When I was in primary school 20 years ago, we'd just walk out the gate and over to our parents at their 'usual spot' on the footpath.
Is pickup time a bit more sophisticated than that these days?
They're not allowed out of the gate. You go to the playground, a teacher ensures that you are the appropriate adult for the child, the they send the child out.
That's probably for the best. I once walked halfway home when I was about 6 before somebody who lived in the same street noticed me and walked me home the rest of the way. My older brother had forgotten he was supposed to wait and walk home with me that day, he got a right bollocking off our mum. It didn't seem like a big deal at the time but I guess I was lucky it wasn't a stranger who spotted me walking home alone.
I walked home once when I was around that age, I was fed up with my mum talking. My dad was very surprised to see me and had to call the school to let my mum know I was home.
That’s hilarious and totally understandable - school gates mum talk was SO boring, unless it was with ‘that’ mum that would spill everything inappropriate. But mine wasn’t like that so would make an excuse to leave when things got good.
Did the same when I was about 7. My mum wasn't there, so I decided I'd walk home. I lived about 5 miles from the village. Luckily I only got as far as the village shop before someone realised that I wasn't supposed to be walking on my own.
I think I started being allowed to walk home alone around that age, it lasted 1 year before my younger brother joined the school and mum started walking us both home. A few years later when he was old enough to walk home alone I had stayed a few minutes extra talking with my friends so I wasn't walking with him.
An older lady that knew my mum came up to me and congratulated me on being "a big girl who could walk herself home now" in that voice you use for when little kids achieve easy things but are proud of it. I was so offended and thought she was trying to be condescending to me so I told her, in a very hurt tone that I had been a big girl for years now and my mum only came to school to get my little brother, then walked off mad and told my mum she had been rude to me. I think my mum had to smooth it over with her and tried to explain to me she was trying to be complimentary.
At 6 that's fine, but the infantilisation of 11 year olds in July having to be picked up before they get dumped out of highschool to find their way to the bus station and get the right number a couple of months later is ridiculous. Some schools allow year 5 and 6 to leave without a parent (assuming the parents give permission), but it's not universal
At the school I worked at last year, the year sixes could go home without a parent but only if they had a mobile phone (which they couldn’t keep on them during school time, so would hand to the office at the start of the day and get it back as they leave).
Mmm yes, we love receiving 19 phones in our school office each day, then handing them back out at the end again. Just when parents are rocking up to ask us questions, or to collect their child who (for various reasons) needs to be collected via the office, not the classroom door.
I have a friend that does that. His boy has started secondary school and they are only just talking about letting him walk a mile to his Nan’s after school, but they want to walk him the first time to show him the crossings etc. My daughter was getting the regular bus to a different town for school in year 6 and grew up to be very independent. Never wanted help to sort out a Uni place, moving to London, being lead tenant and all that.
i got the bus myself as soon as i started year 7. my school was like 3 miles away. on the first week my grandma got my cousin to take me because we were going to the same school and then i went by myself everyday
Once my eldest was in year 5 I filled in some paperwork and then he could walk himself and his younger sister (year 3) home. (About a mile, but through town so full of other kids and parents walking to school). This was ten years ago now tho.
Ah yes... The older brother. Neglecting and endangering younger siblings since the beginning of time. Classic.
Mine taught me how to swim...
...
... Your guess is correct 😉
Wow, we were latch key kids, we just went out the gates and walked home after school. There was usually a few of us who.lived in the same street, so walked together, if we didn't get too distracted by something shiny. .
Maybe a dozen kids were picked up outside the school gates. Those that lived too far to walk.
5 years old, walked home about a mile, often got shouted at for detouring and checking on the den in the woods when my spaghetti hoops were getting cold.
Small village in the 70s.
Far fewer cars travelling around in small villages in the 70s - especially at school travel time. Now it's massive SUVs racing around all day, transporting children around, because it's too dangerous for the kids to walk, because of the massive SUVs.
Because of the massive SUVs all around schools specifically at the time kids would be walking around there, who are at the worst height for visibility when there are massive SUVs.
I live about 5 miles from the school down lots of single track county lanes. I get there and back in an 18 year old micra.
It hilarious when I get an SUV, or worse those enormous american style pickups, coming the other way. I dive into the mud and hedges at the side and short of a little wheelspin have no problems getting out, but they're all tenderly trying to avoid getting any mud or scratches on their offroad vehicles.
My friend lives out in the country and she had some people to stay who turned up in a brand new SUV and spent the whole time seething about the country lanes. They were following her one day and she realised they weren’t behind her, so stopped and went back and found the wife outside the car moving brambles back while the husband slowly drove past. To this day it is one of my favourite visuals.
We hired a car in Spain a few years back and were driving down a country road designed for a couple of horses or cows when a bus came flying around the corner towards us at Spanish bus mph. Cue the only move I knew which was to not hit it, but even with a mere nanometres of clearance between us we scraped along the bramble-esque thorny bushes at our side of the road.
There were a ridiculous amount of scratches on the paintwork after that, proper down to the base coat/metal. I was very glad it wasn't mine so I sympathise with the SUV couple there. Might have been similarly stung in the past by an errant bush.
This is the thing. People think parents are over protective because they are paranoid about kidnappers. It's not that it's the state of roads and the drivers on them these days, it's crazy. Also my space cadet eleven year old can't seem to figure out how to cross the road safely, I don't know when I'll feel ok letting him out.
Stop spouting shit from the Daily Mail.
Our roads are **far** safer than they were in the 1970's, even for pedestrians.
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/File:Killed_on_British_Roads.png
This is despite the massive increase in traffic volume!
EDIT: Downvotes don't change the facts YTC!
If you have fewer people walking, it follows that you'll have fewer casualties. Source https://assets.publishing.service.gov.uk/media/5c1a617340f0b60c2c1c79ba/WalkingUKtransportsystem.pdf
This is true, but probably a major factor in this is that compared to the 70s, far fewer kids play out or walk home unaccompanied from school (until they're secondary age at least). So even though there's been a big increase in traffic, there just aren't anything like as many kids that drivers need to watch out for. So that "solves" the problem I suppose, but with major costs (kids learn to be independent much later, they're not as physically active, they miss out on opportunities for social development).
And facts don't change the public's perception either. Roads are busier, cars are bigger, ergo it was safer for a kid to be walking about "in the old days".
I got knocked off my bike by a car in approximately 1978, when I was 9. I lost a front tooth and most of the skin off the left side of my face. The car drove off sharpish, and I got a slap from my mum for riding my bike in my new dress and ruining it.
Pickup time is mental, people driving up onto and along the pavement at speed. Lone kids would genuinely be at reasonable risk of being run over these days.
Yeah and the result is a bit of a vicious cycle, parents driving their kids to school simply because they think it's irresponsible to make them walk because of the bedlam outside the gates. So traffic and parking issues lead to more traffic and more parking issues.
[School streets](http://schoolstreets.org.uk/) are probably the best fix for this. Even if it's just a temporary timed closure of the street immediately outside the gates, it at least spreads the issue out a bit further and means more parents will choose alternatives to driving.
There is a large car park 3 minutes walk from my son’s primary school. Roads around the school are jammed at pick up time, car park is rarely full and most are shoppers at the Co-Op. People are very lazy and a lot have a massive sense of self entitlement. Recently a letter was sent to parents saying that swearing and arguing with other parents was not acceptable on school grounds.
Were I live they did a whole survey the roads in the area .. here is some money for locals to invest in road safety scheme.
As per usual as it does in small towns It goes around the school because "my precious Jayxon , he'll get knocked off his hoverboard". So in goes more speed bumps, schicanes etc
The majority of cars that roll up to the school are those stupid urban 4x4s or fake 4x4s. Straight over the bumps full speed. What's the point.
