Active discussions

Meet the Other Phone. A phone that grows with your child.

Meet the Other Phone.
A phone that grows with your child.

Buy now

Please or to access all these features

Talk
Local

Find conversations happening in your area in our local chat rooms.

Original poster

Glasgow schol shut 1 December

133 replies

prettybird · 01/12/2010 08:46

Just in case anyone hasn't found out yet - especially as the GCC website has fallen over - all Glasgow schools are shut today.

OP posts:
ssd · 01/12/2010 08:51

they are open in east ren, can't see the difference myself

Original poster
prettybird · 01/12/2010 09:01

I kno that where we are (centre of Glasgow) there was about 8 inches of snow overnight, to add to the 6 inches that was already there. I presume that the reason will be similar to the one that Edinburgh stated: with teachers struggling to get to school, the council can't gunarantee that there will be sufficient staff, so you could get the situation where you have sent the children to school, gone off to work and then be called back to pick the children up becasue the school can't operate.

I know our head teacher left her house (still in Glasgow, but north side) yestersay at 6am to get to school for 8: a walk, bus journey, train jouney, subway and another walk. She then had to deal with the press all afternoon - but that's a different story! Grin

OP posts:
Original poster
prettybird · 01/12/2010 09:03

The Isobal Mair school in East Ren has now been notified as being closed, according to the BBC web-site

OP posts:
ssd · 01/12/2010 09:06

the snow is really bad here (Newton Mearns), but schoold are open, kids all trudging through snow to get there

I just don't see how some schools close and others don't when they have virtually the same weather conditions, guess its down to the head

weegiemum · 01/12/2010 09:15

We made the call based on a convo with our bus driver at 7am not to go to school. Glad to hear that we didnt to send them home at 8am.

LOADS of snow overnight, like PB said. Am about to get kids dressed to go to Morrisons to buy food!!!

Original poster
prettybird · 01/12/2010 09:16

Ds had just set off to school when I thought to check. Had to run downstairs and call dh (who had been seeing off, trudging through the snow) to get him to call ds back.

It may just be a function of size: GCC as the biggest could have the most headaches in trying to find relief staff for schools which are understaffed.

OP posts:
Original poster
prettybird · 01/12/2010 09:20

Oi - weegiemum - we need to make arrangements to meet-up to go over to the Chirstmas meet-up in Edinburgh (provided the trains are running!)

OP posts:
Original poster
prettybird · 01/12/2010 09:29

Actually, I'll stop trying to defend the Education Dept: apparently they made the decision at 8am and only emailed the schools at 8.20 (by which time many kids would already have been at Breakfast Club), leaving them to try to notify parents at short notice. Hmm

OP posts:
midnightexpress · 01/12/2010 09:36

We're in S Lanarkshire and our neighbour teaches in East Ren - she reckons it has to be almost the end of the world before East Ren schools shut.
I think teachers who live in the same council as they work in are supposed to report to their closest school and help out, but in practice I have no idea how often that happens.
This weather is bonkers isn't it?

KristinaM · 01/12/2010 09:45

we live in s lan but kids go to glasgow school and est ren nursery

the staff were in at the school but just got word from the council at 845am they had to close. just as we had spent 40 mins getting there. sigh. good on the staff for getting in too

east ren nursery open

darleneconnor · 01/12/2010 09:52

I heard at 8.45, from radio scotland, not school.

Why cant the education authorities make more of an efort to employ local teachers?

We went to the supermarket last night (southside) and it was completly out of fruit and bread!

Original poster
prettybird · 01/12/2010 10:00

Our school only has one phone line and was trying desparately to ring around people to let them know. They were grateful for dh for offering to ring a couple of people and for saying he would update the school web-site (as he has Webmaster access to it).

