How do you drop kids off at primary school?

[MoonLove]

My LO starts school next year and it'll be between two primary schools that she ends up at, both the same distance away.

I'll have a six month old baby by the time LO starts, so I'll be lugging a pram with us. It's a 20 min walk (40 there and back) to each school and I'm a tad anxious about it. I don't drive at the moment, but it's possible I will be in a year's time (although I want to avoid driving to school everyday, sitting in the traffic etc). My best option will probably be walking up and jumping on the bus back to the station, then walking a shorter distance home. So impractical and a faff but nevermind.

Anyway, i just wondered how the morning routine of dropping LOs off at school goes. Do you drop them at the gates? Or do you go in with them? I have to go into nursery, hang LOs coat up, put her juice in the box etc. I hope it's not the same routine at primary though, i don't necessarily expect there will be quite as much hanging around. It is a two minute walk to her nursery, five minutes to get her in and settled. Gonna be hard to getting used to almost an hour every morning and afternoon to get her to school. I don't know what to expect, I know they'll tell us at the time they start, but I'm nervously waiting!

I'm just nervous about the whole thing, bummed that we live quite a way from the schools.

 

[hattiehippo]

Our school is a 6-7 min walk so we're lucky. We walk most of the time but some days I have to drive straight to work so those days I drive and park a bit closer to the school but not right next to it.

At Tom's school the classroom door is opened at 8.45 and the kids are supposed to go in by themselves but he still wants me to go right up to the classroom door at the moment. But it's really quick - 5 mins at the most and then I walk home again.

One of my friends has a 25 min walk each way to her DD's school and she uses it as her exercise time and an outing for her 2 yr old too. It would take her a lot longer to drive it or get a bus.

 

[MoonLove]

Thanks hattiehippo, I'm actually looking forward to it as exercise time myself, hence why I'm not really fussing about being able to drive up. I guess I'm worried about it taking 20 mins to get up there, an age to faff around inside getting LO all sorted and into the classroom without tears and then trek 20 mins home, all whilst keeping a six month old entertained haha. I don't want it to just be dumping her on the corner and running off back home though, I just figure I'll be bloody knackered most days. It's tiring me out walking her into nursery most mornings at the moment! Having to wait around to squeeze past ten other mums and toddlers into the cloakroom is not an easy task! (especially at six months pregnant!)

 

[Tasha]

Our school the infants you drop at the door at 8.50, the juniors can be dropped from 8am for free breakfast and morning sports, you just drop them at the gate.

 

[~RedLily~]

At LO's school you can just drop them off at the gate but generally all the younger ones have their parents come in to put their things in the classroom and then wait in the playground until the bell goes and they go in. I'm normally at the school for 10 minutes.

 

[leoniebabey]

My LO's school is about 10-15 min walk, we walk every day.
with his class you dont have to go in with them but i always do.

not sure what i'm gonna do when my youngest starts nursery as there isnt one attached to the school!

 

[MrsT&Ben]

It all depends on the school. I have an 8 week old and a 4 & 1/2 year old and we walk every dday we are lucky that school is a 10 minute walk away. My sons school you leave them at the class room door and let them go in to class on their own. At my friends daughters school she has to take her in to the class room and settle her in.
Try not to stress about it, things will fall into place when the time comes xx

 

[RachA]

The school my two go to is a mile away from where we live. If i walk and DS cycles then it takes between 15 and 20 min to get there.
We go a variety of ways:

We walk the whole way (well DS and i do - DD has to be in the buggy as if she walked it'd take as an hour or else i'd have to carry her which i can't do).
We cycle (DD goes in a bike trailer as she can't cycle yet).
We drive part way and walk the rest.

For the first 1 week i took DD right into her classroom, then we had a couple of days of dropping her at the gate and she'd walk the rest of the way in on her own. Pretty stress free actually.

leoniebabey - the pre-school my two went to wasn't attached to the school either. It is do-able. I would leave home at 20past 8 and walk/cycle DS to school. DD's pre-school was really close to our house and started at 9am - i usually got her there just about at 9am.

 

[alicecooper]

For Jason in reception I go in with him, supervise him changing his shoes, tick his dinner for him, kiss him goodbye, change the water in his water bottle, and leave.

The other two I just hand them their bags as I'm walking past their classrooms (to get to Jason's), give them a kiss, and say bye. I don't go in with them.