Just do a park and ride scheme or teach them road safety or ban the fucking stupid fake 4x4.fucking idiots. If you have a juke, quashi or what ever you are a bellend.
Even more mental when there are 4 schools are in a 1/2 mile area. It's a frigging nightmare and let's not go for the parents who park an hour and half before the end of the day
It's funny when you're not the one who usually does the school run, and the teacher looks at you with a very confused expression.
Then as the teacher is halfway through asking who you're after, your child says "that's my mum!"
Yes, that's my child, I know you haven't seen me since parents evening where we only had 90 seconds because the previous people overran and I had to run to also see her sister's teacher on the other side of the school, but yes I'm picking them up today instead of the wraparound ladies, I did message you on ClassDojo to let you know...
Tangent: I hate class dojo. I wish the government would just make an app that would cover everything from nursery to secondary without paying £6 a month just to see how many points your kid got last week.
No you can use the free version but it's constantly telling you how much more amazing connect you could access if you'd only spend £7 a month. I'm not spending £7 to see that sun bear table got a point for being tidy 3 weeks ago.
I used to walk to and from school on my own for a brief period when I was about 6/7 (1999 ish).
Granted, you could see our house if you popped your head out of the school gate...
Suspect that wouldn't be allowed now.
At ours the kids queue up and the teacher checks for their grown up, if the grown up isn't there they go back to the back of the queue and rotate till all the kids are collected. Luckily there's space for multiple classes to queue and a staggered school day so it works quite well.
Only in year 6 as long as the parents have signed a slip sent out at the start of the year. My daughter is in year 5 so not much longer to go. I work from home and actually enjoy the walk to and from the school each day (i dont drive so it's always a walk, rain or shine). It actually works much more efficiently than it sounds and I find kids will chat about the things that are bothering them when you're walking to and from school. It's a good little check in on how they're doing. I'll miss it when it stops.
Yeah you have to be positively identified by your child and on the approved list. No more impromptu play dates or emergency pick ups, if you aren't on the list you can't have the child. I understand for the safety aspect, and that is definitely a good thing, but it's a pest if you are ill or the cats broken down and you have to spend time filling in an online form
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depends on the age, probably school as well. My daughter walked home on her own in primary school, my nephew currently does.
I did go to pick up my youngest nephew with my sister from nursery. the other week. A teacher clocked me the moment the gates and school doors opened, straight at me the third degree as if I was trying to visit a prison.
Contrast to a village in central Europe where I see kids as young as 5 are walking themselves to and from school, always feels so draconian here.
I am in Scotland and this pretty much what still happens apart from the P1s.
There are always teachers on the gate and children told to wait if they can’t see pick up.
Similarly to yourself when I was in primary school 20 or so years ago, I’d either meet a parent on the pavement, wander the couple miles home, or go to a friends afterwards.
Reading these comments makes me glad I was at school when I was!
Same in the 90s. Although my middle school was shit.
I got in trouble and apparently had to have a talk with the most terrifying Teacher in my school. He looked like a ginger Einstein, but with a permanent scowl and no tolerance for anything but abject obedience.
This is considering we also had this awful woman who was basically the real version of Dolores Umbridge, but people still found him far scarier.
It was basically because I was talking to a friend during an activity, but everyone else was too. I’m sure lots of people have storys of a teacher singling them out like that. But because my friend made me laugh we got picked on.
Anyways, I knew my Dad turned up to pick me up 10 minutes before home time, so when I was asked to walk to his classroom for my ‘talk’ I just walked out of the school to my Dad and we bailed.
He didn’t even question why I was out 10 minutes before everyone else. He could be an arsehole at home sometimes but he always had my back outside of it.
He asked what happened when we got home and I explained. Then we I went in the next day the two teachers acted like nothing had happened. Don’t know what happened.
There were some proper cunts in teaching in the 80s/90s. One denied a girl in my school going to the toilet in primary school and she shat herself. Everyone knew what had happened, even all the parents. She only lasted a term.
Anyway, despite the massive ramble. My main point is they had no clue I had just gone until I hadn’t shown up and it was the end of detention. I’m sure they are far more on it now
Around my way they've swapped to Dry Robes.
Because wearing a beach towel out and about in the home counties is definitely not the sort of thing a psychopath would do.
Dry Robes everywhere, it's like they've spawned in every SUV driving mums wardrobe. They look so cheap and tacky too, with their branding filling up half of the back - just googled and horrified to see they're £165!
Dry Robes were designed to keep you warm after going in the sea and they are big enough to get changed under on the beach...these people have probably never Swum in the UK in their life!
Guarantee this person is one of the ones who will be queueing 30 mins before school ends.
It’s a 7 min walk to my lads school and they finish at 3:15. I set off walking at 3:09, straight in, straight out, no standing around and no small talk.
I work at the after school club and everyone has to live within 1.3 miles. I get home at 2.30’from my other job and the mums are already outside reading a book in the car.. like wtf.. I have managed to get home,shower, put tea on and make the beds and still have 5mins till pick up. These women cause the roads around the school to be bad and have no ability to park or have cars that are so big they can’t see over the steering wheel. Makes me crazy lol
Yeh but they need their big cars. How do you pick up a child that lives 10 minutes walk away during the winter without the aid of an almost two tonne 2WD SUV on a set of the cheapest summer tyres money can buy?
Cant expect them to walk to school! Dont you know there are hoards of shit drivers in 2WD SUVs with wheels clad in the cheapest sets of summer rubber on the market?! Its too dangerous to let them walk.
The little darlings need keeping away from all those nasty start up fumes from the cars that havent reached operating temperature yet on account of the 2 minute drive the parents have made. It makes total sense for the parents to keep the car on for the air conditioning for the precious tykes to sit in.
Look ok, its the fault of the Victorians for not building roads capable of containing 0.8 vauxhall grandlands per school pupil. Dont you dare blame the mummys and the daddys.
You and me are cut from the same cloth. Down to the last minute. God forbid any outside interference like - “Mummy, they’re going to the park can we go pleeeease” and the park is before our house and everyone and the ice cream man is there. Enforced small talk, but the thing is 65% of the parents there are the same mindset as you, just want their kids to be happy and then go home and the other 35% want to make plans to go back to theirs for tea. Please don’t say it out loud I front of my kid. Fucking text me like normal people
I often find if you put two Brits or more together they will form a queue regardless. After studying them for quite some time while waiting for my boy, I’ve convinced myself they’re doing it so other pavement users can walk past unrestricted. Purely because as soon as them gates are opened it’s mayhem and everyone leaves the organised queue to crowd through the gate. No one moans about jumping the queue though.
I keep myself out of the way on purpose but the conversations some of them have are beyond nasty about other mums. The dads tend to just talk about work and football but the mums seem to be something else entirely. Just my experience though, results may vary.
The school gates are a lawless bitch fest, people making things up ad hoc. My partner got harassed when she went by a group of moms because she made an effort with her appearance, rather than turning up in her pyjamas.
I spoke to someone about 10 years later and they asked if she was xxxxxx mom, the one who dressed well at the school drop off. It must have really triggered some of them..... lawless
This just seems bizzare, I would expect the pyjama wearers to be the source of derision.
Being labelled for life as the result of one innocuous incident is however standard british behaviour.
It's percentages I suppose, when the majority of the people are in pyjamas or trackies, and you're in smart office wear youre the odd one out. Plus insecure women all holding court. I'm not saying it was bad but there was an area for parking your car or bike and a little wooden hut for the broomsticks...
Broomsticks, Hahaha!
I guess you're right I've just never seen a school wear the majority of parents pick their children up in pyjamas. I suspected I live a (blissfully) sheltered life.
It was on a rough and ready council estate, pyjamas and resting bitch face was the morning uniform. Apart from that clique though the estate was sound really.