It's atrociouos that the Glasgow City Council can't cope with surges of demand when people are most likley to need infomration Angry

OP posts:
KristinaM · 01/12/2010 10:10

our school sends a text to your mobile [boasts]

Original poster
prettybird · 01/12/2010 10:17

That's really good :) It would work for some of the parents at least - which would take the pressure off the phone around. The problem is that many of the Asian mums don't have phones and/or don't understand any English Hmm

OP posts:
midnightexpress · 01/12/2010 10:19

darlene, I think part of the problem is that most teachers don't actually want to live near the school they work in, because they don't want to be bumping into their students and their parents every time they're out for a pint of milk.

IMO if the forecast looks bad, the council should take the decision the day before and just let everyone know.

midnightexpress · 01/12/2010 10:19

prettybird - their DC would understand though, wouldn't they?

Original poster
prettybird · 01/12/2010 10:35

Not necessarily in P1 - many of them come to school with no English Shock. That's why as well as an EAL teacher, we also have a bi-lingual teacher.

And anyway, they may not be able to read yet in P1, even if their English has improved (ds, for example, didn't "get" reading until nearly the end of P2 - was learning everything off by heart Hmm - but now, in P6 is an advanced reader who free-reads for pleasure :))

OP posts:
weegiemum · 01/12/2010 11:08

Oh yes! Please dont let the snow spoil the night out!

weegiemum · 01/12/2010 11:14

We got a txt at 8.50am.

My kids get on the bus at 8am

I kept them home cos the bus driver (who has my mobile number) called me at 7.10 to say he didn't think he was going to make it. So I decided to keep them in bed (he called just in time!)

But why should I be making decisions like this based on a bus drivers opinion? I couldn't get online to the glasgow site (clearly crashed as too many people trying to access, like yesterday) and our radio reception is crappy here.

Anyway, I now have half the neighbourhood in my lounge as last minute parents couldn't get off work so I am falling back on "How The Grinch Stole Christmas" as a babysitter (for - let me count - 11 kids!!!) before icing cupcakes and cooking unlimited pizza for lunch!!!!

doggiesayswoof · 01/12/2010 11:24

My DD (same school as yours, weegiemum Smile) had been on the bus for 30 mins before the bus driver found out school was closed and turned back. He found out from the radio, same as we did Hmm

He had nearly not come out at all this morning and then thought he would try it.

It seems strange that there isn't some system to contact the bus/taxi drivers - eg council could text them all?

Quite a few parents had put their DC on the bus and then headed off to work and then had to get back through the traffic to meet kids off the bus again - not great.

DH is at home with them and has decided to put up our christmas tree Grin

geordieminx · 01/12/2010 11:27

South Lan nursery open, but it's private.

Dh has managed to get to work, ds is as nursery and I am playing working from home.

Only problems with working from home are it's costing a fortune in heating (fire and radiators on), and I can't seem to stay out of kitchen.

Forecast the same for tonight and tomorrow.

doggiesayswoof · 01/12/2010 11:27

I found out courtesy of radio clyde at 8.25

their website is worth checking - they post lists of school closures and so far the site hasn't crashed, unlike the council's.

weegiemum · 01/12/2010 11:31

doggiesayswoof - didn't realise your ds was at the same school? Do our lids know each other?

I have dd1 in p6/5 (Mr Cassidy), ds in p4 (Miss Maclennan) and dd2 in p3 (Miss MacAulay).

Wonder if they are friends.

Our bus driver is fab, he called early to say that he didn't think it was safe. We're on the Whitestar bus, the only one that the school has, and I hope it never changes, thay are great!

midnightexpress · 01/12/2010 11:38

Geordie, forecast seems to be the same until about Christmas (argh).

Weegiemum, you are a heroine.

South Lan have just changed their list of schools closed to a list of about 5 schools still open Grin.

I have completely given up on trying to get anywhere. Agree that any useful information seems to appear about half an hour after anyone would need to leave to get to the school in the first place.

weegiemum · 01/12/2010 11:40

Ni I am sorry we don't have enough pizza for any more! Am about to start heating it - I have 10 cheap cheese pizzas and things to go on top - going to make them as a thing to do then cook in shifts as my oven is small I can only do 2 at a time.

Pizza Hut deliveries very welcome!