To think 'snow days' are pathetic

[Toddlerteaplease]

I understand if you live very rurally and genuinely can't get out. But snow in cities is rarely that bad. NHS staff don't take days off for a bit of snow. Last time we had severe snow. Not one person on my entire unit missed work. Even though schools were closed.

I feel like DD school had already decided on thursday.

DD said Head of 6th form worried re girls driving but actually lots of the teachers live further out and would not be able to get in.

And I must admit I bloody love a snow day

I’m sure that you would soon change opinion if a school bus crashed and killed or injured children.
Often towns aren’t effected badly by snow for varying reasons including the obvious temperature difference. However once you head out from the towns you often hit higher ground and of course more rural areas that are hit often badly by snow and ice.
It’s down to the bus and taxi company’s to decide if the roads are safe to use not the school so often the schools are half empty because of them deciding the risk is too high.
Obviously not just the pupils live in these areas some teachers too so it often adds up to school closures.

Not a chance in hell would I be shovelling snow! Teachers for the most part will work at home, though if you have your own dcs off too then that limits what you can achieve.

Back in the 60’s my school didn’t close when the heating didn’t work. Everyone walked through 3 - 4 feet of snow. Everyone used to clear the path in front of their houses. My mum was a teacher and walked 2 miles to school in deep snow. Teachers who lived further away sometimes couldn’t get in so classes were doubled up. We used to sit with our coats on in the classrooms doing our schoolwork in the winter.

I used to work in a school that had a high number of Eastern European children. One day at school it began to snow and all the children got excited, as they do.

Somebody wondered if the school would close.

The little boy from Latvia laughed. "They don't close the schools in Latvia, " he said."We just climb out of the window to go to school."

rain
I've helped out on site before when I've lived close enough to lend a hand.

Last year my daughter's school texted to say school would be closing (midday). I am also a teacher who worked 14 miles away. No-one could fetch her so I asked deputy head if I could leave. She wasn't happy (because there wasn't snow where my school was). I made it up the motorway safely, drove down my road and nearly crashed with daughter in the car. By the time I collected her it was 3ft snow drifts and bad winds, heavy snow. Although my school area was safe, my village was dangerous. I wasn't the only teacher who had to leave.
We commute distances and rarely work in our local schools. That's why schools close.

Married to a teacher. Yes they love a snow day and first flakes they start bleating about a snow day. To be fair they didn't declare one this week but yes they certainly declare them too quickly ...(steps back waiting to be flamed)

I always love the 'days of yore' stories.

My employer told me to bring an overnight bag and put me up add a local hotel on Thursday.

Many years ago I worked for a bank in the offices- not actual banking but was always told to walk to my local branch on a.snow day if I couldn't get into town. Not sure if have been much help but never tried it out. I always got into work somehow.

I was a 70s and 80s kid. Never ever had a snow day. Not even in 1982 where the snow was taller than me. Not everyone made it into school but it was open and stuff going on.

Everything today is so legislated. Can't do x without x number of staff then there is so much health and safety - it's become prohibiting, as snow days show.

No sign of the OP coming back? I call GF.

How difficult is it to understand that, even away from very rural areas, the road conditions might stop teachers getting into schools, and snow/ice might make the conditions at school unsafe for the children?

Our school closed early on Thursday because heavy snow was forecast but we didn't end up getting hardly any, so of course there was a lot of moaning about the school closing unnecessarily. However, had they not closed, and the snow came down heavy causing dangerous driving conditions, vehicles getting stuck, unsafe walking conditions, children's safety being put at risk then I'm pretty there would have been a great deal more moaning from parents with comments like "There was weather warnings all day, why on earth didn't they close the school early" etc.
I think it is very difficult for schools to win in these situations as it requires judgement calls. Personally, I'd always prefer them to err on the side of caution and put my child's safety first. Also, from a child's perspective, I remember how exciting it was to have snow days where school closed early and I want my children to experience that occasionally too. I was just gutted we didn't have enough snow to build a snowman

We live in a city and it started snowing at 9 yesterday so the schools closed early at 12. I left work to collect the children and saw two accidents within a mile - the roads were really slippery even though there was barely an inch of snow.