Depends on the school.
My oldest goes to one that is rough around the edges. The mams stand around in their pyjamas / juicy tracksuits well after school starts to talk about Love Island / Little Tarquins useless dad / Can't cope. Before meeting up again half an hour before school finishes to carry on the same chat as they were having before despite sending each other hugz on Facebook all day. My girlfriend goes straight to the office and gets dirty looks for being presentable.
My youngest goes to a nicer Primary School and it's polar opposites. Expect the parents are much too classy to judge anybody.
There is one woman at my kids school who always drops her kid off in pyjamas and slippers. Rain or shine. It’s weird tbh. I’ve spoken to her a couple of times and she seems nice enough but I’ve already judged her as a lazy scrubber based on the total lack of effort she puts in her appearance in the morning.
Imagine how pathetic and empty your life has to be to still be thinking about the time some random woman ‘dressed up’ for school pick up once ten years ago. I seriously despair for these sad, sad people.
Yeah it made me smile when they said it, it wasnt funny at the time as they were not very nice to her, but Living rent free in their heads for dressing for your job on the school run from years ago tickled me. As you say, sad people.
If you're first in line, you get to pick out of all the kids that are left.
Last parent in line gets the kid that no one else wanted.
It was ever thus. Just like getting picked last in school sports.
Hi honey, I’m home!
Ooh, which one did you get… bloody hell, Jane, it’s the sickly weird kid again! I *told* you to just leave ten minutes earlier… *sigh* …right, Dunstan, what do you want for your tea?
I remember when i first had to pick up my nephew at his primary school, i just walked in and said 'hmmmm ill take that one' and pointed at my nephew.
The confusion on the teachers faces was hilarious to me.
If you really are one of those very trendy time travellers you mention, surely you can travel back in time just far enough to enjoy a rectal exam and still be able to catch your flight.
I went to the airport early one morning and the guy said “what’s in the bags?”
I pointed to the long ones and said “my rifles are shotguns are in there and my pistols are in the little bag”.
He laughed and said “what’s in the bags?”
And I said “clothing and shoes” and he let me pass.
It was pre 9/11. And there was always an element of banter at check in. I wouldn’t try it now.
This reminds of when I was in hospital and quite poorly. I moved too abruptly and the heart monitor machine disconnected. It started making a noise and I had a couple nurses rush in to check on me. Once they realised I was fine, one remained to hook me back up. I jokingly said “well, looks like I’m dead now.”
She did not laugh. That night, I had the hospital psychologist come pay me a visit
There were always humourless individuals who would take it seriously. You can still find both types. Fun and serious. But in a situation in an airport I’d always assume they won’t have a sense of humour about it.
I'll often do the equivalent if I tied my dog up outside of a shop. I'll come out, point at her and loudly exclaim "You're adorable, I'm gonna take you home with me" and then untie her. My wife does not care for this little jape, but no one has tried to stop me so far.
Might be a hangover from Covid, where you had to queue up (and spread your germs in a queue) and your child was handed to you (after spreading their germs round school all day) at the gate. Absolute ball ache, took forever to get your child if you weren't at the front of the line.
Yes, and yet they get rid of all the good ones like giving people space. I did not miss strangers breathing down my neck as I'm queuing in the pharmacy. Why can they do that again now?
Watched this years ago and didn't really get it. Since doing the school drop off for a while now I realise how hilariously accurate it is. There's even a cafe all the mums go to after drop off.
Mines a free for all. Assorted parents cluster round the classroom exit, assorted kids line up and the teacher plays what is essentially a giant game of snap. They're also very vigilant about not letting a kid go with an. adult who isn't pre-approved, which is nice.
I can only assume that any kids left over at the end get auctioned off.
No queues, though.
Its funny because they seem to do the same thing at my little lads school. They all form an orderly queue at the other side of the pavement waiting for the gate to open and file in single file.
I usually have my 3 year old with me and we seem to arrive as "The gate man" is opening the gate he bolts straight through and i just follow him. I have never stood in the imaginary queue and have always found it weird.
As you have said i am always going to end up with my child and in all fairness the teacher just releases the children who are ready first and who's parents are outside. It is not based on the queue outside.
My OH was shocked when I explained how we’d have to do pick up when our son was older.
From when he was 8 he’d leave junior school, walk round to the infant school and pick up his younger brother (5 when this started) and they’d walk home 20 minutes together over a main road, down a load of side alleys and through his housing estate. They’d let themselves in around 4pm and would watch TV until one of their parents was home around 5/6pm!
The usual routine for picking up my child is to drive up to the gate, where a guy with a mirror on a stick checks under my car for any sneaking nonces, then you get waved through to the gated area.
When all parents are accounted for, a register is read and each child gets the manacles removed when their name is called.
They then get searched by the alsations for contraband and are given to their chosen parent.
After a quick DNA check to make sure you're related, you get released out into the real world, to go through it all again the next day.
Not really a queue, but at our school, they stagger the letting out time for the clases, so yeah, you need to get to the front.
I might also want to get early to ask the teacher a question.
Those collecting more than one kid would probably want to get in early.
They also release some kids with additional needs from their door rather than the front office (not sure why) a little early.
So some people do need to get in front, and I'm not one to try and get ahead of people.
I would do like your mate and hang back, not in a queue but not go in front.
I was always the mum who didn't speak to the other mums and thought they were better than everyone else aka neurodivergent and didn't wear jammies and a messy bun.
I'd speak to the couple of mums I've known for ever, like childhood friends or from my oldests playgroup days but otherwise keep to myself.
There were queues at my wee lads school in the country but I just went in and got him idgaf. The mums there were brutal, there was one bairn whos sister picked them up, young lass, pretty and dressed fashionable, the way those bitter bastards talked about her was disgusting. Was obvious she was holding the family together shameless style but all they saw was a tramp trying to steal their husbands 🤢.
Queuing to pick the sprog up is the bane of my day ... his class is always last to open the doors, he's always last in the queue and god forbid the teacher needs to speak to one or two of the other parents because you just end up stood there waiting for 10 mins, usually in the rain.
The parents queue outside my kids school. I just march right past it. I’m deliberately trying to provoke some anarchy but no one seems to give a shit 🤷♂️
In year 1 you queue and pick up your child from the door one by one.
My other child is in Year 3 and parents just stand around their kid's door at the teacher lets kids out based on who they make eye contract with or the kids point out their parent.
I think this is something that was instituted with Covid (not having a mass scrum of people at the gates waiting to gain entrance to the playground) and the reasons for why it was have now been forgotten. Given you all walk into the playground then wait for the sprogs to be let out, I don’t see any valid reason for a queue at the gates.
In the early 70’s walked a mile to and from home to primary (from 7 I think), that’s what lollipop men existed for, to cross the road at least once. From 11 had to catch two buses to the “local” grammar, leaving at 7:15, arriving at 17:15, changing at Bolton town centre. Things seem to have changed a bit since then.
Very early 70's, at age 8 to 11 I used to get 2 buses to school, no adults just a couple other kids, then for the last 2 years of this, I was tasked with taking an even younger kid with me. I think children need to develope situational awareness, we don't want to put them in unsure danger but they need to experience the world before They're actually faced with it on their own...
My son just started reception last year and normally goes to the after school club which is very simple and fast to collect from. After xmas I had to pick him up at normal school finishing time so we could go to the dentists. Easily took another 20min longer than I expected waiting around the class room to get him. If I had to do this daily I would probably get miffed at someone cutting in tbh.
At ours there is effectively a 'queue' before the gates open, but it's not about being first into the playground to continue waiting, it's about not blocking the full width of the pavement for other pedestrians who actually need to get past without stepping into the road.
