School parking

Saggi
Talking sense never makes sense to those who have none.

Gabriella

She still lives a mile or so outside of the village, even so, I’d be quite happy, would in fact quite enjoy it, but to get to school is a single lane road, with cars, enormous tractors, the odd school bus going past, I’m not happy pushing a pushchair along there.

Gabriella

So no, it’s not too complicated, just too dangerous and impractical!

I think the reasons have been detailed here in different posts, and they all apply to people I know:
1. not always being able to get in to a school near home
2. parent needing to get to work - if my DiL drives the kids to school, she has a 10 minute drive to work; if she walks the 10 mins back and starts from home, the road layout means she arrives 30 minutes later.
3. some children needing to be picked up then dropped off for sports training or similar. I had to do this with some of mine.

A school was being considered for 1 of my GCs, but it was unlikely he would get in. They live 250 metres away and according to the school's website, the furthest away child was at 200 metres (dense, terraced housing). I later read in the local paper that during renovations, the school had arranged 'alternative car parking' for parents. I generously assumed they meant for GPs and other 'minders' who needed to travel to pick the children up!

PS: Our kids' secondary school was only 1.5 miles away, but as it was a busy, narrow, twisty road, school buses were laid on for free. I don't think that applies now.

There are many reasons why children are driven to school . Dangerous roads without pavements , long distances from home to school , parents or grandparents needing to go on to work . As it happens I fit into all 3 categories.

Sometimes I wish GN wasn’t so judgemental .

I don't think there's ever going to be a satisfactory answer to this. I was Head of a Primary School with many selfish parkers. I had phone calls from residents complaining they had missed hospital appointments, been late collecting grandchildren from school, etc because cars were parked across their access and one even said someone had parked on their drive! I even had one parent tell me we should buy the house nearest to the school, demolish it and put a car park there - this I found beyond belief as we struggled to pay staff salaries, but he was quite serious.

Sandra

I fear you’re right, I’m sure as an ex head, you’ll tell me why this won’t work, but couldn’t pick up times be staggered a bit? and with so many children going to breakfast club, and after school club, you’d think things might be eased a bit.

I dropped my grandchildren off at breakfast club one day last week, it was wonderful!

Unfortunately there are no breakfast or afternoon clubs at my DGS’s primary . They struggle to provide teachers never mind after school clubs . My DGS went through the entirety of year 4 without a proper (regular) class teacher .

Gillybob

I know what you mean, two of my grandchildren have two teachers, two and a half days each, it seems to be working out alright, but it’s not ideal

I can tell you minismo what happened to walking to school - at least in London - many kids just don't live anything like walking distance any more - there are so many children wanting places at their nearest primary school that the catchment areas are becoming smaller and smaller meaning that a child living two streets away from his/her local school, can't get in some years and is given a choice of five others, none of which is within walking distance - travelling on buses to school is a nightmare with little ones in rush hour.
This whole issue of getting kids to and from school requires a lot more understanding on everybody's part - I sympathise with residents who have their roads blocked with the ubiquitous 4x4s that guzzle petrol at a rate of knots, but also with those parents who genuinely have to get kids carrying bags, and PE kits, and heaven knows what else some distance from their home. Tolerance is a good word here.

My DGS’s teacher started early September 2018. She went off sick in October and despite assurances from the head that “ she would be back at Christmas/Easter/ May etc” she never came back. I lost count at the amount of supply teachers he had over the course of year 4 . So many that they barely got to know the children’s names . Such a shame as the school seemed to be turning itself around a bit . My DDiL and I have done numerous appeals for 3 schools closer to home but they’re all full.

I have similar parking problems because of a school, but the thing that really annoys me are the people who park with their engines running and just sit there!!

I think there are similar issues all over the country GoldenAge my DGS can’t get into a primary anywhere near home . There is no way on this earth he could walk to the one he has to go to . It would take hours and there are no pavements either .

I agree that people can be very intolerant .

It is unlawful to park on yellow zig zag 'School, Keep Clear' markings and it is police, not local authority, enforceable and offenders should be reported every time.
When my daughter was in primary school the Head or Deputy Head came out every day, start and finish of school and made sure parents did not illegally park . It did work and it was only 5/10 minutes out of his day.
If a vehicle blocks you on your drive call the police and have it towed away - it is causing an obstruction which is unlawful.
Preventing you from access ON to your drive is not an obstruction.

There are close to the schools near me a metro car park, a supermarket car park and a library car park. All of these would require children to walk for a few minutes, which apparently they can't manage.

Where I live there is no safe route fir primary children to walk to school. School bus used to stop at end of B road about 1/4 a mile from housing. Children picked up and dropped off and they walked the short distance home on a very quiet road. Same foe secondary pupils. Then, some helicopter parent complained her secondary school child got wet walking to and from the bus. What happened? Two secondary school buses (non religious/religious schools) and a primary school bus now come into the very small housing estate having to reverse round a corner into a narrow road and then drive off. The Council said it didn't cost any extra and they wanted to be "helpful". These kind of complaints from parents who complain that their children get grass on their shoes when they cut across a grassed area after its been mowed. No one, just no one will win against parents and their 'entitlement' to have whatever they want nowadays. Good Luck with the parking issues!

The school my daughter works in has a drop of zone but that's not good enough for some patents. They have to park, allow their children to play and then see then going into their classroom but they still park in the drop off zone. His leaves no space for people who want to drop off their children except the middle of the road. People are very selfish sometimes. They think rules are not for them to obey, just everyone else.

I know it's changed days but I used to walk 1 mile to primary and just under 2 to secondary. There was a local bus that went near the secondary but I had a 15 min walk after that and there was no way my parents would pay the bus fare anyway. Sometimes if I had forgotten work/books for school I used to run home and back to secondary in lunch break. Can you imagine teenagers doing that now, there would be claims of abuse and human rights cases.

Thanks for all your replies showing it’s a national problem. I do sympathise with, usually Mums, dropping children off then trying to get to work in awful traffic. Consideration for others seems a thing of the past sadly. I’d like to be part of the solution not the problem but no idea what to do. I Do try to stay put during school opening and closing hours so I don’t add to the chaos.

It is the same where I live . The cars start building up early so the big darlings (it’s a secondary school ) don’t have too far to walk . I must add there are school buses but No they have to be chauffeured . There have been a few near misses and the sit in the car and wait parents see it but truth is they don’t care as long as their big ones don’t have to walk more than a yard or two .I blame the school but then again it has been in special measures . I think it’s a country wide problem .School kids don’t walk anymore .

I think the problem now days is either parents going to work or siblings at different schools that require dropping off and picking up. Perhaps the answer is parents taking & collecting each others children, I agree though, I live close to a infants school and round the corner from a junior school and not many parents seem to walk now days.
Perhaps the schools could encourage the children/parents to walk to school?

The village where my mum lived served quite a large rural area and was a primary and there was no way most of the kids could walk to school along winding country lanes (although some came in a council-funded bus I think because they were over 5 or 6 miles away & it also served secondary pupils) but whether rural, suburban or inner city it seems to be a huge problem.
I can't drive and my parents didn't ever have a car either so I can't really understand car drivers mindsets but on the other hand I was born, brought up and live in London which has very good public transport so in that sense I live a charmed life.

...but when my mum left London she did say rural drivers are visibly politer than drivers in towns & cities.

I have felt my BP rising as I’ve read these posts! I would often be blocked from getting to my employment by mothers double parking on a street I used. They always seemed to be driving colossal cars and have enormous sons, and inevitably the child’s sports gear and school bag was always in the boot. As I sat and seethed at this teenaged boys being driven to school,like kindergarten kids, I was breathing fire!