School closures why….

actually I'm off work sick at the moment. Have you actually read what has been posted about why schools close. Often I agree its not right, howeverwe live in a society adverse to risk and too quick to sue which lieave headteachers and local authorities with very little choice especially as the have to make decisions very early to avoid confusion. If you dont understand this then I pity you.

My school is open, but I'll be sledging every lesson today. Oh, and just so its educational, I'm doing a "How to perform Ice Axe Arrest" mini session in each class 😆

Yesterday in school we built a snow shelter in the huge mound of snow left from clearing the car park, so basically I'm just doing what I'd do if school was closed. RESULT.

Checked my kids school website at 6am this morning but not updated yet. Checked again at 6.15 and it said the school would be open. Someone was up early :-). My kids weren't too impressed when I woke them up!

Mine are old enough to look after themselves but I can remember the days when we had to find sitters at short notice. And yes we moaned then about schools closing at the first snowflake. I guess circumstances dictate your stance on this issue.

We have a guy who travels from Knaresborough to Birstall(35miles) and not missed yet. The IT manager lives less than 6 miles away and decided to work from home yesterday (because it was a bit icy). Lucky him, most don't have that option, although I do, but chose to drive in.

no dont ignore reports, take them with a pinch of salt

oh see what I did there 🙂

Not all areas are as bad as the reports suggest. All I am saying is each school should be able to monitor the local conditions and make a 1st hand imformed judgement as to staying open or closed. Our shcool uses sms meassages which they did last snow and they sent a txt at 7am each morning to advise if they would be open or not. This works perfectly as they make the decision on the day, ok a school 10 miles away may be a different story and may need to close, for some reason the high almighty closed them all this time the day before, however the local school in their txt yesterday and today intimated the closure was beyond their control (from the high almighty) and they could not open for this reason. I sure if they had control they would have opened because local conditions were ok… so begs the question why the school is closed when the mighty decision making lord does not know the local conditions. All I am trying to state is schools should have the decision making themselves. my kids school teachers are all local, most live within 5 miles so they can all get to the school very easily. Meanwhile 100's of parents have had to take days off work which in this instance is not necessary.

We're open and most staff have got in, but only 50% of students are here. However, we're post-16, so we can make the decision on the day – we just cacel lessons and send them home. We know that a greater proportion of staff than students will make it in, as we draw from a wide catchment area. We also have more staff than lessons going on at any one time, so people can cover, and if there's no-one to cover the students can work unsupervised.

If we were pre-16, we couldn't just send them away, and we'd need to know for a fact that we would have the necessary staffing levels. Pre-16 schools also tend to get kids from locally while staff live further away, so more kids than teachers will make it in.

In my department, 4 of the 6 staff have got in to work; that's enough for us to cover. In a primary, having 1/3 of the staff missing would be impossible to cover.

Usually the case that the more specialised the job/profession, the further away the staff might live.

Yeah, because schools are few and far between…

Idiot

How did the road clearing go this morning? 😀

How did the road clearing go this morning?

I was late setting off so forgot my brush, sorry. I did find that letting air out of tyres improves traction on snow and ice though, but let too much out so had a bouncy bouncy ride to work.

my daughters school is open and is about hte only one in brighton i think (west hove)

the head lives round the corner and so do a few more senioor staff.

i had to travel across town with her and yesterday they cancelled all the busses so that was a non starter. today there are few running and getting in was no problem.

HOWEVER

all the roads and footpaths around the school were pretty much sheet ice so how many kids will get in that have to walk/drive in i`m not sure.

other than being a glorified creche, its pointless the school being open really.

It's not really about the schools being liable – its about the schools not wanting their pupils injured – not quite the same thing.

In which case the responsible thing to do would be open the school and supervise the lids. Ironically around here (East Lancs) many of the primary schools have reopenned today whilst the secondary schools remain shut. If it were risk assessed I'd say secondary school pupils are more likely to in danger when the school closes. They are more likely to go out unsupervised in the very conditions deemed too dangerous to be in (supervised) at school and this age group are more likely to left on their own (not condoning this) and again be at risk.

So I'd challenge the statement that it's not about liability.

