School Run Traffic.....any 'pattern' to it ?

[Profpointy]

What's pala?

A typo - "pals"

 

[User10119]

One of the reasons is that children are simply not allowed to go to school, or more correctly, leave school, unless picked up by a specifc adult. This pretty much forces said adult to drive in order to pick up their kid. When I was little the bell went and off we went, whether straight home or to the park or whatever. This must be a huge burden for parents these days, doubly so for working mothers. It's almost a kind of sexist handmaiden's tale policy to prevent women working.

We've had this conversation before....

That may be a policy at a specific school. It isn't universal.

It isn't the policy at any of the primary schools that I work in or the primary school that my youngest attends. In the case of the latter, the youngest sometimes chooses to walk/scoot home alone but knows that in the event of changing decisions I can be texted (or the school office can call me) and I'll get the tandem out to go and collect. Younger children are generally released into the care of a known adult and the school expects to be told if someone out of the ordinary is collecting - other than the usual me/my formerly-beloved, my two were infrequently but repeatedly collected by an auntie, a granny, a neighbour etc and occasionally by a friend's parent if they were going round for tea. I would generally let the school know in advance, but only put it in writing once ever when I went away for a week's holiday and a couple of friends moved in to our place to look after the cats and the kids for us - I figured the school and the nursery both probably needed to know that a couple of blokes they'd never ever met or even seen before were authorised for the school run. There are a few kids that I am able to just say to the teacher "their mam has asked me to collect them" and the teachers know from previous experience that this is OK. Some children, for very good reasons, can only be collected by specific adults and the school knows which they are. The decision about whether a child is old enough to walk home alone is left to the parent although the school would highlight a concern to the parent if they felt there was a safety issue. Some kids who live nearby without roads to cross walk home from quite young - I agreed to the SmallestCub doing so from around 9 as there are a couple of busy roads to cross and I wasn't confident before that.

Re the OP - a couple of minutes one way or the other setting off, or a change in the weather, can make a VERY dramatic difference to how long our school run (on a tandem) takes. It can be anywhere from about 6 to 20 minutes.

 

[Profpointy]

[QUOTE 5065396, member: 10119"]We've had this conversation before....

That may be a policy at a specific school. It isn't universal.

It isn't the policy at any of the primary schools that I work in or the primary school that my youngest attends. In the case of the latter, the youngest sometimes chooses to walk/scoot home alone but knows that in the event of changing decisions I can be texted (or the school office can call me) and I'll get the tandem out to go and collect. Younger children are generally released into the care of a known adult and the school expects to be told if someone out of the ordinary is collecting - other than the usual me/my formerly-beloved, my two were infrequently but repeatedly collected by an auntie, a granny, a neighbour etc and occasionally by a friend's parent if they were going round for tea. I would generally let the school know in advance, but only put it in writing once ever when I went away for a week's holiday and a couple of friends moved in to our place to look after the cats and the kids for us - I figured the school and the nursery both probably needed to know that a couple of blokes they'd never ever met or even seen before were authorised for the school run. There are a few kids that I am able to just say to the teacher "their mam has asked me to collect them" and the teachers know from previous experience that this is OK. Some children, for very good reasons, can only be collected by specific adults and the school knows which they are. The decision about whether a child is old enough to walk home alone is left to the parent although the school would highlight a concern to the parent if they felt there was a safety issue. Some kids who live nearby without roads to cross walk home from quite young - I agreed to the SmallestCub doing so from around 9 as there are a couple of busy roads to cross and I wasn't confident before that.

Re the OP - a couple of minutes one way or the other setting off, or a change in the weather, can make a VERY dramatic difference to how long our school run (on a tandem) takes. It can be anywhere from about 6 to 20 minutes.[/QUOTE]

That is (arguably self-evidently) totally sensible. It's the blanket "rules" stuff I find an insidious ratcheting away from what is sensible, and indeed taking away the considerable freedom and more importanlty opportunity to learn and develop as a child.

 

[User10119]

That is (arguably self-evidently) totally sensible. It's the blanket "rules" stuff I find an insidious ratcheting away from what is sensible, and indeed taking away the considerable freedom and more importanlty opportunity to learn and develop as a child.

But since the four (I think?) parents who have commented on it, who seem to have current or v recent experience of school rules about collecting children, all have experiences that differ from the reported experiences of your friends and nobody else seems to be in the situation of being hostage to a school's insistence on the matter, perhaps it isn't that common a problem?

 

[Profpointy]

[QUOTE 5065705, member: 10119"]But since the four (I think?) parents who have commented on it, who seem to have current or v recent experience of school rules about collecting children, all have experiences that differ from the reported experiences of your friends and nobody else seems to be in the situation of being hostage to a school's insistence on the matter, perhaps it isn't that common a problem?[/QUOTE]

I don't have kids myself, so only going by what parents tell me; actual real people, not out of the paper just to make the point. On a related, albeit different point, I recall a work colleague, originally from Coatia commenting that she was suprised that when the kids went to play in the park one of the parents would take it in turns to supervise. She duly took her turn accepting a "do as the Romans do" approach. Her kids were 11. I was frankly astonished. From maybe 8 or a good bulit before I'd be going out to play all day on weekends. I'd get "where are you going" or "you mustn't go and play in such and such" but I wasn't supervised. Just to be clear I was given very clear boundaries on what was or wasn't allowed - but "out to play" was fine. In fact if I was in too much "you should go out to play" was the response if I was considered to be moping indoors.

