to wish that when we have snow and the school is in the back of beyond, it would just shut?

[Sevenfold]

dd goes to a sn school in a rural spot, it is not the local school.
due sto its situation there is a chance it will be closed tomorrow.
I have no probs with that as if the staff have trouble getting in, so will the pupils, who are all in wheelchairs and apart from boarders will have to travel in on buses.
so why can't they just say it is shut?
then we don't have to get up at the crack of dawn and have a long long day.

I woud let my children go sledging on a snow day, they could walk to the hills with their sledges. However school is too far to walk safely and requires a drive along unwritten country lanes which are a glorified ice rink.

Sorry ungritted not unwritten.

Excuse poor grammar and spelling. Bloody iPhone :-(

Doctors and nurses are usually able to get into work by 4x4s are they? That's news to me. Each and every time we've had heavy snow falls here we have been expected to get into work or die trying. And if you don't hero yourself in this way expect being branded precious/pathetic/undedicated. No provisions made whatsoever.
In fact yesterday after heavy snow fall I had to simply walk to the station (fifteen minutes) and then pay a tenner to get a taxi home. Because at the end of the day it's not their problem how or if their workers get back safely

if the school closes then the school register reflects this.
if it stays open, those who are unable to get to school are makred as absent.

This is then reflected in their attendance record. It doesn't state 98% but that was cos of a massive snow fall and pupil living at the top of a steep hill.

Schools also aren't able to know how many pupils are going to make it in and how many staff. They may assume that a good number of teachers will get in but most pupils wont bother. But if they misjudge then they could be very understaffed and have to close anyway, so parents have gone to work thinking children are at school, only to find out that they are being sent home.

If the chances are that the routes to school will be dangerous/difficult then it is better to close.
Less traffic on the road so less congestion and possibility for accidents leaving the roads clearer and safer for those who HAVE to use them

update for sevenfold: (although this is of course just one person's judgement, and you need to come to your own decision!)

there's abotu 6 inches of snow on the ground. really quite warm, and should mostly melt over the course of the afternoon. a few cars have been past, and seem to be going ok. she'll let me know later how things pan out.

hth.

thanks silverfrog, just hope it doesn't freeze overnight(I must meet your friend oneday)

my dd's safety is my only concern, nothing to do with inclusion

I'll ask her later what the temperatures are like, sevenfold. she lives up the driveway kind of opposite (well, a bit further on!) the school sign - all the way at the top, by the common. I'll get her to wander down and have a look at the school drive/road etc when she takes the dogs out later!

It will all depend on temperatures later - am in the same position with dd1, whose school is in a similar rural position. most of the journey is ok with ehr, but the last 3 miles or so are a bit lane-y, so won't be gritted. her school have an arrangement with one of the houses next door, and they pop out early on snow days, and call the head with a verdict on the roads etc, and then the school texts everyone after that. maybe your dd's school coudl do the same? it means we know by 7am at the latest, so that everyone can know early enough what is happening.

In your circumstances OP I think I would make my own decision about whether to try to go or whether to ring in and say that you decided not to and give your very valid reasons for your decision. I would just make this one my call, not theirs.

We have 5-6 inches of snow here. My Ex-P works near me, in the kitchen of the local hospital, but lives 6 miles away. He had to trudge 6 miles through the snow to get to work today. He is the only person who made it into the kitchen, despite a large percentage of the other staff living MUCH closer. So he is the only paerson working in the kitchen of the only hospital in a 40 mile radius.

I have told him to come to mine after work and sleep on the sofa as he also has to work tomorrow, and I am less than 1/2 mile from the hospital. No transprt for him - and if he hadn't got in, not one patient in the hospital would have been fed today.

I work in a small rural school that almost never closes and many of the parents say what you have said. if you feel really horrible about driving in it then just don't. I wouldn't blame any parent for keeping their child off if they had a treacherous journey to make.

My dc won't be going to school tomorrow, unless 3 inches of snow melts and the buses start running again. What options do I have? DS2 CAN'T physically walk that far WITHOUT snow, never mind with snow. I can't get DS3's pram through the snow, even if there was a way to get DS2 there. I can't sling DS3 because I have epilepsy, and a sling is dangerous if I have a seizure. Nope, my dc aren't going to school tomorrow, and I doubt the school will moan either.

They usually don't, I'm not the only one travelling a fair distance by bus, and the school KNOW that in anything over 3 inches, the buses don't run. It gets marked down as authorised absence for all of us who have no choice but to use the buses.

OP do you work? If not, then I would say don't go in, let the school mark the day as absent and stay in the safe and warm. So what...?

If you do work then it's more of a problem. But that's what I would do if the journey was going to be difficult and possibly dangerous. Life's too short already. You can't slide into a ditch, get stuck in snow or left stranded in your car if your car is on the driveway and you are in your house.

Not being funny but you do realise that 3 inches, or even 5-6 inches of snow isn't that much really?

But anyway, the bottom line is, if you don't feel safe driving, don't go. If you feel guilty about it that's just too bad, and unnecessary. The school shouldn't close just to reinforce your choice not to drive.

