How to organise pupil collection arrangements

There are no laws on who can and can't collect pupils from school, or the age at which children can walk home alone. It’s up to you to decide how you want this to work in your school. Use our article to help you.

Last reviewed on 24 July 2023

School types: All · School phases: All

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Contents

Get parents to formalise collection arrangements in writing. Anyone collecting a pupil should have written permission from that pupil's parent.

Ask parents to give your school a list of people allowed to pick up their child
Update pupils' emergency contact sheets to include the list of authorised people
Ask parents to inform your school in advance of any changes to their collection arrangements (such as medical appointments)
Make sure the teacher and office staff know if a pupil’s going to be collected during the day, and who’s collecting them
Encourage authorised adults to briefly introduce themselves to staff
Put a system in place to make staff aware of anyone who’s not allowed to collect a pupil
Never let anyone who’s not listed as authorised collect a pupil without contacting the parents to verify their identity first

If a parent would like their