To think when there is bad storms like Doris, kids should be kept off school

[LardLizard]

Seems crazy that children are going out in dangerous conditions like that

The wind was so strong here my garden fence blew down, but I would never even have considered that the schools had to close . I had to take something to my DTDs school mid day, and they said I could take the kids home if I chose to avoid bad traffic, but that's because we have a long, high bridge here that governs traffic in the town, and it closes during high winds, which causes a traffic nightmare.

We were right at the edge of the storm. A big tree (according to the tree surgeons was totally healthy and they couldn't have predicted that) came down at break time in the school grounds with the children watching.

Dsis' dc's school was right in one of the worst areas. They had no issues.

If you start keeping the children off each time you end up where the children are missing loads. one local school used to panic and they had 20 days one year where they were closed due to weather. Snow predicted (didn't come), actual snow, too hot, too windy... it was a local joke that they were going to close because it was too cloudy.

Certainly not bad enough weather to have kept children off around here - just a bit gusty - more like the weather we used to experience when we were up in Mull in October (veteran of the rally marshalling!!!).

Yabu

If a particular school is at exceptional risk due to the local conditions then yes it should close. But not just close all schools because of a storm. In my area it was very windy and a bit rainy but not remotely dangerous. So closing schools here because other parts of the country were worse is pointless.

Ridiculous suggestion - suggest that you would be the first to moan if school were closed and having to change plans etc

Can someone explain to me how and why storms get names?

Hahahaha so funny. I think it must be a joke ?

My tree surgeon DP went to work.

Just incase a crisp packet blows into their face?! It depends where you are and what level of warning you have locally!

Schools have closed previously due to bad winds and a group of children went to the park instead and got killed when a branch came down.

You make reasonable adjustments, you go out when necessary, you drive carefully, don't walk under trees and other than freak accidents which are just that you go on with your life.

Kids didn't go out to play because one got blown off her feels and because there are trees nearby.

It's up to parents to decide on the level of risk about walking to and from school in their case. But I'd contend that the risk of being run over every single day is way way bigger.

feet, not feel

Doris really hit us, during the night, the only things it effected was my cat flap and I locked that. The day it was gusty but nothing compared to what other parts of the country had.

We kept them in at long play because stuff was flying round at the end of morning play. We kept them safe, it's what we do.

Where I was brought up there were hurricanes. They all had names. Schools were closed for days even when they blew out at sea or veered in another direction.

It was great fun and we'd stay up all night to listen to the radio with lamps flickering and mattresses against the windows playing cards.

They also closed school regularly during the rainy season as getting drenched led to fever and everyone was terrified of that.

In fact we usually got called out of the sea if it rained while we were swimming.

I never quite understood why.

we have a long, high bridge here that governs traffic in the town, and it closes during high winds, which causes a traffic nightmare

I have a good idea where you live. They were nose to tail outside my bloody house on Thursday until 7pm. Perish the thought somebody might need an ambulance.

I think it's a bit of an overreaction to keep kids off school tbh. We had a few downed trees and fences here - a massive tree in the orchard came down despite being quite a big healthy tree - but the way I see it, being at home won't magically protect my DC. If a tree is going to fall on a building or something it's equally as likely to happen to my house as it is the pre-school. and the school would probably survive better than my house would!

Sure if your way is blocked by floods or felled trees or whatever, or if (as happened with all the snow) the school have no power but otherwise...? Nope.

This country is so wimpish about weather, and our extremes are tame compared to the rest of the world. Come the "wrong kind" of wind, rain, snow, falling leaves, everything frequently grinds to a halt. And people have the audacity to moan when it's warm and sunny.

I saw some of the London travel chaos on Thursday, with a sigh.

I never once had a day off school because of snow. I remember the great storm of 1987; it was very much school as usual the following day, despite trees being in horizontal positions.

the only things it effected was my cat flap

I read that as flat cap.
Must be my place of birth and cultural origins.

apple me too.
But the devastation left by said hurricanes was nowhere near what we have seen here with Doris.
I have had a few friends who have spent a day hiding in a cupboard waiting for the hurricane to pass because their roof had disappeared. And no emergency service would have been able to come out (plus there was no tel available either anyway).

That sort of reaction, like the one of the OP, is so over the top. It's winter. There are some storms. It's normal.
If roofs fall with the storms, it's because they weren't good enough. There was some issues with said roofs. It's Not because the storms were too strong.
If people have a problem with roofs killing people, they should turn towards the owner of the roof who didn't maintain it well enough.

You need to give schools credit and assume they can handle this kind of thing. DS school was excellent on Thursday - put all the potential dangerous areas out of bounds (playing fields where there are big trees around, netball courts because of the posts, areas with floodlights etc).

In the afternoon when it was clear the storm was at its peak and public transport and the roads were buggered went round and each class was told they could nip out of lessons if necessary to make arrangements to get home. This included making phones available for kids, sending a mail to all parents and confirming school would be kept open as long as kids were there (lots of kids travel in by train and plenty parents were stuck elsewhere due to no public transport).

As others have said, the flak they would have got if they'd closed would have been dreadful - they really can't win.

I contacted DS school yesterday to say how much we'd appreciated how they'd handled it and please could they let the staff know this - they were gobsmacked that I did this. I suspect very few parents appreciate the efforts schools went to to keep the kids safe and run a normal day as far as possible. There will have been plenty of teachers who had to stay late and had their day disrupted and I think they deserved a thank you.

In our area it wasn't dangerous, just a bit of wind and wet snow. Most people still went to work, the Forth Road bridge was open to cars. If it's dangerous for your kids keep them off.

People die on the roads every day.

Maybe we should all stay at home.

Forever.

MenopausalSpice

I read that as flat cap.
Must be my place of birth and cultural origins

That gave me a giggle

Op I have to agree. Our nursery took the children out onto the field trees down, roads blocked, scary to get to them.