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.

My sons school closed for 3 days last year during the beast from the east, my workplace 8 miles away was open.

No one could get to me to look after my son so I used annual leave. Colleagues who travelled spent up to 10 hours stuck on a dual carriageway trying to get to or from work. One who had no annual leave and was pressured to attend was hospitalised after a RTC on the same road. Local police were pleading for people not to travel.

I’d much rather schools consider the safety of their pupils and staff than open just to say they have. Same with workplaces

So sick of the constant teacher-bashing.

In my area a child slipped on ice a few years ago and fractured her skull and died but if schools being over cautious means another child does not die then go ahead and criticise. If you think keeping children safe is pathetic then that is more a reflection on you OP.

www.theguardian.com/uk/2010/jan/15/girl-dies-falling-on-ice

Last year a (secondary) school local to me opened when all the others nearby had shut due to snow. A child fell and broke their arm. I'm sure that was a nightmare for the school to deal with!

Schools have a high duty of care to their students, so if they have them on site it must be safe and, critically, safe for them to get home. Even at secondary school you can't just chuck out an 11yo and tell them to walk 5 miles home because the bus isn't running.

A lot of schools are very short of cash so may have cut back on supplies of grit and site staff to make the site safe. Sites can also be very overcrowded!

Generally I agree - but today I couldn't get my or my husbands card out. They in fact slid to a point where there was no chance we were driving. My kids schools were open and there was no way to get them there (the both travel distances to separate schools). Both DH and I are NHS workers. We made a calculated decision who would be of more value in work and the other stayed at home whilst the first walked as far as they could for a lift. If you've got kids, their safety comes first 🤷🏻‍♀️

I take your snow day, and offer you the middle east rain day.
Imagine, the kids get a day off school if it rains!!! Ridiculous I hear you cry. We deal with rain every day!
Well, the same applies to our rain days as UK snow days. The infrastructure just isn't set up to deal with these weather phenomena that occur maybe a couple of days a year. It's cheaper to take the hit and make closures and deal with the chaos than to put in the systems needed to deal with it.

Surely it depends on the situation. There can be huge variability in the amount of snow, depending on elevation.

We live on the outskirts of a suburb, on a steep residential hill. Last year we had almost a meter of snow during the Beast From The East. Our road didn’t get ploughed for 3 days. We were properly snowed in.

I’m NHS staff, but I couldn’t get to work safely. It’s unusual but it happens.

There is hardly any snow near us, hasn’t been at all really, but sure enough, all the local state schools are closed. Interestingly, the private schools have managed to open, as have the private day nurseries and all the shops on the local high street.

It teaches children nothing about resilience to learn that a sprinkling of snow leads to a day off. No it doesn’t! Put a coat on, and get on with life!

I asked my DDs potential school headteacher this. She says she gets into school at 7am to make a decision. They're on a slight hill so a little bit of ice can make it treacherous so even if the school site itself is safe the side road they're on might not be so they close. If her deputy head can't get in as he lives 45 miles from the school, they close his class and parents tend to keep all their children off even if one is off so they close the entire school.

She also said if she can't get in AND her deputy also can't get in they have to close as they have to have a member of Senior team in. She lives 10 miles away but sometimes it's enough to keep her home.

She tries not to close but they've closed 5 times in the last 12 months due to snow because of one of the above or because the council/church minister has told her to close or one time it was because the power went out for the entire town and it wouldn't have been back in time to cook meals for the Foundation and KS1 pupils so they had no choice but to close.

We estimated the other day that there are probably about 500 car journeys to and from the school I work in - taking 500 cars off the road at rush hour in dangerous icy weather does have its benefits

You obviously don’t live on a hill. I can’t get off my drive when it snows!

DS1's secondary is often the only one in the area not to close. The head prides himself on it, however often the buses don't run so the only kids there in snow are the ones who walk. They don't do the usual work as there on limited staff and most of the kids aren't in so all in all it's a pointless day for DS.

I used to be self employed and if I closed for a snow day it would cost me a LOT of money in refunds. So I invested every year in Snow Tyres, made sure I was properly equipped etc.

Now a snow day just means taking a day holiday in lieu and the kids might not be able to get to school so for the sake of something that happens so rarely what is the point of going to all that extra expense.

If you live in a country with frequent, heavy snow of of course the infrastructure is going to be set up for it.

The local private school never closes ( has two sites) whereas all the state schools around here do. The private school also has longer hours. Perhaps because the parents at the private school drive massive 4x4’s or perhaps because they pay.
Anyway it’s very noticeable.

If people whose journey is not essential stay at home then it makes it just a little bit safer for those – like NHS and emergency service workers – whose journey is essential

This^

I used to work for the NHS and was one of the ones who always made it in however bad the weather, but that was when I lived within walking distance of the hospital. When I commuted I was one of the ones who couldn't make it in to work.

I grew up in a rural area and schools definitely closed for snow days in the 70s. Happy memories!

I also found it much easier to drive in the snow in the country. If you crashed it was more likely to be a hedge or a ditch. Now in the city I dont drive if the snow is half as bad. If I crash it is more likely to be into other cars or people. The consequences are much worse.

I no longer work for the NHS so have enjoyed the school closure today. Work also closed due to the danger to staff, who would be putting themselves and others at risk for a non-essential role. Very sensible IMO

-23 here today, (US) we have about 10-12” on the ground. The wood stove is working hard to keep up.

As a Brit in the US, the UK just isn’t set up to cope with any kind of extreme weather.

We have snow days, but those days are added to the end of the summer term to make up for it.

I took over a childcare setting last year and for the first time ever needed to take the decision to close. Its not an easy one you know.

I live 30 minutes from the setting, better cars than mine have needed to be pushed off the estate. A lorry jack knifed on the local motorway. Plus my deputy has 2 young children whose school closed. Her road is clear but her only childcare lives at the top of a steep hill and can't get to her and she can't get up there either. We are real people with real lives and problems. We will be out of ratios without one if us working.

The setting area has very little snow but my families have been understanding.

We get so few snowy days it's better to make sure everyone stays safe than take risks.

If snow days are paid back at the end of term (and I think that the US schools have more holiday than UK ones???), how does it work if you have booked and paid for a trip away on those dates? Or are you expected to keep them clear just in case?

Are teachers in the USA paid for their holidays?

You are expected to keep the first week of summer clear.

Summer holiday here about 10 weeks

Teachers don’t get paid for holidays,

Not are teachers in the UK, apart from the statutory 5 weeks.

I'm wondering how effective those pay-back days at the very end of the school year are.
I think in North Carolina they take them from Spring Break.

I am sure different states do different things.

It can be a hard few days in 30C weather

I love a snow day !!

Years ago, workers, including teachers, lived a lot closer to their workplaces. Now so many of us have a long commute, it makes it far harder for schools to stay open.

If you are really sure footed and able to walk 8 miles on icy roads to work then fabulous - good for you. Many others will have no option but to stay home. No buses running today where I live, and train station is far away on icy roads. So I had a day working from home.

I completely salute all our NHS workers who work hard to keep us healthy, but I genuinely wouldn't want any of you to risk life and limb by driving/walking in dangerous conditions.