Safeguarding: walking to and from school

SAFEGUARDING PUPILS

WALKING TO AND FROM SCHOOL ALONE

There are no laws around age or distance of walking to school. A families' guide to the law states:

“There is no law prohibiting children from being out on their own at any age. It is a matter of judgement for parents to decide when children can play out on their own, walk to the shops or school."

Parents are legally obliged to ensure their children get to school and attend regularly, but this in itself does not disallow independent travel.

In addition, as a school we have a duty of care for the safety and well-being of our children and therefore this policy is to help advise parents/carers in the decisions they make for their children in relation to safety to and from school. We also have an obligation to alert relevant authorities should we believe a child’s welfare is at risk.

Pupils in Foundation Stage (Nursery & Reception) and KS1 (Years 1 & 2)

Our policy is that pupils in Foundation Stage or Years 1 and 2 should NOT walk to or from school on their own or be left on their own on the school premises either before or after school.

In addition, we will only hand over pupils to named adults or older siblings, in High School or older, who are on the school data form. Pupils will not be handed over to other adults unless the school has been informed by the parent that they have made this arrangement. We also ask that you keep us informed of any changes in arrangements.  If someone turns up to collect your child and we have not been notified, the adult will have to wait until we have verified his or her identity.

If no one turns up to collect a child in these year groups, they will be kept in school and parents contacted.

If the child is not collected within 45 minutes and we have failed to make contact with the child’s carer, we have a duty of care to refer to social services.

Pupils in Year 3 upwards

We would highly recommend that pupils in Years 3, 4 and 5 are still brought to and collected from school by an adult (person over 18). We also understand that there may be circumstances that prevent parents who work or who have appointments that make it difficult for parents to achieve this every day.

However, the primary driver in making such decisions is always the safety and well-being of our children. Where it is not possible for an adult to bring or collect a child in Years 3, 4 and 5, parents and carers may give consent for this duty to be carried out by an older sibling, providing:

• They are High School age and over;
• A parent/ carer judges them to be responsible enough to complete this task safely;
• The route to school is within a safe walking distance and the parent/carer judges the route safe;
• The older sibling and the child are going straight home.

If your child is attending an extra- curricular activities, then we request that all children attending these sessions are collected by an adult on time. Failure to collect children punctually from these activities could lead to activities being withdrawn.   

Pupils in Year 6

For pupils in Year 6, we believe that if children live within walking distance to school and are able to walk a safe route then you as parents need to decide whether your child is ready for the responsibility of walking to and from school alone.   

In deciding whether your child is ready to walk to school you should assess any risks associated with the route to school and assess your child’s confidence.  There are many ways you can prepare your child to make an independent journey.   One way is to follow them a few times on their journey, so you know how safe and sensible they are.    It is also strongly advised that children who are walking without an adult or older sibling, have a cheap mobile phone that they are able to use if they need help.   All mobile phones brought into school need to be handed into the class teacher immediately on arrival at school and will be handed out at hometime.

When deciding whether your child is ready for the responsibility of walking to and/or from home you might want to consider the following:

1. Do you trust them to walk straight to school or straight home, using the agreed safe route?
2. Are there roads to cross on the route and how busy/safe are those roads?
3. Do you trust them to behave sensibly when with a friend or group of friends?
4. Are they road safety aware?
5. Would they know what to do if a stranger approaches them?
6. Would they know what to do if they needed help?
7. Do they understand about keeping themselves safe and not to make any dangerous choices, either by themselves or with a group of friends?

If you decide that your Y6 child is ready for this responsibility, please complete the form, available at the office.