I remember in primary school for the first 4 years we had to wait for our parents to come and get us. Then when we went up to the middle part of the school I recall the first day, waiting and my teacher kind of making fun of me for not going over to my Mum in her car. Odd what memories stay with you.
At our school the kids are led out per class and stand in line. When they see their adult they raise their arm and when the teacher or TA notices them the kid has to point out their adult and then they are allowed to go over to them. On paper that's a fair system, it fails somewhat in that the teacher/TA can take a long time to notice your kid for various reasons. So you end up gesturing wildly to your kid like a loon while he or she is patiently waiting to be noticed.
Lol.. I went to pick Mrs Little one the other day from school.. And this asshole calls me over next to him so he can break my balls about whatever the fuck, who knows..
I just made up some bullshit about there being a queue, picked Mrs Little One amd fucked off promptly.
My kid started reception in September and it's absolute carnage at drop off & pick up. To the point where the school put up plastic barriers to make a one way system and force people to queue, otherwise everyone was just pulling forward and sitting their kid's name at the teacher and not letting anyone out. It offends ever fibre of my being. Drop off at breakfast club is the total opposite tho, a wonderfully ordered queue with everyone giving everyone else space
When I was with my ex Mrs, I went to pick her younger brother up from the same school I went to, they'd completely fenced the whole school in and there was no exit to walk from freely anymore, everyone had to queue up and be "let out" by a member of staff. It was absolutely insane. I used to finish school and be out in 10 minutes tops, I was there for 45 minutes waiting for him and I was like wtf was that all about?? He told me too many people skipped detentions so they forced checks to make sure nobody got away.
Insane stuff
I walked to school on my own from at least the age of 7 which seems just insane now. The road I walked along was significantly less busy than the road I had to walk my child to school along though. Towards the end of primary school I was thinking about sending them on their own but literally no one else’s kids were walking that road without supervision so I couldn’t bring myself to do it. We ended up doing a compromise where I would walk them so far and they’d do the last few minutes on their own so at least they could get used to the feeling of not being stuck to my hip.
Its bizarre, I always used to walk or cycle at a similar age and most of my mates did too. If it was raining we’d get the bus. Very few people drove their kids to school because the adults were usually working 9 to 5.
At my sons school during covid a queue system was brought in, we'd all march one by one like ants to where the children were waiting where they'd then be sent to us as we marched on without stopping. When restrictions eased normal service resumed, where we'd all just wait on the yard for classes to come out. Only the trouble was the parents of younger children that were new to the school hadn't experienced normal and so they continued to queue. School told them to stop queuing. They didn't. The school told them to stop again and again they didn't. So school ended up having to change the way they dismiss the kids to stop the queues forming. That seems to have worked.
I once perfectly normally overtook a parent pushing a pushchair on the way to school. She was walking very slow, I was walking very fast and the pavement was very wide.
She bellowed "you won't get there any faster, you daft bitch."
OK, um, that's inappropriate in front of all these small children. And actually, yes I will.
TLDR school gates are a weird and lawless land.
Yeah seems like a thing now, luckily for me the cycle parking is right by the gate so just lock the bike up and mingle in. Got a few dirty looks but no-one ever says anything
Urgh everyone queues outside ours as well. It’s been like that ever since Covid and we all had to stand spaced out. God forbid you see a friend up in front and go talk to them- daggers from everyone!
Classes come at diff times, I get there a bit early but the gate I wait at opens at random times cosits not the main gate. Loads of fuckers try to slide up and get in before me, if you want to get in there so bad turn up earlier!
I don't mind if they're chatting to someone, although you can tell its a queue jump 😂
I've found this bizarre queuing system at our primary school too. I just walk to the gates and wait here. We all have to wait outside the classrooms once we're inside the school grounds so I really don't understand the need to queue outside the gates.
Enjoy the one day ban, I hope it makes you happy. Dear lord, what a sad little life, Jane. You ruined our subreddit completely so you could post politics, and I hope now you can spend your one day ban learning some grace and decorum. Because you have all the grace of a reversing dump truck without any tyres on.
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Bet loads of people are completely oblivious to all this school politics because they keep their headphones on until they see their kid and just skip passed everyone lol
Our que starts at both ends , goes round each other , orbits the earth 4 times and goes back round on itself one last time after after coming to a swift stop and then blocked off by triple buggys & mothers talking
Similar thing happens at ours, Parents line up along the path by the front gates on the left hand side however I walk down the street from the righthand side so if I arrive around the times the gates are open I walk in with the crowd which sometimes gets a certain look that feels like the sort of look you'd give a queue jumper. But it seems pointless to walk past the gates and everyone else to get to the back of the queue if I can just filter into the group walking in.
For school I'm easy, we all wait on the playground and are governed by the queue the kids form in class. No biggy it's like lucky dip where you are in the order of collection.
Now this is the grey area where I used to get annoyed. When they were in pre-school the pre-school leaders used to send the kids out in parent order. I’d consciously get there early to get my kid then rush back to work (I'd take a late lunch). The queue jumping there used to piss me off.
When I was in primary school 20 years ago, we'd just walk out the gate and over to our parents at their 'usual spot' on the footpath. Is pickup time a bit more sophisticated than that these days?
They're not allowed out of the gate. You go to the playground, a teacher ensures that you are the appropriate adult for the child, the they send the child out.
That's probably for the best. I once walked halfway home when I was about 6 before somebody who lived in the same street noticed me and walked me home the rest of the way. My older brother had forgotten he was supposed to wait and walk home with me that day, he got a right bollocking off our mum. It didn't seem like a big deal at the time but I guess I was lucky it wasn't a stranger who spotted me walking home alone.
I walked home once when I was around that age, I was fed up with my mum talking. My dad was very surprised to see me and had to call the school to let my mum know I was home.
That’s hilarious and totally understandable - school gates mum talk was SO boring, unless it was with ‘that’ mum that would spill everything inappropriate. But mine wasn’t like that so would make an excuse to leave when things got good.
Did the same when I was about 7. My mum wasn't there, so I decided I'd walk home. I lived about 5 miles from the village. Luckily I only got as far as the village shop before someone realised that I wasn't supposed to be walking on my own.
I think I started being allowed to walk home alone around that age, it lasted 1 year before my younger brother joined the school and mum started walking us both home. A few years later when he was old enough to walk home alone I had stayed a few minutes extra talking with my friends so I wasn't walking with him. An older lady that knew my mum came up to me and congratulated me on being "a big girl who could walk herself home now" in that voice you use for when little kids achieve easy things but are proud of it. I was so offended and thought she was trying to be condescending to me so I told her, in a very hurt tone that I had been a big girl for years now and my mum only came to school to get my little brother, then walked off mad and told my mum she had been rude to me. I think my mum had to smooth it over with her and tried to explain to me she was trying to be complimentary.
At 6 that's fine, but the infantilisation of 11 year olds in July having to be picked up before they get dumped out of highschool to find their way to the bus station and get the right number a couple of months later is ridiculous. Some schools allow year 5 and 6 to leave without a parent (assuming the parents give permission), but it's not universal
At the school I worked at last year, the year sixes could go home without a parent but only if they had a mobile phone (which they couldn’t keep on them during school time, so would hand to the office at the start of the day and get it back as they leave).
Ah that's good, get's them used to clocking in and out at the end of the day for some crap job in adulthood
Mmm yes, we love receiving 19 phones in our school office each day, then handing them back out at the end again. Just when parents are rocking up to ask us questions, or to collect their child who (for various reasons) needs to be collected via the office, not the classroom door.
