Wednesday 9 November 2016

Walking home from school. What if?

When Ellie my youngest went back to school in September a permission slip was sent out from school asking if she was allowed to walk to and from school alone.....I didn't sign it. She has just turned 9 and although she is quite sensible on the roads I think she is just too young at the moment.....It is a 15/20 minute walk across one busy road with a crossing and a few smaller roads....

I understand why some parents do let their year five children walk to and from school alone....Some of them are nearly a year older than my girl and live closer to the school...


I have been letting Ellie scoot off ahead though....Giving her a bit of independence. Letting her cross roads and go out of my sight for a few seconds as we turn a corner...

On Wednesday last week we had left the school playground, got over the road outside the school and there is a long path....I let her go ahead.....The path is quite narrow but there is more than enough room for people to pass on it....

Ellie got stuck behind two boys who are in the year above her.....I heard her say "excuse me" (which goes to show I wasn't that far behind). They said "no, you're not getting past".. She went to go around them and they blocked her then she went to go through the middle of the two boys and they came together and squashed her and were pushing and pulling at her.....I shouted at them. I don't think they realised I was with her.....I think they thought she was going home alone like they were.....

Ellie was shook up and a little upset.....I said we would tell the head teacher the next day and the boys heard this and started shouting and swearing at me saying "so what, they can't do anything, we're out of school".....We had a good 5 minutes of abuse from the boys....The taller one in particular. I was fuming but just ignored them....I thought if I said much to them I would say something I would regret.....

I didn't sleep well that night.....What would have happened if I wasn't there? Would the boys have seriously hurt her? Would the bullying have carried on all the way home? What would Ellie have done? Would she have ran out into the road to get away from them? There were too many what if's....It made me feel sick.....

On Thursday morning Ellie, Stu and I went in to see the head teacher.....We told her what had happened and she was disgusted and horrified.....She said she would deal with it and deal with it she did....

The boys have no play times for the foreseeable future, they had red cards, their parents were phoned and the boy who gave most of the abuse now has to be walked to and from school.....I saw him being walked home and he was looking very sorry for himself and so he should.....

This has made my mind up about Ellie walking to and from school alone....It's not going to happen! Not yet anyway! It's crazy, I used to worry about my girl getting hit by a car or falling over.....Now I worry about things like this happening and the what if's.....

9 comments :

  1. Oh Kim, thank goodness you were with her. It's just horrid isn't it the way kids behave sometimes. My 11 year old does not walk home from school, mainly because her siblings are in primary school just across the road and her Dad waits for her. She is getting bullied by boys in school though and so far the school have been really rubbish at sorting it despite having a really good policy, words are easy, actions not so. It must be comforting to know that Ellie's school dealt with the incident really well. xx

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    1. I have read about Star and feel so angry that those boys are being horrible.
      My girls school was brilliant...I am so pleased with how it was handled.
      Thank you! I hope things settle down for your girl soon x

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  2. Hi Kim, oh, that is not nice. It would be lovely if Ellie could walk home on her own, but I would be just like you and err on the side of caution. It's never nice having to deal with people like those boys, even as an adult, and one day she will be old enough to look after herself. It is excellent the speed in which the school dealt with the issue.

    xx

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    1. It was awful but the school were amazing...
      Thank you!

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  3. Poor Ellie. So glad you were with her Kim and that the school are doing something about it. I wasn't allowed to walk to school by myself until year 6 - I think quite late in year 6 too but we did live a mile away from the school so I think that also makes a difference. Hope Ellie is ok now xx

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    1. I know. I dread to think what would have happened....
      I have said she can maybe start walking herself in the spring of Year 6 which is quite a while away...Thank you!

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  4. Oh my days! Poor Ellie. I don't blame you for not wanting Ellie to walk home alone, just goes to show what could happen. Glad that the school worked with you to resolve it though xx

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  5. I'm so glad you were there, poor Ellie. To be honest I don't agree with children walking to and from school alone when they are in Primary. I didn't walk to school by myself until I was in high school and that is what I intend to happen with my little girl. I'm glad you reported it to the school too x

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  6. Oh, this is so scary for any parent to witness. I know what you mean about them wanting to be independent & wanting to walk to school but they are still young & don't always know how to deal with difficult situations, although it sounds like this bullying situation was just awful for anyone to deal with. Poor Ellie, I do hope she wasn't too shook up and that the Head dealing with it so well and quickly has given her some assurance. I'm with you, I wouldn't let mine walk to school on their own whilst in primary school. I think you did the right thing and handled the situation perfectly. x

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