The children’s safety charity has shared six points every parent should consider
The children’s safety charity has shared six points every parent should consider
The National Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Children (NSPCC) has issued advice to parents who are considering letting their children walk to and from school alone.
Although there is no legal answer to to the question, many parents are likely to consider what might be the appropriate age for children to walk to school alone as the days get longer and weather improves in the coming months.
Unlike the winter months, the spring and summer days begin earlier, allowing students to walk to school in the brightness of day rather than the dark and damp conditions earlier in the year.
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The NSPCC has published its guidance for parents still unsure on when’s best for their children to walk alone, if at all.
The charity said: “There’s no legal age that your child can travel home from school alone – this is up to you and your best judgement, or your school’s rules and policies.
“However, you should never leave a child alone who isn’t ready or is unable to care for themselves. Every child is different – but some schools advise children under eight shouldn’t walk home without an adult or older sibling.
They addee: “If you and your child do feel they’re ready to come home alone, it helps to go over some rules about staying safe.”
The charity also lists six practices they recommend running through with your child to see whether or not they may be ready. These are as follows:
- Make sure they know their address and your telephone number by heart, in case they get lost or have to navigate home from somewhere new.
- If they have a mobile phone, remind them to fully charge it before leaving the house, and make sure they have all your contact numbers saved.
- Talk to them about road safety. They should always look both ways before crossing the street, and never be on their phone whilst crossing a road.
- Remind them never to accept a lift from someone they don’t know, or let a stranger into the house. They should never give personal information away – in real life or online.
- Remind them that if they feel unsafe or uncomfortable at any time, they can call you or a trusted adult.
- If they ever feel like they’re in immediate danger, they should call the police straight away on 999.
The age you can allow your children to walk home alone is a long-held concern among parents, with a thread on the popular parenting forum, Mumsnet, from 2022 posing the same question: “What age do you let your children walk to school alone?”
The thread contains more than 60 replies, with many mums agreeing the summer term of Year 5 (ages 9 to 10) is typically a suitable time to allow your kid to start experiencing this rite of passage, providing you feel they are ready.
On the post, a user named SauvignonGrower replied: “Summer term year 5 is common where we are. Certainly all the year 6 like to walk with friends.”
But, another user argued that Year 6 is a more appropriate, posting: “Year 6 here and it’s a 15 minute walk, one village road but a blind bend.
“I don’t worry about the traffic, I worry that [my child] is hot headed and impulsive. I genuinely worry that he’d end up going to the park instead or when grumpy, just won’t go to school. He starts y6 in September and I don’t know whether I’ll let him.”
Opinion on the topic varies from parent to parent with knowledge of their local areas playing a key factor when considering the safety of their child.
