Workmates and snow!

[ACSlater]

It isn't even snowing here yet but people are already saying they can't come in tomorrow because they need to stay at home to look after their 32 year old! Drives me up the wall!!!

AIBU to think they should have a contingency plan?!!!

Schools close for health and safety reasons. At the school I work at we've already have one pupil slip on black ice and smack his head, thankfully he was ok but can you imagine of a child or parent slipped on school premises and actually injured themslevs? It would be comp claims galore! It's not worth the hassle, plus many teachers and staff life a fair way from the school.

As far as I'm aware the issue is that if the school has been declared safe, then a child injures themself (due to an issue the school claimed to have rectified iyswim) the school can be held accountable.

They have a legal duty to provide a safe site for everyone who uses it. If it's declared safe and it turns out not to be, it's a problem.

Yes I agree they could wear suitable footwear and clothing but it doesn't really change the duty side of things.

Does this make sense? I'm knackered!

In any case it's not a question of closing if the kids haven't got winter gear. As you say, if they haven't got winter gear they come to school but don't go out to play.

Still don't see any reason for the mass school closures in the UK though.

forwarding you clearly have no idea how some people are struggling financially. £22 is a huge amount to some families.

What Neon said!

New Year- my school is driven by the bus companies-rural school and the fact that most teachers live a long way from school. Like another poster said up thread, lots of rural roads don't get gritted (or side roads so you can't get car out) and no public transport is not an option.

I never said it was about clothes vs closing. 2 separate issues.

With bad weather in the South East you can't travel anywhere - the roads just stop because of the volume of traffic.

3 years ago Dh set off to go to work at 7am, travelled 4 miles and was diverted back - crawled back via the diversion and got home at 4pm

So that's 9 hours of clogging up the roads without getting to work

Only a few inches of snow, 30 minutes from London but millions of cars.

Still don't see any reason for the mass school closures in the UK though

Then read the rest of the thread and then maybe you will.

And anyway. There aren't 'mass closures'.

Exactly pipbin. Hence my point about cliches. Some people have a fixed perception that bears little resemblance to current practice. They heard a tale of a school that closed for a day once ten years back due to something or other, and this has translated into "all schools closing at the drop of a hat."

Many years ago as a school child I attended a school that was none boarding for a short time, children were bussed in from miles and miles around. Bad weather was not a reason to not come in. Until the time we all got bussed in and couldn't get back for 4 days due to roofs flying off buildings and paving slabs wizzing around.

Those 4 days were terrifying

Schools close for health and safety reasons. At the school I work at we've already have one pupil slip on black ice and smack his head, thankfully he was ok but can you imagine of a child or parent slipped on school premises and actually injured themslevs? It would be comp claims galore! It's not worth the hassle, plus many teachers and staff life a fair way from the school.

The pupils in the Authority I work for are kept in until the playgrounds are cleared and gritted. As I've already said teachers go to their nearest school within walking distance which works.

DD's school is always open when it snows, though they might vary the timetable to go sledging in the afternoon. The school clothing policy is very focussed on weather-appropriate clothing as the children are out playing in all weathers, so wet weather/warm clothing is a must.

Normally the local transport system is okay, even in the snow, so I can usually get to work, though I have planned to work from home if there is heavy snow so I can go sledging with DD

We used to get dragged to school in the snow - we lived the furthest away but my parents had this idea that education was worth risking our necks for. Normally we would turn up, only to be met by the one teacher who made it in, to say that the school was closed. It never stopped my dad making the attempt though.

The reason they close schools is to take a massive amount of cars off the road so the emergency services can get through.

My DH is a teacher, him and a hundred teachers were stuck on the roads that day clogging them up because the stupid local
Authority didn't close the schools til 8am once everyone was on the road trying to get there.

Actually, round here it's more likely to be the primary schools that can stay open, smaller sites with limited walk ways outside means that they can make it safe much more easily, most children live walking distance to the school so can get in, whereas the secondary schools in this town (including the fact there isnt enough secondary places in our town so about half the secondary aged children go to school in the neighbouring towns) - very few of the students live in walking distance, if the school buses take the decision not to run, then they can't get to school, plus the school sites are a lot larger, with children needing to not just walk into the building to start the day, but walk between buildings between lessons - so all those routes also need to be safe - both safe at the start of the day, and safe after several children have walked over them and turned the snow into sludge...

For people with even younger children, most people pick childcare close to their home, if you use a childminder walking distance from your house, as long as you can get to work afterwards, there's no reason not to work. Most private nurseries near us opened last time there was significant snow when schools had to close.

I don't remember schools closing for a couple of inches of snow when I was a child, it's the H&S culture i think. We used to play in it, get wet and have a great time. Half the women round here drive bloody great 4 x 4's but refuse to use them when it snows FFS - they don't like driving in bad weather!!

One of my colleagues told us he couldn't come in- car stuck on drivenot
Sadly for him his boss came round ( next street) and offered him a lift LMFAO !

There's no such thing as 'mass closures'.

Each Head/site manager makes that call on an individual basis, depending on the condition of the site, what can be done to make it safe and to be frank, how they would expect their parents to react should any incidents occur.

Its not an easy decision to make, IME heads do not take the decision to close. lightly at all.

I don't get the "teachers walk to their nearest school" thing. If we had a load of randomers turn up in bad weather at my school we'd not let them on the premises unless we were expecting them and knew who they were!

I live at the top of a hill. So I have tonight parked at the bottom so I can go down on foot. DH is bringing work home to avoid SouthEasterns predictable snow response. In 8 years, our school has never closed.

fabulous I think this is a rarity these days. It certainly isn't the case in the three districts I have worked in and know none where my teacher friends do either.

I live out in the sticks, on a hill. 15 miles from the school I work in with no direct transport - I have to travel in to the nearest town then bus out to school - takes two hours.
When it snows I get snowed in. Five mikes down the road can be clear ... Two years ago the road I lived on was shut for over a month due to
Overhanging and dangerous snow. I missed one day - and even then got sarcastic comments from people who said people from father afield managed to get in .... Not getting that it hadn't snowed there.
Sometimes (vey rarely) snow wins. 17 years teaching and two snow days.

Fabulous teachers and caretakers aren't superhuman. The playground has been gritted first thing, but this particular patch had been missed. Bare in mind that it's been struggling to get above freezing this week.

If the system from your local authority works so well, why hasn't it been rolled out across the country?

I went to a very old infant school, built in the early part of the last century and has long since been demolished. I can remember one time in the 80's when it snowed really heavily and we still went to school because it stayed open. I had these little pixie boots on and the snow had gone right through them and then through my socks, meaning my feet are sopping wet and numb with cold. When we got there the boiler had broken down (was a regular occurrence) and we had to sit at out desks in our coats shivering! It was awful. Never forget it!

Please ignore typos!