Snow days drive me mad sometimes but slippery roads are extremely dangerous.

It would help if adults didn’t all drive like knobs of course. We’ve not had snow but it has been very icy the last few days. I drive a 30min commute on rural roads - some ungritted. Most other people of the roads were doing 50 or 60 on dangerous roads - not a thought for their safety or anyone else’s and despite the fact there was a well publicised fatal accident on that road last week - the flowers have barely wilted!! If people drove to suit road conditions then it would be safer for children to travel to a from school whatever the weather.

As someone who worked 18 hours yesterday getting NHS staff to work and to patients, they dint 'just go to work'. It was a huge operation using our own transport team, a volunteer 4x4 service, volunteers from the public and in the end Search and Rescue, yes YABU

However, some people do take the piss (including NHS staff) but the difference is we have staff on Googlemaps and bus websites telling people they can walk or get the bus so we can save transport for those that need it.

I’m in a big city, we had a few cm of snow fall on ungritted roads (main roads included). The queues to go just a couple of miles on the main road into the city centre were horrendous . Took people 2 hours to do a 30 min journey.

Most schools stayed open bht everyone got in very late, staff and kids. Staff abandoned their cars and walked up hills that their cars couldn’t get up.

Not every school closes in such circumstances. It’s not great though as the roads were very dangerous and really if you went out you risked damaging your car or falling over.

DH is a Head in a secondary school. Snow is his dread in winte. His aim is to keep the school open if at all possible. However, of his 120 staff, a good proportion don't drive so rely on public transport so that is one factor, about half the staff live a good distance away - some 40 miles away, many have small children whose primary schools may be shut. About 40% of children are bussed in so school transport has to be running. Then there is the H and S stuff, the site team have to have been able to make the walkways and car parks safe, the heating has to be working and the building be at a decent temperature, the staircases need to be safe and not slippery. He has to have enough staff to supervise all the children, all the time, to do duties, cover lunchtime, enough dinnerladies to provide meals. He has to take into account the weather forecast, public transport and the state of roads predicted to be sure children and staff can get home safely. And he has to make the decision before 7.30am so the LA can be informed, local radio, website updated, texts sent out and message put on school reception phone so that parents know as soon as possible. It is never a decision made lightly. In addition, if he keeps the school open and parents keep children off their is no accomodation made in attendance figures at the DFE. If the school is actually closed, the missing attendance does not count against them. Ridiculous!

iamthere123
It would help if adults didn’t all drive like knobs of course.

I second this, we are 15 -20 minutes off a main commuter road, think A going to an M three lanes all the way, yet there is an accident at least twice a week on the same 5 mile stretch of road that is pretty much straight.

around here it isn't the main roads in town that are the biggest problem its the housing estates and side roads leading to them.

Usually our school only closes if the buses are cancelled. Teachers don't make the call but reading social media you'd think we just think can't be arsed the day so we'll just not bother.

Health and safety can be a pain but when I'm looking after other people's children I just wouldn't take the risk. (Or the extra work of trying to fit the same amount of work into fewer days is outweighed by taking a day off to make your life more difficult)

Yes I remember those days when we used to go to school in heavy snow, the playground was covered in snow and we used to have snowball fights. Individual staff members were 'snowed in', but the schools never closed. There was a lot more snow in those days so we coped better.

I also think things are different these days at least partly because schools can get sued if children slip and get injured.

Also worth noting that the danger of everyone taking the risk of travelling in the snow makes for a grafter probability of an accident and therefore greater pressures on the nhs staff who have hopefully made it to work. Just what they need I'm sure

Sometimes some of the staff live rurally so it's not about the snow at the school each time.

Having said that I am on the side of opening and trying to get in as I have family in Europe who think Brit snow panic is a joke. They have winter tyres fitted by law though.

My children's school didn't have any snow days this week but they sure had a lot of trouble getting there on Wednesday..... because the roads between our house and the school were not gritted one of them in particular is extremely steep. There had already been three accidents on that road before they got there due to ice.

I can remember having a lot of snow in the 80s. We all struggled to school.... and were sent straight home again.