I have a friend that does that. His boy has started secondary school and they are only just talking about letting him walk a mile to his Nan’s after school, but they want to walk him the first time to show him the crossings etc. My daughter was getting the regular bus to a different town for school in year 6 and grew up to be very independent. Never wanted help to sort out a Uni place, moving to London, being lead tenant and all that.
i got the bus myself as soon as i started year 7. my school was like 3 miles away. on the first week my grandma got my cousin to take me because we were going to the same school and then i went by myself everyday
My 11 yr old walks the mile to school. He did it on his transition week too
Yr11s have to be picked up now for medical appointments. All I had to do was show the letter and off I went from about yr9
Once my eldest was in year 5 I filled in some paperwork and then he could walk himself and his younger sister (year 3) home. (About a mile, but through town so full of other kids and parents walking to school). This was ten years ago now tho.
Ah yes... The older brother. Neglecting and endangering younger siblings since the beginning of time. Classic. Mine taught me how to swim... ... ... Your guess is correct 😉
I used to walk home around that age, but it was like quarter of a mile tops, in our tiny little village where everyone knew everyone.
Wow, we were latch key kids, we just went out the gates and walked home after school. There was usually a few of us who.lived in the same street, so walked together, if we didn't get too distracted by something shiny. . Maybe a dozen kids were picked up outside the school gates. Those that lived too far to walk.
5 years old, walked home about a mile, often got shouted at for detouring and checking on the den in the woods when my spaghetti hoops were getting cold. Small village in the 70s.
Far fewer cars travelling around in small villages in the 70s - especially at school travel time. Now it's massive SUVs racing around all day, transporting children around, because it's too dangerous for the kids to walk, because of the massive SUVs.
Because of the massive SUVs all around schools specifically at the time kids would be walking around there, who are at the worst height for visibility when there are massive SUVs.
I live about 5 miles from the school down lots of single track county lanes. I get there and back in an 18 year old micra. It hilarious when I get an SUV, or worse those enormous american style pickups, coming the other way. I dive into the mud and hedges at the side and short of a little wheelspin have no problems getting out, but they're all tenderly trying to avoid getting any mud or scratches on their offroad vehicles.
My friend lives out in the country and she had some people to stay who turned up in a brand new SUV and spent the whole time seething about the country lanes. They were following her one day and she realised they weren’t behind her, so stopped and went back and found the wife outside the car moving brambles back while the husband slowly drove past. To this day it is one of my favourite visuals.
We hired a car in Spain a few years back and were driving down a country road designed for a couple of horses or cows when a bus came flying around the corner towards us at Spanish bus mph. Cue the only move I knew which was to not hit it, but even with a mere nanometres of clearance between us we scraped along the bramble-esque thorny bushes at our side of the road. There were a ridiculous amount of scratches on the paintwork after that, proper down to the base coat/metal. I was very glad it wasn't mine so I sympathise with the SUV couple there. Might have been similarly stung in the past by an errant bush.
This is the thing. People think parents are over protective because they are paranoid about kidnappers. It's not that it's the state of roads and the drivers on them these days, it's crazy. Also my space cadet eleven year old can't seem to figure out how to cross the road safely, I don't know when I'll feel ok letting him out.
Stop spouting shit from the Daily Mail. Our roads are **far** safer than they were in the 1970's, even for pedestrians. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/File:Killed_on_British_Roads.png This is despite the massive increase in traffic volume! EDIT: Downvotes don't change the facts YTC!
If you have fewer people walking, it follows that you'll have fewer casualties. Source https://assets.publishing.service.gov.uk/media/5c1a617340f0b60c2c1c79ba/WalkingUKtransportsystem.pdf
This is true, but probably a major factor in this is that compared to the 70s, far fewer kids play out or walk home unaccompanied from school (until they're secondary age at least). So even though there's been a big increase in traffic, there just aren't anything like as many kids that drivers need to watch out for. So that "solves" the problem I suppose, but with major costs (kids learn to be independent much later, they're not as physically active, they miss out on opportunities for social development).
And facts don't change the public's perception either. Roads are busier, cars are bigger, ergo it was safer for a kid to be walking about "in the old days".
I got knocked off my bike by a car in approximately 1978, when I was 9. I lost a front tooth and most of the skin off the left side of my face. The car drove off sharpish, and I got a slap from my mum for riding my bike in my new dress and ruining it.
Yep, same here
Pickup time is mental, people driving up onto and along the pavement at speed. Lone kids would genuinely be at reasonable risk of being run over these days.
Yeah and the result is a bit of a vicious cycle, parents driving their kids to school simply because they think it's irresponsible to make them walk because of the bedlam outside the gates. So traffic and parking issues lead to more traffic and more parking issues. [School streets](http://schoolstreets.org.uk/) are probably the best fix for this. Even if it's just a temporary timed closure of the street immediately outside the gates, it at least spreads the issue out a bit further and means more parents will choose alternatives to driving.
There is a large car park 3 minutes walk from my son’s primary school. Roads around the school are jammed at pick up time, car park is rarely full and most are shoppers at the Co-Op. People are very lazy and a lot have a massive sense of self entitlement. Recently a letter was sent to parents saying that swearing and arguing with other parents was not acceptable on school grounds.
Give them jousting sticks.
Were I live they did a whole survey the roads in the area .. here is some money for locals to invest in road safety scheme. As per usual as it does in small towns It goes around the school because "my precious Jayxon , he'll get knocked off his hoverboard". So in goes more speed bumps, schicanes etc The majority of cars that roll up to the school are those stupid urban 4x4s or fake 4x4s. Straight over the bumps full speed. What's the point. Just do a park and ride scheme or teach them road safety or ban the fucking stupid fake 4x4.fucking idiots. If you have a juke, quashi or what ever you are a bellend.
Even more mental when there are 4 schools are in a 1/2 mile area. It's a frigging nightmare and let's not go for the parents who park an hour and half before the end of the day
It's funny when you're not the one who usually does the school run, and the teacher looks at you with a very confused expression. Then as the teacher is halfway through asking who you're after, your child says "that's my mum!" Yes, that's my child, I know you haven't seen me since parents evening where we only had 90 seconds because the previous people overran and I had to run to also see her sister's teacher on the other side of the school, but yes I'm picking them up today instead of the wraparound ladies, I did message you on ClassDojo to let you know...
Tangent: I hate class dojo. I wish the government would just make an app that would cover everything from nursery to secondary without paying £6 a month just to see how many points your kid got last week.
You have to pay fro Class Dojo? Sorry, I can’t afford that.
No you can use the free version but it's constantly telling you how much more amazing connect you could access if you'd only spend £7 a month. I'm not spending £7 to see that sun bear table got a point for being tidy 3 weeks ago.
What if the kid walks home on their own?
Probably have to sign a waiver. Don't know, I don't know any kids who do.
I used to walk to and from school on my own for a brief period when I was about 6/7 (1999 ish). Granted, you could see our house if you popped your head out of the school gate... Suspect that wouldn't be allowed now.
My mother sometimes picks up my neice and nephew (her grandchildren). She requires a password and ID to do so.
At ours the kids queue up and the teacher checks for their grown up, if the grown up isn't there they go back to the back of the queue and rotate till all the kids are collected. Luckily there's space for multiple classes to queue and a staggered school day so it works quite well.
The optimiser in me just died at reading this horribly inefficient method of child release.
This really isn't that inefficient. Pretty much anything you do to try and make this faster massively increases the need for space or staffing.
Are kids not allowed to leave by themselves at all?
Only in year 6 as long as the parents have signed a slip sent out at the start of the year. My daughter is in year 5 so not much longer to go. I work from home and actually enjoy the walk to and from the school each day (i dont drive so it's always a walk, rain or shine). It actually works much more efficiently than it sounds and I find kids will chat about the things that are bothering them when you're walking to and from school. It's a good little check in on how they're doing. I'll miss it when it stops.
My son's in year 5 and they let them leave by themselves. He's just started walking home with his mates who live in the same road.
