lunchtime

[colette]

DD is 8 and in primary 5. At her school the children so long as they have their parents permission go to the local shop and buy their lunch( lunch meaning sweeties and microwave chipsetc.)
I am point blank refusing to let dd go-when we visited the school before she started I discussed this with the head and she said that the school preferred pupils to stay at school but if their parents had signed a letter the they were obliged to honour the parents wishes.
Fast forward to primary 5 when they have this option and there is peer pressure to have a shop(crap)lunch! I can put up with her continually asking as I am not going to let her but am thinking of seeing the head to discuss :
1- why they do not have a blanket rule for everyone when here in Glasgow we are supposed to be supporting a healthy eating campaign?
2- When they are at the shop they are no longer the school's responsability , but how can they be the parents responsability when they are at work or elsewhere!! ie: if I left dd aged 8 on her own in the house I could have social services round.

I would really like to hear your own experiences re. going out of school at lunchtime and any advice about the legal aspects of schools responsibility during the school day.

Then I can go and see the head as I do not think this should be an issue until high school!

Thanks

Colette, no-one has actually mentioned human rights to me. That's me just presuming it must be something like that. Otherwise, I think she would just ban it outright. I wonder if it's a decision taken by each local authority.

MrsM I would like to found out before I see the head really.
Pointydog dd says she won't have any friends !! But I have talked to mums and know not everyone is going out

I would certainly raise it with the head and seek others' views.

well I think it is just wrong, esp at age 8, maybe 10/11 for the reasons pp said, i.e getting used to going out, being confident etc, but the safety aspect is scary, my dd is at a scottish rural primary, the roads are so dangerous, and no child is allowed out of school without written permission and parent/carer collecting....

I remember my first day of primary 1, going home to my best friend's house for lunch(I knew my mum wouldn't be at home ), because we got a bit confused... the thought terrifies me now, two 5 yr olds heaading off into Dunfermline to go home for lunch, imagine my bestfriend's mum's shock when we arrived at the door?

do you have a parents' council Colette? they might be a good starting point? I wonder what the education department's stance would be on this? Council have some responsibility legally to insure children are safe?

I can't believe primary school pupils are allowed to leave the grounds without an adult. Even at our secondary school, all pupils below sixth form must stay on school grounds at lunchtime. At primary school those going home for lunch must be collected by an adult - actually, only about 6 or so children out of 350 do that, all Plymouth Brethren children who are not allowed to eat with others. All the rest either have packed lunch or school dinner.

I can think of no reason whatsoever to allow that. I'm really taken aback that it would even be considered.

When I was a child it was the norm for children to go home in the middle of the day (for dinner not lunch btw!) and walk home by themselves but that was not in the UK.

Where we live I have never heard of any primary school children not staying at school for lunch

I think the going out bit is fine if it's a safe area but the allowing the regular choice of a lunch of sweets and crisps is definitely not. I am surprised that you are facing this issue while your dd is at primary school, I must say. It's a seciondary school dilemma in London town, afaik.

I'm really shocked at the op's school lunchtime carry on, but even more shocked at the teacher in your school, Attila. We have to fill out about 3 forms before we can even THINK of letting our kids put one toe outside the school gate. Mind you, it is Leeds LEA, where we've had some tragic incidents over the last few years, so everything is double/triple checked.
But I wonder where that teacher would stand legally if something were to happen - eg mad person attacks child/articulated lorry mounts pavement/something equally freaky occurs?

Thanks for the replies, I have just found info on the scottish executive website that says schools set their own policy on this .www.scotland.gov.uk/Topics/Education/Schools/FAQs see the last question.
I think it seems a very grey area in Scotland iykwim(matches the weather

My 9 year old goes to a school in Glasgow and she is not allowed out of the school grounds at lunchtime unless i collect her.

I agree that this is a shocking policy and if mine asked i would say absolutely no way and speak to the Headteacher. This is not acceptable at all.

She gets a balanced healthy packed lunch and i am not having her go out down the shops and spending money on a load of crap. One of her friends eats nothing but shit and fast food and i can guess what they all would buy. There is the issue of time as well. She is getting good at knowing what time it is but i know this is not 100% at the moment and would inevitably lead to them venturing further out and rushing back when they realise what the time is.

When she is at higher (secondary school) then she would be educated and mature enough to maybe start doing this in later years - but definately not now.

I sympathise with your predicament and support you 100% for doing the right thing and refusing to bow to peer pressure over the welfare of your kid.

"She gets a balanced healthy packed lunch and i am not having her go out down the shops and spending money on a load of crap. One of her friends eats nothing but shit and fast food and i can guess what they all would buy. "

EricL exactly I have spent the last 8 years getting dd to eat healthy food , of course she gets crisps sweets etc as a treat but these kids are calling it "shoplunch"
If you don't mind me asking what area of glasgow are you in. I am thinking of trying to get a bit of a concensus to see if we are more of an exception than the rule iykwim

I'm also in central Glasgow and involved wih the School Board/PTA/soon-to-be Parent Council. I am ashamed to say I am not sure what the policy is regarding lunch time - I'll check it out.

In mitigation ds has only just gone in to P3.

I can see why they might have to respect the parents' wishes if they have signed the document saying that they can go out at lunchtime. And also that "being allowed out" might not mean being met: I know that some of the kids who do go home for lunch live literaly in the tenement opposite and it is a very quiet road, so thier parents might just epxect them to go back to thier flat on thier own.

The rules and regulations are different between Scoltand and England - for example, it is normal for janitors to be responsible for watching the school playground before school/during breaks, whereas in England that wouldn't be allowed.

AFAIK our school in Glasgow doesn't let the kids out at lunchtime at all, unless they go home (which few do - its the Gaelic school so most come in on the bus anyway). My kids are in p3 and p1 so not come acros this at all but have been picking ds up from nursery there for a year at lunchtime and have never seen kids out and about.

I think its pretty much unacceptable at primary, though I know it is common practice at secondaries round where I live

Jesus we weren't allowed out until we were 14!