 

[summerdays]

I don't have kids myself, so only going by what parents tell me; actual real people, not out of the paper just to make the point. On a related, albeit different point, I recall a work colleague, originally from Coatia commenting that she was suprised that when the kids went to play in the park one of the parents would take it in turns to supervise. She duly took her turn accepting a "do as the Romans do" approach. Her kids were 11. I was frankly astonished. From maybe 8 or a good bulit before I'd be going out to play all day on weekends. I'd get "where are you going" or "you mustn't go and play in such and such" but I wasn't supervised. Just to be clear I was given very clear boundaries on what was or wasn't allowed - but "out to play" was fine. In fact if I was in too much "you should go out to play" was the response if I was considered to be moping indoors.

Well if it helps to give a different perspective, my children (growing up in Bristol), would play out in the street and the neighbouring ones, even supervising their younger sibling (in our road only) when he was say 6. Equally we knew of one parent whose child would put us in an awkward position when we would find out that her parents assumed we were at home supervising their daughter at all times (secondary schoold age) You do get over protective parents and equally parents at the other end of the scale. Mind you when mine were very small I really had to watch my middle child as she would have gone off with anyone, and frequently did.... never went through the stranger phase as a toddler, and I had children come up to me asking to let her play with them (in a swimming pool when she was about 2 for example).

 

[User10119]

I do have kids - two.of 'em - and all I'm saying is that our experiences don't match what your mates have experienced. Nor, from the sounds of it, do those of a number of other posters. So, as I've said, that must be a localised policy for that school because it isn't in force everywhere.

Mine have also played out unsupervised in the street for years and to the local park for a couple of summers now...

 

[Profpointy]

I'm actually rather relieved that things are clearly not as bad as I'd assumed, at least not widely so, so there is hope still. That said, the over-control does genuinely sometimes occur as the people tellign me aren't making it up, but thankfullu not everywhere as those upthread have confirmed. Maybe it's a bit like the helmet thing from a few but not manh schools

 

[Julia9054]

I'm actually rather relieved that things are clearly not as bad as I'd assumed, at least not widely so, so there is hope still. That said, the over-control does genuinely sometimes occur as the people tellign me aren't making it up, but thankfullu not everywhere as those upthread have confirmed. Maybe it's a bit like the helmet thing from a few but not manh schools

All primary schools will have a policy on this but i would be very surprised at a school where the policy says no walking home by themselves at any age. That would be very unusual. Primary schools recognise that they have a role to play in preparing their pupils for the transition to secondary where it would be assumed that those who live near enough would be making their own way there.

 

[summerdays]

I'm actually rather relieved that things are clearly not as bad as I'd assumed, at least not widely so, so there is hope still. That said, the over-control does genuinely sometimes occur as the people tellign me aren't making it up, but thankfullu not everywhere as those upthread have confirmed. Maybe it's a bit like the helmet thing from a few but not manh schools

It could be a specific school and maybe in a knee jerk reaction to something that happened, I know there were reports a year or two back of someone trying to get a child in a car outside a couple of schools - other schools were warned at the time, perhaps the school started the policy then? Whereas most of the local schools just did the message in assemblies, and book bags/emails.

 

[Drago]

I used to play out unsupervised.

Before the age of 10 I had played with bullets, a Webley pistol, and a box of shotgun cartridges. Parents and schools today don't know the real meaning of the word 'risk'.

 

[summerdays]

i

I used to play out unsupervised.

Before the age of 10 I had played with bullets, a Webley pistol, and a box of shotgun cartridges. Parents and schools today don't know the real meaning of the word 'risk'.

To be fair the risk has changed.... there are far more cars around now (parked or moving). A lady in Bristol started the "Playing Out" where they close off a street regularly to allow kids to play in the road with the other kids from their street and the parents/neighbour's get to socialise as well.

 

[Drago]

Very true, the nature of the risk has evolved.

However, most of those who complain, and who close off streets so their kids can play are equally guilty of driving unnecessarily along streets where other people live and work and are happy to cause risk and congestion when it suits them.

We shouldn't be closing off streets for kids to play. Sticking a band aid over a gaping wound doesn't help. We should be seriously addressing the culture of bone idle laziness and unnecessary car use.

 

[Julia9054]

We should be seriously addressing the culture of bone idle laziness and unnecessary car use.

By making car use difficult and inconvenient and the alternatives easy, safe and convenient.

 

[NickNick]

Very true, the nature of the risk has evolved.

However, most of those who complain, and who close off streets so their kids can play are equally guilty of driving unnecessarily along streets where other people live and work and are happy to cause risk and congestion when it suits them.

We shouldn't be closing off streets for kids to play. Sticking a band aid over a gaping wound doesn't help. We should be seriously addressing the culture of bone idle laziness and unnecessary car use.

Couldn't regular closer of roads for kids to play, street parties... play its part in addressing the culture of bone idle laziness and unnecessary care use, by reclaiming the roads from road users? If it became a regular occurrence on a large enough scale I think it could.