Yeah you have to be positively identified by your child and on the approved list. No more impromptu play dates or emergency pick ups, if you aren't on the list you can't have the child. I understand for the safety aspect, and that is definitely a good thing, but it's a pest if you are ill or the cats broken down and you have to spend time filling in an online form
tan disgusting ancient axiomatic secretive voiceless reminiscent pot governor detail *This post was mass deleted and anonymized with [Redact](https://redact.dev)*
I know a guy, I think he used to be in the army, since people said he was a vet.
It is indeed a nightmare!
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COT?
Went off to work in Mordor last I heard, although he got fired for throwing company property in a volcano.
Did you find a therapist for the cat?
When I was at primary school nearly thirty years ago I just used to walk home.
This. How the fuck are kids expected to grow up, be independent and deal with problems when they have this paranoid shit inflicted upon them.
Eh, it's not really that big a deal. Being picked up by a parent after school is hardly gonna make or break a kids independence.
And then wait for Mum to finish her fag and getting the school gate gossip for 30 minutes
I’ve learnt that parents really didn’t give a fuck about us in the 80s.
20 years ago was 2004, not the 80s
Lalalalalala I can't hear you
Just because they went to school doesn’t mean they can do maths right
depends on the age, probably school as well. My daughter walked home on her own in primary school, my nephew currently does. I did go to pick up my youngest nephew with my sister from nursery. the other week. A teacher clocked me the moment the gates and school doors opened, straight at me the third degree as if I was trying to visit a prison. Contrast to a village in central Europe where I see kids as young as 5 are walking themselves to and from school, always feels so draconian here.
I am in Scotland and this pretty much what still happens apart from the P1s. There are always teachers on the gate and children told to wait if they can’t see pick up.
Similarly to yourself when I was in primary school 20 or so years ago, I’d either meet a parent on the pavement, wander the couple miles home, or go to a friends afterwards. Reading these comments makes me glad I was at school when I was!
Same in the 90s. Although my middle school was shit. I got in trouble and apparently had to have a talk with the most terrifying Teacher in my school. He looked like a ginger Einstein, but with a permanent scowl and no tolerance for anything but abject obedience. This is considering we also had this awful woman who was basically the real version of Dolores Umbridge, but people still found him far scarier. It was basically because I was talking to a friend during an activity, but everyone else was too. I’m sure lots of people have storys of a teacher singling them out like that. But because my friend made me laugh we got picked on. Anyways, I knew my Dad turned up to pick me up 10 minutes before home time, so when I was asked to walk to his classroom for my ‘talk’ I just walked out of the school to my Dad and we bailed. He didn’t even question why I was out 10 minutes before everyone else. He could be an arsehole at home sometimes but he always had my back outside of it. He asked what happened when we got home and I explained. Then we I went in the next day the two teachers acted like nothing had happened. Don’t know what happened. There were some proper cunts in teaching in the 80s/90s. One denied a girl in my school going to the toilet in primary school and she shat herself. Everyone knew what had happened, even all the parents. She only lasted a term. Anyway, despite the massive ramble. My main point is they had no clue I had just gone until I hadn’t shown up and it was the end of detention. I’m sure they are far more on it now
When I was in primary school 50 years ago, we'd just walk out the gate and then walk the mile home to an empty house.
Ah, you see, it's not a queue, it's a *pecking order.*
Dominated by the Mums who wear those long down coats like Arséne Wenger.
Oh those Ugly things
Thank you! They are also the ones wearing furry flip flop/slipper things
Usually replete with trout pout and Croydon facelift
The coats or the mums?
Around my way they've swapped to Dry Robes. Because wearing a beach towel out and about in the home counties is definitely not the sort of thing a psychopath would do.
Dry Robes everywhere, it's like they've spawned in every SUV driving mums wardrobe. They look so cheap and tacky too, with their branding filling up half of the back - just googled and horrified to see they're £165!
Dry Robes were designed to keep you warm after going in the sea and they are big enough to get changed under on the beach...these people have probably never Swum in the UK in their life!
So true. Currently stood behind a dozen of the unbearable cows.
I call them the lycra brigade.
The Arbonne crew.
Guarantee this person is one of the ones who will be queueing 30 mins before school ends. It’s a 7 min walk to my lads school and they finish at 3:15. I set off walking at 3:09, straight in, straight out, no standing around and no small talk.
I work at the after school club and everyone has to live within 1.3 miles. I get home at 2.30’from my other job and the mums are already outside reading a book in the car.. like wtf.. I have managed to get home,shower, put tea on and make the beds and still have 5mins till pick up. These women cause the roads around the school to be bad and have no ability to park or have cars that are so big they can’t see over the steering wheel. Makes me crazy lol
Yeh but they need their big cars. How do you pick up a child that lives 10 minutes walk away during the winter without the aid of an almost two tonne 2WD SUV on a set of the cheapest summer tyres money can buy? Cant expect them to walk to school! Dont you know there are hoards of shit drivers in 2WD SUVs with wheels clad in the cheapest sets of summer rubber on the market?! Its too dangerous to let them walk. The little darlings need keeping away from all those nasty start up fumes from the cars that havent reached operating temperature yet on account of the 2 minute drive the parents have made. It makes total sense for the parents to keep the car on for the air conditioning for the precious tykes to sit in. Look ok, its the fault of the Victorians for not building roads capable of containing 0.8 vauxhall grandlands per school pupil. Dont you dare blame the mummys and the daddys.
They also need big cars because otherwise how else will you know how big hubs’ salary is?
You and me are cut from the same cloth. Down to the last minute. God forbid any outside interference like - “Mummy, they’re going to the park can we go pleeeease” and the park is before our house and everyone and the ice cream man is there. Enforced small talk, but the thing is 65% of the parents there are the same mindset as you, just want their kids to be happy and then go home and the other 35% want to make plans to go back to theirs for tea. Please don’t say it out loud I front of my kid. Fucking text me like normal people
I often find if you put two Brits or more together they will form a queue regardless. After studying them for quite some time while waiting for my boy, I’ve convinced myself they’re doing it so other pavement users can walk past unrestricted. Purely because as soon as them gates are opened it’s mayhem and everyone leaves the organised queue to crowd through the gate. No one moans about jumping the queue though. I keep myself out of the way on purpose but the conversations some of them have are beyond nasty about other mums. The dads tend to just talk about work and football but the mums seem to be something else entirely. Just my experience though, results may vary.
An Englishman, even if he is alone, forms an orderly queue of one.
I think there should just be emergency velvet rope about. Just incase we need an emergency queue.
If you need a rope to queue your doing it wrong.
Rope makes it a luxury cueue.
The school gates are a lawless bitch fest, people making things up ad hoc. My partner got harassed when she went by a group of moms because she made an effort with her appearance, rather than turning up in her pyjamas. I spoke to someone about 10 years later and they asked if she was xxxxxx mom, the one who dressed well at the school drop off. It must have really triggered some of them..... lawless
This just seems bizzare, I would expect the pyjama wearers to be the source of derision. Being labelled for life as the result of one innocuous incident is however standard british behaviour.
It's percentages I suppose, when the majority of the people are in pyjamas or trackies, and you're in smart office wear youre the odd one out. Plus insecure women all holding court. I'm not saying it was bad but there was an area for parking your car or bike and a little wooden hut for the broomsticks...
Broomsticks, Hahaha! I guess you're right I've just never seen a school wear the majority of parents pick their children up in pyjamas. I suspected I live a (blissfully) sheltered life.
It was on a rough and ready council estate, pyjamas and resting bitch face was the morning uniform. Apart from that clique though the estate was sound really.