I work in a primary school in a village. Couple of years ago we had 6/7 inches of snow and the head dithered about shutting/not shutting. Chose to keep us open.

I walked in as i live in the same village. Only two other staff members made it in as the lanes were treacherous. We had about 50 young ones make it in one way or another aged between 5 and 10 between us. No problem.

Then at midday it began snowing again. Chaos. Buses said they would only run for another hour. Caretaker and head were in the office trying to ring parents. Some were at work and baulked at being called back. Parents that couldnt be contacted. Parents at home who's partners had taken the car to work and were panicing about the busses stopping. etc etc. Some parents arrived straight away and collected their kids. Kids still waiting were then fretting about getting picked up despite our best efforts to keep everything upbeat.

Very stressful for all. And for what? A few videos in a classroom and a game of snowballs. Some of the children werent even sent in with wellies or a proper coat so didnt even get the game of snowballs! We should have stayed closed.

The fact is that 6/7 inches of snow in this country does cause everything to grind to a halt as we arn't properly equipped here - and things wont change untill we are.

notfluffyatall did you actually read my op?
dd goes to an sn school all the young people are in wheelchairs, most of them go on school transport.
this has nothing to do with me driving.

Another poster referred to driving, I was responding to her.

3 inches might not seem like much to someone able-bodied. My DS2 isn't fully able-bodied. He has a connective tissue disorder, that causes him pain on walking. It is not physically possible for him to walk the distance to his school when it is NOT snowing, much less if he has to wade through 3-5 inches of snow. Which he is not capable of doing.

So your patronising comment about 3 inches of snow not being very much is unnecessary, cheers.

When there's no available public transport, and your disabled child can't physically WALK the distance required on a NON-SNOWY day - they are hardly likely to be able to do so when it IS snowy!

Notfluffyatall - I hardly think that having EPILEPSY is 'chosing not to drive'. . Would YOU like the DVLA to allow me to have a driving license? Would YOU like to share a road with someone who has uncontrolled epilepsy?!

Jeeeez, relax.

None of my comments were directed at anyone in particular. Stop taking me out of context. How would I know you were epileptic?

My point was if you can't get your kid to school, don't go, don't feel bad about it either, but the whole school shouldn't close because you can't get your kid in. This is what the OP was suggesting, just close the school wholesale when there may well be parents who can get there quite trauma free.

My point about people choosing not to drive in snow was obviously not directed at people who, because of a disability, can't drive. That would be ridiculous. I do think it's relevant to point out though that a qualified driver choosing not to drive because of 3 inches of snow may be overreacting a tiny bit. On an average year large chunks of Scotland would have to close down if this was generally accepted.

Moot point anyway - all 3 of my school-age dc have come down like skittles with some grotty viral thing - all running temps of between 99 and 101, sore throats, headaches, achy muscles. Spent half the night doing 'ward rounds'. 13yo DD keeps falling asleep every time I wake her up, 9yo DS1 is asleep in bed - he hasn't had naps since he was 18mo!! 8yo DS2 is snivelling on the sofa, being exceedingly grumpy.

Anyone want to place bets on how long before me and 12mo DS3 come down with it??

My DD was I'll with similar bug last week, vomiting too

Hope they get well soon.

notfluffly (not having a go, just trying to explain a little).

my dd1 is at a similar school to the OP's dd. rural, down soem nasty lanes, and a SN school. there are 22 children at her school. 18 of who come on transport.

only 3 of the children live within 5 miles of the school, the furthest away travels about 40 miles in.

I do not know the stats for the OP's dd's school, but it will be similar.

we are not talking closing down a school with hundreds of children. but a small school, where all the children have mobility and health problems (meaning even a moderate delay in getting to/from school can have some serious consequences), most of whom will be taken on transport - and transport may originate miles from the OP's home and the school, so conditions unknown (and then unknown in reverse at teh end of the day).

sometimes, it really is more sensible to err on the side of caution. my dd has gone in today - the roads are ok, but there was considerable fog as I dropped her off. that may well worsen, but I am 20 miles away, and will not know. I rely on the school to tell me, but this now means I am at home all day, waiting for that call - can't get into town etc to do stuff, in case the school ring for me to collect her early.

alongside this, at dd1's school, all children have a full time 1:1. they all need that 1:1. if the right number of staff cannot get in, then the school cannot operate (and again, the staff travel up to 90 mins to get in - specialised staff do not grow on trees). they would manage with one or two not making it in, but anymore, and the school closes - how do you pick and choose which children (when you don't know the conditions of the roads at home for those children) are the ones to come in and be supported?

It was not a precious ask of the OP at all -to be fully informed, and know that her dd (and her, in case of school closing early) will be safe and well cared for. and just trying to avoid the situation she mentioned where her dd was at school, transport couldn't run because it was unsafe, the OP couldn't get there because it was unsafe (WAV not being the easiest things to manoeuvre down rural lanes at the best of times, never mind the snow and ice) and she had to frantically ring around to find someone to ensure her dd could get home again.

notfluffyatall as I said in the op my dd is disabled, and goes on a school bus, so why do you keep banging on about me driving? I did say in the op that it was an sn school.
the school is open and she has gone.