I'll also reiterate a point I made earlier, I don't see any of the schools making massive efforts to clear the snow from their carparks and footpaths. School closures happen every year because of the 'ice'. Maybe about time they planned to mitigate that even if they can't (understandably) cope with the big snowfalls on the day.

I was late setting off so forgot my brush, sorry. I did find that letting air out of tyres improves traction on snow and ice though, but let too much out so had a bouncy bouncy ride to work.

I was out running very early [5am] this morning & thought it was a bit better than recent days – grip wise

There are other issues than the roads in Bristol (or wherever) itself though aren't there? If staff live outside of town it's perfectly possible they won't be able to get onto those roads, so not enough staff and they can't open.

Plenty of other people have said this already but decisions to close are being made based on lots of information we don't have. And comparing schools to other places where similar number of adults work is pointless.

I was out running very early [5am] this morning

Nutter 😉

& thought it was a bit better than recent days – grip wise

Screw a load of 1/2" wood screws into the soles of old trainers. Supposed to be really good for grip in ice – http://karlmccracken.sweat365.com/2010/01/05/ice-wont-stop-me/

My daughters school is shut because the car park is frozen and iced up. 🙄

Why teachers can't park on the road (or walk) is beyond me.

Ok, its up a side road but the folk who live opposite the school seem to be driving around pretty well. I got to work perfectly well yesterday and my wife has today as we're having to take days off / work from home to look after the girl.

lazy arsed teachers.

Screw a load of 1/2" wood screws into the soles of old trainers

No need – I'm currently using a pair of these

http://www.newitts.com/product/IT021206/Asics_Hyper_XC_Unisex_Spike_Shoe.htm#choose

So the teachers could all park on the road outside and the school run mums in their 4×4's could have a field day crashing and running over kids.

If only the national grid could find a way of tapping into whinging then the energy crisis would be solved overnight 🙂

Haven't read all of this so apologies if this has already been pointed out but if a school opens and only 50% of the pupils turn up then this has an adverse effect on their attendance records.

Our village school is possibly the only first school open in Northumberland today! The head lives 50 miles away but hasn't been home since Monday.

School open yesterday, if you wanted it for childminding. Saw the head waddle past in the morning after a 3 mile walk, wearing several coats. She's not a small woman. Hats off to them.

I don't see any of the schools making massive efforts to clear the snow from their carparks and footpaths.

Probably because they do not have the money, personnel or equipment to do so. Thats the councils job.

I have been at work all week, since monday I have been "teaching" classes of 4 or 5. I had no say in whether the college stayed open just like school teachers (or sometimes even headteachers)have no say in what happens.

If the people who are slagging teachers are unable to get this, then maybe they so go back to (special) school.

anagallis_arvensis – Member
So the teachers could all park on the road outside and the school run mums in their 4×4's could have a field day crashing and running over kids.

Our school car park is clear, so are the roads. have you had to take 2 days annual leave to look after kids? just went to sainsburys in Filton almost 50 cars queing to get in, tons of parents (Mums and dads) with their kids… oh so they CAN drive and go shopping but not drive to do their frigin jobs…. absolute class

Childminding? FFS, there is a legal requirement for children to attend school.

Teachers are normally the first to point this out if you want to take them out of school in term time cos you cannot afford to take off or due employment circumstances cannot take time off in school holidays.

They can't have it both ways, lazy feckers

you had to take 2 days annual leave to look after your kids?

just went to sainsburys in Filton almost 50 cars queing to get in, tons of parents (Mums and dads) with their kids…

You'd think they'd want to spend time with their kids creativiely or enjoying the snow rather than dragging them around the shops.

You'd think they'd want to spend time with their kids creativiely or enjoying the snow rather than shopping

Haven't you heard? – the schools said it was too dangerous to play in the snow

Schools don't provide one to one supervision :o)

Schools don't provide one to one supervision :o)

is that what kids need to be able to play in the snow safely?

Schools don't provide one to one supervision :o)

No they dont give any supervision at the moment 😉

anagallis_arvensis – Member
actually I'm off work sick at the moment.

Frost bite? Hyperthermia? or snow day sickness?

anagallis_arvensis – Member
actually I'm off work sick at the moment.

Frost bite? Hyperthermia? or snow day sickness?