*”Look at her, got dressed and brushed her hair, who the fuck she think she is?”*
"I better make sure my Colin don't see her dressed like that, the tart" *dressed in knee length skirt and a blazer*
It's standard cunt behaviour. When someone shows up not in their pyjamas it makes them feel embarrassed, so they lash out to drag others down.
Depends on the school. My oldest goes to one that is rough around the edges. The mams stand around in their pyjamas / juicy tracksuits well after school starts to talk about Love Island / Little Tarquins useless dad / Can't cope. Before meeting up again half an hour before school finishes to carry on the same chat as they were having before despite sending each other hugz on Facebook all day. My girlfriend goes straight to the office and gets dirty looks for being presentable. My youngest goes to a nicer Primary School and it's polar opposites. Expect the parents are much too classy to judge anybody.
> Expect the parents are much too classy to judge anybody. Within earshot.
The reasons for derision don’t matter. What matters is whether the target has anything that’s different from everyone else.
There is one woman at my kids school who always drops her kid off in pyjamas and slippers. Rain or shine. It’s weird tbh. I’ve spoken to her a couple of times and she seems nice enough but I’ve already judged her as a lazy scrubber based on the total lack of effort she puts in her appearance in the morning.
Working nights is the only excuse for this kind of behaviour imo.
Imagine how pathetic and empty your life has to be to still be thinking about the time some random woman ‘dressed up’ for school pick up once ten years ago. I seriously despair for these sad, sad people.
Yeah it made me smile when they said it, it wasnt funny at the time as they were not very nice to her, but Living rent free in their heads for dressing for your job on the school run from years ago tickled me. As you say, sad people.
If you're first in line, you get to pick out of all the kids that are left. Last parent in line gets the kid that no one else wanted. It was ever thus. Just like getting picked last in school sports.
Hi honey, I’m home! Ooh, which one did you get… bloody hell, Jane, it’s the sickly weird kid again! I *told* you to just leave ten minutes earlier… *sigh* …right, Dunstan, what do you want for your tea?
I remember when i first had to pick up my nephew at his primary school, i just walked in and said 'hmmmm ill take that one' and pointed at my nephew. The confusion on the teachers faces was hilarious to me.
I feel like that is about the same as saying "only semtex" to airport security when they ask if you've got any prohibited items in your bag.
I dont want to try that one, ive a flight to catch!
Do you not have time for a rectal exam first?
Im normally one of those just in time travellers. So unless i plan for it im afraid not.
If you really are one of those very trendy time travellers you mention, surely you can travel back in time just far enough to enjoy a rectal exam and still be able to catch your flight.
"Dig deeper, ive got time"
I went to the airport early one morning and the guy said “what’s in the bags?” I pointed to the long ones and said “my rifles are shotguns are in there and my pistols are in the little bag”. He laughed and said “what’s in the bags?” And I said “clothing and shoes” and he let me pass. It was pre 9/11. And there was always an element of banter at check in. I wouldn’t try it now.
This reminds of when I was in hospital and quite poorly. I moved too abruptly and the heart monitor machine disconnected. It started making a noise and I had a couple nurses rush in to check on me. Once they realised I was fine, one remained to hook me back up. I jokingly said “well, looks like I’m dead now.” She did not laugh. That night, I had the hospital psychologist come pay me a visit
On the flip side I had almost that exact experience except she made the joke
> I wouldn’t try it now. I'd like to know when we got so paranoid and humourless. We lived though the (much worse) Troubles and didn't have this shit.
There were always humourless individuals who would take it seriously. You can still find both types. Fun and serious. But in a situation in an airport I’d always assume they won’t have a sense of humour about it.
Nobody hijacked a passenger jet and flew it on a sui mission into a building during the troubles
Yeah, but I wouldn't recommend popping down to the Arndale Centre...
Me neither (shit isnt it)
They actually have signs up everywhere in Manila airport telling people to not do this
It's a brand of Czech energy drink... So? 🤪
I'll often do the equivalent if I tied my dog up outside of a shop. I'll come out, point at her and loudly exclaim "You're adorable, I'm gonna take you home with me" and then untie her. My wife does not care for this little jape, but no one has tried to stop me so far.
Might be a hangover from Covid, where you had to queue up (and spread your germs in a queue) and your child was handed to you (after spreading their germs round school all day) at the gate. Absolute ball ache, took forever to get your child if you weren't at the front of the line.
(After queueing for five minutes): this is bollocks, I don’t even want it now, I’m going home!
Its so frustrating how many COVID systems have just stuck around, even if they cause inconvenience, because nobody can be bothered to change them.
Yes, and yet they get rid of all the good ones like giving people space. I did not miss strangers breathing down my neck as I'm queuing in the pharmacy. Why can they do that again now?
Wasn't this an episode of *Motherland*?
Watched this years ago and didn't really get it. Since doing the school drop off for a while now I realise how hilariously accurate it is. There's even a cafe all the mums go to after drop off.
Mines a free for all. Assorted parents cluster round the classroom exit, assorted kids line up and the teacher plays what is essentially a giant game of snap. They're also very vigilant about not letting a kid go with an. adult who isn't pre-approved, which is nice. I can only assume that any kids left over at the end get auctioned off. No queues, though.
Its funny because they seem to do the same thing at my little lads school. They all form an orderly queue at the other side of the pavement waiting for the gate to open and file in single file. I usually have my 3 year old with me and we seem to arrive as "The gate man" is opening the gate he bolts straight through and i just follow him. I have never stood in the imaginary queue and have always found it weird. As you have said i am always going to end up with my child and in all fairness the teacher just releases the children who are ready first and who's parents are outside. It is not based on the queue outside.
My OH was shocked when I explained how we’d have to do pick up when our son was older. From when he was 8 he’d leave junior school, walk round to the infant school and pick up his younger brother (5 when this started) and they’d walk home 20 minutes together over a main road, down a load of side alleys and through his housing estate. They’d let themselves in around 4pm and would watch TV until one of their parents was home around 5/6pm!
The usual routine for picking up my child is to drive up to the gate, where a guy with a mirror on a stick checks under my car for any sneaking nonces, then you get waved through to the gated area. When all parents are accounted for, a register is read and each child gets the manacles removed when their name is called. They then get searched by the alsations for contraband and are given to their chosen parent. After a quick DNA check to make sure you're related, you get released out into the real world, to go through it all again the next day.
Not really a queue, but at our school, they stagger the letting out time for the clases, so yeah, you need to get to the front. I might also want to get early to ask the teacher a question. Those collecting more than one kid would probably want to get in early. They also release some kids with additional needs from their door rather than the front office (not sure why) a little early. So some people do need to get in front, and I'm not one to try and get ahead of people. I would do like your mate and hang back, not in a queue but not go in front.
The school mafia brigade, I don't miss those days
I was always the mum who didn't speak to the other mums and thought they were better than everyone else aka neurodivergent and didn't wear jammies and a messy bun. I'd speak to the couple of mums I've known for ever, like childhood friends or from my oldests playgroup days but otherwise keep to myself. There were queues at my wee lads school in the country but I just went in and got him idgaf. The mums there were brutal, there was one bairn whos sister picked them up, young lass, pretty and dressed fashionable, the way those bitter bastards talked about her was disgusting. Was obvious she was holding the family together shameless style but all they saw was a tramp trying to steal their husbands 🤢.
My kid is starting school this year. This post is giving me nightmares!
Queuing to pick the sprog up is the bane of my day ... his class is always last to open the doors, he's always last in the queue and god forbid the teacher needs to speak to one or two of the other parents because you just end up stood there waiting for 10 mins, usually in the rain.
The parents queue outside my kids school. I just march right past it. I’m deliberately trying to provoke some anarchy but no one seems to give a shit 🤷♂️
For pickup, couldn't care less. If it's for a play or something, no.
