I walked to and back from junior school on my own. It was not far away, about a 10 minute walk away.
I was at a junior school the other day and it seemed that they were not allowed out of school until they had seen/recognised a parent or guardian stood in the car park to pick them up.
This did cause a problem when a certain stepdad turned up and he had been stepdad to at least 3 of the pupils.
When I was 13, I would catch a train to London KX from Hull and wander around London all day trainspotting on my own. When I was 17 and in work I would walk around the record shops in Rotterdam on my own.
Chocolate was still rationed until just before I left primary. Walked with sister to school from 41/2. Only one road to cross and much less traffic then. Managed to avoid school bus smoking by cycling to secondary. 7 miles:-(
The one I know charges £40/hour to look after an uncollected child after school, but that depends on someone being available to supervise, and after an hour they are likely to be handed over to social services if they have been unable to contact a parent to arrange someone to collect them.
The school can assess a child as suitable for self-transportation. That requires that the child is a minimum age (I think 9) and of sufficient maturity, and going to an address with a suitable parent or guardian at home, and depends on the mode of transport. At some later age (maybe 11), the requirement for a suitable parent or guardian at home can be relaxed, but again depending on their maturity of the child.
A child under 12 coming to harm (or found to be at a risk of doing so) as a result of not being under the supervision of a parent, guardian, or school, can result in prosecution of whoever is considered to have been responsible for the welfare of the child at the time.
Aged 8 I would walk half a mile each way twice a day.
I did get knocked down by a large motor coach. People had been agitating for a lollipop man at that spot for ages. Ther is still someone there every day; they owe their job to me!
Heh. The doors were never locked. It's how it was then.
I was expected by the school authorities to walk miles to school on my own at age 5 down roads with no pavement or verge to walk on where truckers frequently drove criminally, endangering the lives of all in the area. My parents rightly refused.
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