That schools should close tomorrow where it is snowyy...

[SunshineAndSummer]

I feel like we should be prepared for days where it'll be difficult for teachers and some children to get into school due to bad weather, so online learning can take place instead!

I wouldn't drive in that in my car, which isn't a 4 x 4.

I'm surprised DSs school is open today. Most of the local primary schools are shut but all secondary schools open.

We were so sure school would be shut, DH took my massive 4x4 with snow mode (never used before!) to work rather than his small, low nippy car. There's no way I was going to drive DS to school in that (we've had at least a foot of snow and roads are chaotic) and too far to walk so not sending him today which he's delighted about!

That's interesting.

My mum always said they were meant to do this years ago - I had assumed this was a 1960s/70s thing which wouldn't happen today .

I wonder if that works for Trusts @shinynewapple22 as they should be able to verify staff across the Trust

My DC's school is shut today, which is inconvenient as it means me trying to WFH wealth a small child at home and will probably mean working late into the evenings all week to catch up.

The roads here are horrendous though and there have been incidents of cars skidding and vehicles getting struck. I don't want anyone putting themselves at risk for the same of one day's schooling.

I appreciate that I am fortunate to be able to WFH, muddle through the day and still get paid, but could we not have a bit more consideration for people? Teachers are people too with families and lives they presumably want to preserve.

I hope everyone stays safe and avoids travel if they can. I really feel for those who can't avoid it.

If today's weather continues for 6 solid weeks (as it did in the worst post-war winter, 1962/3), will schools now be closed until the end of January ? Just asking.

@Isleoftights most schools where pupils haven't been able to get in should be offering remote learning. The local ones to me are.

I was looking at news reports from 1962 freeze and one local news report did state that schools closed initially when the bad weather hit, and then I assume made arrangements to stay open. But most villages in those days probably had their own school and local teachers. Certainly not the same now. Most teachers do not live locally to their own school, and many village Primaries and many small town Secondary schools have closed. So I assume if we did have horrendous weather conditions like 1962, and if there are issues with roads being closed etc, I assume schools will go hybrid like they did during parts of lockdown, and how some are operating today.

You do know not everyone lives in London

No other profession has started a thread saying they don’t want to go to work!!

I didn't need to because my employer already said to work from home if we want to. A lot of office based work should be similar. There are nearly 2,000 employees at my rural workplace. I'd estimate over 3/4s of them can work from home if they need to, probably more. Most of us are hybrid working anyway so set up for working from home.

We don't have a lot of snow but the traffic is slow because of ice. I'm sure my neighbour, a plumber, would rather there were half the usual cars on the road so he can travel from house to house quickly but safely instead of sitting in gridlocked traffic.

Well no…obviously? What I had hoped would be clear is that I was talking specifically about London and London schools and that there would be no need to shut down schools in areas where it’s not needed?

Obviously there are places not like that.

Same, my son can't function at home on his own while I'm seeing my patients. I have to go to work, why shouldn't others.

@themind my DC's school was open today but only 2 school buses were running out of 20, another local college was similar. We are rural so no other public transport readily available. So a number of children would not have been able to go in. So do you blame the teachers or the bus drivers (bearing in mind school transport is the remit of the council/bus companies not the schools, and even if school buses are run by the school it wouldn't be down to teachers whether they were running) The schools were open and running remote lessons for those who couldn't get in, by the way

Just got on with it

Barriers, masks, limited people in shops etc.
They didn't just get on with it.
Again just making stuff up.

Nonono, my kids went to the tiniest primary in a really long steep hill and slightest bit of snow always closed it down, ut was the biggest pain for me who had to work and who drive a 4x4 and could have easily gotten up and down the hill.

I grew up in Yorkshire where deep snow was pretty common at some point each winter. We still went to school. The only time I remember my primary school closing was one winter when they didn't manage to get a delivery of coal for the boiler, so no heating or hot water. Pretty much everyone walked to school, including teachers if it was too snowy or icy to drive. My secondary school was about a 1.5 mile walk for me.

Some teachers live upwards of an hour away from their school and get to work at 7am - not much chance of roads having thawed etc. Please remember they might live in rural and hilly areas where roads aren’t routinely gritted because they’re not A roads. Online lessons possible so long as parents support and ensure their DC participate rather than going off and out for a family snow day. It was so demoralising during Covid lockdowns when students routinely failed to log on to lessons. Obviously no Mumsnet family would dream of doing this with their DC…..

As an NHS worker, I HAVE to go in, we have zero choice !!

My cousin is a nurse and when the snow is bad and she can't make it in, she stays at home. So some NHS workers have choice and are allowed to assess the risks for themselves.

@Bluelightbaby so was it the teachers fault or the bus drivers that my DC didn't go into school today? School buses weren't running but they have had a full day of lessons through remote learning, including some lessons being conducted by teachers from home, as they couldn't get into school.

Thanks to covid there is now no such thing as a Snow day! Most schools if they have to shut for snow or another emergency they use Google classroom or teams to deliver work remotely! As a teacher even if off sick there is an expectation to be online for students. My school policy is if you have covid and are isolating for the required 5 days you should teach if well enough! Having been off school with serious covid and complications the expectation was for me to work remotely of come back on a phased return. 🤔

No, make them go to school
We had to have two or three feet
Of snow before we could stay home, As a child 😢😢 😢

Yes. I went to school seven miles away by bus. Never missed a day.

@Novemberhater school buses weren't running here today

That’s fine and dandy for all the parents that wfh that don’t need to worry about childcare for their primary kids. In the real world outside mn where normal jobs like retail, supermarket workers, nurses and so on, where lots of workers are struggling for childcare so have to take unpaid leave. It certainly is no fun.

In such countries, aren't they prepared for severe annual snowfall? Snow tyres, many gritting machines and snow ploughs etc? Whereas, perhaps it's not economically viable for the UK to have a store of snow ready vehicles and car owners are unlikely to have snow tyres ready and waiting to be fitted......