No I had surgery on my hip on Xmas eve.
You really cannot grasp why the schools need to be very cautious can you. MAybe you should have not had kids if you find them such a hassle to look after.

The head lives 50 miles away but hasn't been home since Monday.

commendable or stupid? bet his family love him!! NOT

MAybe you should have not had kids if you find them such a hassle to look after.

take a hike pillock… I look after my kids very well and dont at all see them as a hassle so shove that sentance up your @rse.

I expect the schools to open when they can / should; and provide my kids with an education, schools closing 5-10 days a year for non urgent reasons costs me days holiday, I should be saving for FAMILY holidays…. it takes my wife who works at the Bristol Royal Imfirmary out of work also, but I guess you have no kids right? so I guess you would not see that logic! all this feking about and we end up with a lost week of holiday days. precious days when you need to find 6 weeks cover for summer, then easter and then xmas. Parents cannot afford to rush home everytime there is a petty panic… add that to having a 1 year old in nursery who at times have staff shortages, its every bloody month you need to take multiple days off…

Like I said and obviously you are not from Bristol, so again the roads are clear, so clear 30-50 cars queing for a supermarket, the playgrounds were clear, all the local roads are clear. people out everywhere, so not dangerous at all in Bristol/ Just because I dont sit and cry at home over a bit of snow and actually get off my backside and get to work…. because it is safe, sorry but I expect the rest of public service to do the same!

Its funny seeing all the kids out today running around, throwing snow, making skid patches, parents driving them around, going out for lunch, to the mall… yep severe weather that be. god there is around 5cm of snow left, non on the roads, in fact its a damn nice day, hardly a blizzard and 5ft of snow is it. Oh and on that note if you have just had an op and are laid up, you have not been out and tried to drive with 1st hand experience have you? and not in Bristol?????? NO. just listening to the TV and radio hype!

once again if you cannot manage to understand why the schools need to take a very cautious approach you must be more than a little stupid.

The schools must be due a "training day" any-time soon

Like I said and obviously you are not from Bristol, so again the roads are clear, so clear 30-50 cars queing for a supermarket, the playgrounds were clear, all the local roads are clear. people out everywhere, so not dangerous at all in Bristol

And was this what was forecast when the decision to close was made? Or did the people making the decision have to do so with the information available to them at the time?

take a hike pillock… I look after my kids very well and dont at all see them as a hassle so shove that sentance up your @rse.

Whilst working the keyboard with the other hand. Well done.

Mike – Like I said earlier, they always made the decision on the day before and it worked, this is prime example of doing it the day before and it feking up!

its funny the amount of people having a go, how many of you are from Bristol? and how many of those from bristol have kids? so are being forced to take time out of their holiday entitlement?

Mike – Like I said earlier, they always made the decision on the day before and it worked, this is prime example of doing it the day before and it feking up!

Is your issue not with the weather forecasters then?

its funny the amount of people having a go, how many of you are from Bristol? and how many of those from bristol have kids? so are being forced to take time out of their holiday entitlement?

You might need to find a slightly more specific forum to get that.

so are being forced to take time out of their holiday entitlement?

Spend the time with them positively then, you know, like it's a holiday?

mike – everyone knows the weather man botches yup every week, so closing 100's of schools the day before the actual result is plainly not a good idea, met office could not predict a storm in a tea cup. Bristol is no where near what they predicted, and the proof is in the pudding….

so of all those bleeting on about safety; non are from Bristol and non with kids in the area, so you cannot understand why it is a joke, ok I appreciate some on here are surrounded by 2ft of snow and black ice, and think going out is suicide, well it may be in your area and fiar enough, it WERE that bad i would not venture out; but come and have a look at Bristol and you would understand why its a joke! a simple wait till morning to make a LOCAL decision is not much to ask for.

Dave – when I have to take time off i do, I just prefer a week or 2 long proper holiday instead of a forced day in soggy slush

mike – everyone knows the weather man botches yup every week, so closing 100's of schools the day before the actual result is plainly not a good idea, met office could not predict a storm in a tea cup

To be fair here – that's all they've got to go on

a simple wait till morning to make a LOCAL decision is not much to ask for.

But then you get parents bleating about having to make arrangements at the last minute.