Picking up from achool

[Sillytum]

Does / did your primary schools have any safefuards at pick up (eg named persons, formal handover).
Our daughter just started p1 and when we pick her up there are about 60 kids from 2 p1 and 2 p2 classes coming out at same time. A teacher will stop a child here and there and look for a parent but another 3-4 kids will walk or run past while she’s doing the at. It’s still inside the school grounds but there doesn’t seem to be any checks or security for safe handover. Just wondering if that’s normal - worried what would happen if I was running late or something happened.

Are you sure the teacher hasn't already clocked the parents and called those specific children to the door, rather than letting them randomly run out in the hope their grown up is there? I can't imagine any school would let children that young just run out, but I appreciate how it might look that way to other parents if you're not aware the teacher has already called those children forward because they've seen their grown up and know they're there. I'd hope that the case anyway.

Even in juniors, kids stay in class until called once teacher has spotted their adult. Occasionally child will come and point out their adult and if it's a new face, they'll confirm with the office re permission / phone parent to confirm. Occasionally a child will just walk out but always gets called back and told off, even if their parent is there.

Children are only released to a parent or known carer at our school until they are in year 5. They are very strict on this policy. A teacher or TA will let the child go once they have seen the parent.

At my primary school the teacher will look outside to see which parents have already arrived. Their children will be called to line up at the door before it's opened. There will always be some who take ages picking their stuff up, even though it's already there on the carpet in front of them! These will be the children that you see rushing out seemingly without being called.

Every parent has to fill in a form to say who they have given permission to collect their child on their behalf. That list is on our school system and is checked whenever someone we don't recognise turns up. If they're not on the list then we don't hand the child over, even if the child knows the person. The parents are then phoned and are asked if they're happy for their child to lave with that particular adult.

Same at DD's school. Reception have a separate entrance to the rest of the school, though

Are you in Scotland? English answers will be very different.

In my Scottish primary p1 and 2 parents are inside the grounds, kids let out and find their own adult and any kid looking lost with no adult will be kept by the teacher till their adult turns up. There's no checks on the adults if the children are happy to go with them, it's up to you to tell your child to only go home with the right person/people.
By p3 our adults are outside the grounds and some kids walking themselves home or with siblings, by p4 most kids walk themselves home.

I am very aware this is very different to the approach in most of England but Scottish children do not seem to be at greater risk of abduction.

At my GC primary from Y1 the teacher brings them out into the playground . They lune up and the teacher leys them gi individually when she sees their carer. No child is allowed to go until the teacher sees the person picking them up.
Reception children are picked up from a separate gate.

Infants they were only released from the classroom when a caregiver was spotted, juniors (7 and up) released to the playground

Yes I’m in Scotland and that’s exactly how it works. We were in Spain before (school starts at 3 years) and children only released to nominated person and only when adult came forward to take heir child.
I’m absolutely amazed that this is how it is in Scotland.

You'd be better posting in Scotsnet.

England is culturally massively different about this sort of thing.

What you are describing is completely normal in Scotland. That's how it is at our primary school.

Some kids walk to and from schools from P1 or to and from the bus stop - that's what ours did. Many schools are community schools - open to the public. And we don't have fenced off gated schools either.

It's really different in England though.

KS1 - teacher released the child from the classroom door when she could see their adult on the playground. We had to let the teacher know if child was going with someone else.
KS2 - kids expected to find their adult themselves (often waiting outside sibling's classroom in a different playground).
Upper KS2 (mostly from summer of year 5) - some kids walked home alone.
Always - head/deputy on the main gate, who would clock any child leaving without an adult.