Walking Home Alone
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. However, as a school we are responsible for the welfare of our pupils and therefore have to consider what we believe is good practice in ensuring the safety of our pupils. We also have an obligation to alert relevant authorities should we believe a child’s welfare is at risk.
Pupils in EYFS & KS1
Our agreed school policy is that no pupil in Foundation Stage or Key Stage 1 should walk to or from school on his or her 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 provided they are 14 years old or above (however, if the professional judgement of the adult at school deems the older sibling not to be suitable, they will not hand the child over).
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 in writing. 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 and we have failed to make contact with the child’s carer, we will consult with family services. We will not allow older brothers or sisters in school to collect younger siblings.
Pupils in KS2 (Year 3, 4, 5 & 6)
While there is no set age when children are ready to walk to school or home on their own, we believe that pupils in LKS2 (Years 3 and 4) should be still brought to and collected from school and this is our school policy. Therefore, as regards pupils in UKS2 - Year 5 (from term 5 onwards) and Year 6, we believe that 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 and your child’s confidence. Work with your children to build up their independence while walking to school through route finding, road safety skills and general awareness. There are many ways you can prepare your child to make an independent journey. Children who are driven to school do not have the opportunity to develop road awareness and are therefore more vulnerable when they start to walk to school independently.
Walking to school is a great opportunity to learn road safety skills. The best way to do this is to walk with your children from a young age, teaching them about crossing the road, learning how to navigate and a host of other skills. This helps them gain the experience and confidence to deal with traffic and way finding on their own, in preparation for walking with friends or alone when they are older.
Please note that we will not allow children to walk home alone in the dark or after attending an after-school club; this expectation applies to all year groups including those children in Years 5 and 6 (UKS) that would usually have permission to walk home alone.
The NSPCC's Home or out alone guide