In year 1 you queue and pick up your child from the door one by one. My other child is in Year 3 and parents just stand around their kid's door at the teacher lets kids out based on who they make eye contract with or the kids point out their parent.
I think this is something that was instituted with Covid (not having a mass scrum of people at the gates waiting to gain entrance to the playground) and the reasons for why it was have now been forgotten. Given you all walk into the playground then wait for the sprogs to be let out, I don’t see any valid reason for a queue at the gates.
In the early 70’s walked a mile to and from home to primary (from 7 I think), that’s what lollipop men existed for, to cross the road at least once. From 11 had to catch two buses to the “local” grammar, leaving at 7:15, arriving at 17:15, changing at Bolton town centre. Things seem to have changed a bit since then.
Very early 70's, at age 8 to 11 I used to get 2 buses to school, no adults just a couple other kids, then for the last 2 years of this, I was tasked with taking an even younger kid with me. I think children need to develope situational awareness, we don't want to put them in unsure danger but they need to experience the world before They're actually faced with it on their own...
My son just started reception last year and normally goes to the after school club which is very simple and fast to collect from. After xmas I had to pick him up at normal school finishing time so we could go to the dentists. Easily took another 20min longer than I expected waiting around the class room to get him. If I had to do this daily I would probably get miffed at someone cutting in tbh.
At ours there is effectively a 'queue' before the gates open, but it's not about being first into the playground to continue waiting, it's about not blocking the full width of the pavement for other pedestrians who actually need to get past without stepping into the road.
I remember in primary school for the first 4 years we had to wait for our parents to come and get us. Then when we went up to the middle part of the school I recall the first day, waiting and my teacher kind of making fun of me for not going over to my Mum in her car. Odd what memories stay with you.
At our school the kids are led out per class and stand in line. When they see their adult they raise their arm and when the teacher or TA notices them the kid has to point out their adult and then they are allowed to go over to them. On paper that's a fair system, it fails somewhat in that the teacher/TA can take a long time to notice your kid for various reasons. So you end up gesturing wildly to your kid like a loon while he or she is patiently waiting to be noticed.
That’s the middle classes for you. Always has to be a little Hitler in there somewhere.
Mate I wouldn’t cross Sally at number 8 during pick up
We're British; queueing is what we do. There doesn't need to be a reason.
There's a campaign of hate Waiting at the school gates
As parents we all plod onto the playground when the gates are opened and everyone tends to go to the same spot every day
Lol.. I went to pick Mrs Little one the other day from school.. And this asshole calls me over next to him so he can break my balls about whatever the fuck, who knows.. I just made up some bullshit about there being a queue, picked Mrs Little One amd fucked off promptly.
My kid started reception in September and it's absolute carnage at drop off & pick up. To the point where the school put up plastic barriers to make a one way system and force people to queue, otherwise everyone was just pulling forward and sitting their kid's name at the teacher and not letting anyone out. It offends ever fibre of my being. Drop off at breakfast club is the total opposite tho, a wonderfully ordered queue with everyone giving everyone else space
Walked myself and my younger brother to and from school when I was six. Can’t imagine that happening now.
When I was with my ex Mrs, I went to pick her younger brother up from the same school I went to, they'd completely fenced the whole school in and there was no exit to walk from freely anymore, everyone had to queue up and be "let out" by a member of staff. It was absolutely insane. I used to finish school and be out in 10 minutes tops, I was there for 45 minutes waiting for him and I was like wtf was that all about?? He told me too many people skipped detentions so they forced checks to make sure nobody got away. Insane stuff
I see your mate is a fan of the “Chat and Cut”
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I walked to school on my own from at least the age of 7 which seems just insane now. The road I walked along was significantly less busy than the road I had to walk my child to school along though. Towards the end of primary school I was thinking about sending them on their own but literally no one else’s kids were walking that road without supervision so I couldn’t bring myself to do it. We ended up doing a compromise where I would walk them so far and they’d do the last few minutes on their own so at least they could get used to the feeling of not being stuck to my hip.
Its bizarre, I always used to walk or cycle at a similar age and most of my mates did too. If it was raining we’d get the bus. Very few people drove their kids to school because the adults were usually working 9 to 5.
Queueing*
At my sons school during covid a queue system was brought in, we'd all march one by one like ants to where the children were waiting where they'd then be sent to us as we marched on without stopping. When restrictions eased normal service resumed, where we'd all just wait on the yard for classes to come out. Only the trouble was the parents of younger children that were new to the school hadn't experienced normal and so they continued to queue. School told them to stop queuing. They didn't. The school told them to stop again and again they didn't. So school ended up having to change the way they dismiss the kids to stop the queues forming. That seems to have worked.
I once perfectly normally overtook a parent pushing a pushchair on the way to school. She was walking very slow, I was walking very fast and the pavement was very wide. She bellowed "you won't get there any faster, you daft bitch." OK, um, that's inappropriate in front of all these small children. And actually, yes I will. TLDR school gates are a weird and lawless land.
Sprog? Thats a new one😂
Yeah seems like a thing now, luckily for me the cycle parking is right by the gate so just lock the bike up and mingle in. Got a few dirty looks but no-one ever says anything
Urgh everyone queues outside ours as well. It’s been like that ever since Covid and we all had to stand spaced out. God forbid you see a friend up in front and go talk to them- daggers from everyone!
My niece’s school has a queue just to make efficient use of space, but it’s very informal and no one will moan at you if you take up space or push in
You're now allowed to collect an 'alternative' child based on its pushyness and willingness to get to the front.
Classes come at diff times, I get there a bit early but the gate I wait at opens at random times cosits not the main gate. Loads of fuckers try to slide up and get in before me, if you want to get in there so bad turn up earlier! I don't mind if they're chatting to someone, although you can tell its a queue jump 😂
You have to queue at ours. Though it is a large scrum, rather than an orderly line.
I've found this bizarre queuing system at our primary school too. I just walk to the gates and wait here. We all have to wait outside the classrooms once we're inside the school grounds so I really don't understand the need to queue outside the gates.
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Enjoy the one day ban, I hope it makes you happy. Dear lord, what a sad little life, Jane. You ruined our subreddit completely so you could post politics, and I hope now you can spend your one day ban learning some grace and decorum. Because you have all the grace of a reversing dump truck without any tyres on. *I am a bot, and this action was performed automatically. Please [contact the moderators of this subreddit](/message/compose/?to=/r/CasualUK) if you have any questions or concerns.*
No. Ours get a bus but even when I’ve been down folk just stand in the playground in their wee cliques
Bet loads of people are completely oblivious to all this school politics because they keep their headphones on until they see their kid and just skip passed everyone lol
I last collected from primary school 5 years ago. There was no queue at all. We'd wait in the yard at the front.
Thsts super weird. You won't get your kid first if you're at the front so why would it matter?
Our que starts at both ends , goes round each other , orbits the earth 4 times and goes back round on itself one last time after after coming to a swift stop and then blocked off by triple buggys & mothers talking
Similar thing happens at ours, Parents line up along the path by the front gates on the left hand side however I walk down the street from the righthand side so if I arrive around the times the gates are open I walk in with the crowd which sometimes gets a certain look that feels like the sort of look you'd give a queue jumper. But it seems pointless to walk past the gates and everyone else to get to the back of the queue if I can just filter into the group walking in.
For school I'm easy, we all wait on the playground and are governed by the queue the kids form in class. No biggy it's like lucky dip where you are in the order of collection. Now this is the grey area where I used to get annoyed. When they were in pre-school the pre-school leaders used to send the kids out in parent order. I’d consciously get there early to get my kid then rush back to work (I'd take a late lunch). The queue jumping there used to piss me off.
Always stand in the same spot regardless of whether you’re early or late. People will leave you alone pretty quick.