In answer to Tim Trent's question...
I don't know what the legal situation is - but think that it should be discretionary, and provisional on behaviour (which should apply to adults too).
Personally, I really appreciated being able to spend time wandering around ancient monuments, historic buildings, museums and galleries by myself as young as 10 or 11. I regularly spent quite a lot of time in museums between the ages of about 11 and 19. I also regularly spent time by myself in the branch library as a child, and they let me use the adult library from around the age of 10. I didn't know anybody as interested as I was, so I would have been rarely to visit such places if I had been banned, and would not be working in cultural heritage today.
Bear in mind that many young people from at least the age of 11 or 12 are used to using public transport and going into shops by themselves as part of their daily activities. I would hope that a museum would be at least as safe for them as travelling on a bus used by people of all ages.
Janet
Janet E Davis
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