 

[rosie272]

We're not allowed in the playground any more so I walk Charlie to the gates, kiss him goodbye and stand and wait for a wave once his class goes in. We were only allowed in for the first 2 weeks and that's was it, I've never even seen inside of his classroom!! School is a 15 minute walk for us, though Charlie is usually cycling or on a scooter so maybe 10 minutes. If it's really bad weather we catch bus and get there in 5 minutes, the amount of cars and traffic chaos in the mornings is ridiculous!

 

[stephx]

At my LOs school they start at 8.50 and there is reading time for 15 minutes.

Most parents stay for this and read with their kids.

But as I work, I drop Ava at breakfast club at 8am, I have to walk her into the hall and give her her purse etc.

School is a 15-20 minute walk, and she rides her bike which works well x

 

[lindseymw]

Joshua's School has a different entrance for Reception & Nursery to the rest of the School.

For the first couple of weeks, I would go into the cloakroom and help Joshua with his coat, bag & water bottle then he would go into the classroom. Then, I would stay outside of the cloakroom and let him sort himself out and wave through the window once he came into the classroom.

He's in Y1 now and Jacob is in Nursery so I drop Jacob off at 8.40 and cut through the building (would have walk all the way around the School to the main gates) & wait in the playground. Once the teacher comes out I hand him his bag, kiss him and say Bye.

It's about a 15 min walk to School so we set off at 8.20, get there for about 8.35, drop Jacob off then wait until 8.50 for Joshua. I walk to the School 3 times a day and usually take Joshua's Scooter for the walk home.

 

[shamrockerjo]

I drive my daughter to school everyday as it's a 15 mile trip one way. The school grounds are pretty big and there are different buildings for different classes. The building my daughter's classroom is in has a little fenced playground on one side and kids are dropped off there each morning. They take their book bags with them but any other bits like PE kit need to be dropped outside the classroom so I do that after dropping my daughter off. The bell rings at 8.30 when kids go inside but kids can be dropped off up to 15 mins before. In that time parents can go into the classroom to look around and chat to teacher if needed.

 

[LovemyBubx]

We have a 15 min walk to school, (for nursery we had a 30 min walk!) So obviously the walk seems like nothing for DD thank god. We go right up to the door the infants use to get in where there are always teachers welcoming the children & for parents to ask about anything etc.

I like going up to the door with her & watch her go in to her classroom just so I know she's safe before I walk to work (a extra 20 min walk for me, & will get longer as bump gets bigger no doubt!)

 

[Laucu]

I don't have to rush off to work or anything so we walk there and back. It's a 10-15 minute walk....uphill on the way there so I get plenty of exercise! I still put J in his buggy but i must get him used to walking soon as he'll be starting nursery there next September! Eeek! Then I'll be doing the school run 3 times a day - even more calories burnt going up that hill.

 

[Midnight_Fairy]

Ours is a 30min walk butmine usually run ahead omce over main road and i watch them go in gate x

 

[Boomerslady]

Every school seems to be different!! I'm lucky it's only a ten min walk away but die to the size of the school (6 form intake!) they can be dropped off anywhere from 8.40-8.55. I walk him to the outside door of his classroom, give him a kiss and that's it. I'm literally at the door for 15 seconds.

Then on the days I work I head straight for the nearest bus stop.

 

[shellideaks]

At DS1's current school, I just walk him to the gate and he goes to in on his own (the doors are open 8:45-8:55). When he was younger I used to walk him all the way to the door but he's in Year 4 now and is too old to be walked with apparently!

In his old school, all the kids had to line up outside so I'd stay waiting with him until the teachers came out. That was much more of a hassle if I had other things to do as you could be waiting 10 minutes.

 

[Mrs Doddy]

We walk it's 15mins , when she first started I took her to the classroom door - then as she got more confident i walk her onto the grounds and she goes through the side gate and into the school on her own

When i go back to work I will have to drive her to school first then do the nursery run

It will be fine

 

[Nats21]

We're lucky in that we live 5 mins walk away. Callums school starts at 9.05 but doors are open from 8.55, I drop him off at the door where a teacher waits and he walks into his class. When he gets to year 1 and 2 the kids all play outside in the playground and then they line up when the bell rings and go in with their teachers xx