snow this week and school closures?

[squirtycream]

should I brace myself for school closures? we're in london, snow due to hit us tomorrow (according to bbc)..

any school closures further north?

are schools gritting etc to ensure access to school? wasn't the case for us last year have to say!

thanks!

I'm in a little village and my school is another little village and on a good day there are 6 buses from here to the nearest big village where I could catch another bus to the town to catch a third bus to school ... but alas no buses have run since Friday and it has snowed steadily all day (now over half way up my 8 foot fence) not a hope of getting my car out
incidentally when we bought the house there were 3 buses every hour

Few closures around here but not many (mainly up in the north of the county or the annual "oh fuck the boiler's broken" festival of borked heating). I gather from friends and family in the North-East that it's chaos up there. I know a lot of the call centres and things sent their staff home early to ensure they could get back safely.

I'm just supply and have flu and a house move going on anyway so I've just taken the best part of the week off anyway. Back when I was full-time we had the one school that never ever ever closed - was the same name as one other school in the local area (i.e. a common saint's name) so you'd listen to the local radio and hear, "And we've just heard that Saint Freds... (and think woo hoo)... the other one is closed today."

I'm lucky - we live about 50 yards from the start of the gritted roads where we are - would be lying if I said it wasn't one factor in chosing the house.

Just think of me moving all my worldly goods in this weather though! Already almost landed on my backside moving a bookcase the other day.

To think I was laughing at the bloke buying a sledge in Asda last week thinking "you're kidding yerself mate"

Ah we have snow now. School open and local children who can walk in are in watching DVDs. Approx half the teachers in I think. Took 45 minutes to get in but the DC had a ball.

Cat's first snow too, just so lovely to see him chasing it and shaking his paws. DC were squealing with joy for him.

Oh emptyshell I do empathise. We moved last year the day of the big snow dump. It took the removal truck an hour to turn round outside our house......do take care.

Just waiting for the call from sodding Sainsbo's cancelling my delivery.....

I am in Oxfordshire, we had a bit of snow overnight, not much couple of Cm at most, schools are all open, they have asked us all to make sure we are contactable today and warned that if the snow continues the after school club may have to close an hour early, it has stopped snowing now though so should be fine.
Our school hates to have to close but sometimes (like last Jan) there is just no way, we are a small rural school, many of the staff have to come a fair way and a great number of the children live in hamlets a couple of miles out of the village and the roads can be impassable, even with today's light fall of snow people had problems with dangerous roads. In January we closed for 3 days due to snow, on the 3rd day they tried so hard to open but teachers just couldn't get into the village, we had several stuck on lanes unable to go forwards! We then had to close an extra day as the school ran out of heating oil (no gas in the area) due to builders who had been in over the holidays changing the heating settings from holiday to term time, school found out on the first day of term and ordered oil but two tankers ended up in ditches trying to get to us! They looked at ever option, people bringing in electric heaters (no go as all water had to be shut off with no heating due to risk of frozen and then burst pipes) we even had families offering to syphon off their own tanks to give the school oil but that was a health and safety nightmare! Schools don't like to close any more then we like them to, where we are it is understandable but I do wonder sometimes why the schools in towns and city's close, surely they don't have the same issues, can any city teachers/school staff enlighten me?
I do hope we don't get any more snow here, it would lead to the annual school trip to the pantomime next week being cancelled and possibly the school play and reception nativity, it would be such a shame they have all worked so hard.

We're in Derbyshire and the vast majority of schools are shut so mine are off. The ASD unit my ds attends 30 miles away is open but don't think it's wise to travel particularly as he would be very stressed so he's absent as well (authorised hopefully)

our schools were open to start with today and dd as supposed to go to a pantomime with them. We got texted to say the panto was cancelled but schools would stay open till 3pm. An hour later at 11.35am we got texted to say the school was closing at 12pm - nightmare for working parents to get only 25 minutes notice. We are now home, it is still snowing and the heating is on so we can start to defrost. Snow is on the forecast for the rest of the day with a high of -2 predicted for tomorrow.

Starting to put up a bit more of a snowing effort (we're on about a B- now) round here now. Interestingly my old school (also in Derbyshire) is still persisting in being the only school in their area not wimping out and closing! Only ones here that are shut (I'm more city-based than the other Derbyshire person on the Notts/Derby border) are generally heating failures which I can understand since most school heating systems are about old enough that you expect them to be powered by a little dinosaur on a treadmill like in the Flintstones. One local school closed for a week and a half last year because the boiler failed, pipes froze and half the school got flooded.

I know in the past in County Durham I did get asked to go in when we'd officially closed (the bus had actually crashed getting down the hill into the village from the other side it was so bad) because I was the one who lived in catchment area - purely to run babysitting/childminding/supervision for those kids who'd been dropped off by parents regardless. Just me and the head made it in - would have been a cracking day apart from the head deciding to run an hour long sound of her own voice assembly! Had them all in my reception room - big ones playing in the role play with more vigor than the little ones, then those with wellies went out to build snowmen on the school field - I didn't begrudge doing it, I was over the safer side of the village and a relatively easy drive in - seemed logical to ring me and ask me to head in despite the school closures.

I have, however just gone to put the heating on - and found my husband's hidden two big bars of Cadbury's Caramel in the boiler cupboard (no idea why) - finders keepers seems appropriate in such situations :D

I've actually never ever had a closure day come to think of it - the one time the water supply failed into my school I was out on a course anyway so didn't get a day off then either!

I have both DC home now. Kindergarten closed at 12 and those with elder siblings at the school ( all the one place ) could take them home at the same time, to save 6 journeys to school ( am there and back, midday there and back and 3pm there and back ).

DS (7, Y2) did one piece of comprehension, was read 4 books to by the art teacher ( his form teacher didn't make it in today )and then played in the playground for the rest of the morning. 10 out of 30 in his class made it in. He was put out at being collected early as he was having a most excellent snowball fight with his friends.

Worked during the big freeze last year (before the council ran out of grit so we got confined to barracks). One school I was at let the kids out on the field at lunchtime - end of the break the entire field was taken over by various snowmen - it looked fantastic but kind of like something out of a horror film in another way! Was quite creepy teaching the afternoon with them all looking in the classroom window watching you!

our wee ones were off again today.is looking likely that they will be again tomorrow.
emptyshell-i would have loved to have seen that!I wanted a snowman army in my back garden but i havent been able to get down the back steps since sat evening, apart from which my wimpy children refuse to come and help me! it would take an awful long time if it was just me.

Wish I'd taken a photo of it now - it did look fantastically eerie! Best bit of my schoolday memories (I don't have a lot of good ones thanks to horrible bullying) was when it snowed and we got allowed to chase one of the more eccentric (and brave!) teachers around the school field with snowballs. Poor Mr Roberts persued by an entire junior school armed with missiles - he was too flipping fast to ever catch up to and get a good shot at!

They've learnt a bit from last year around here at least - announcing closures NOW for tomorrow to allow people to plan a bit at least.

My in-laws are meant to be driving down from the Isle of Skye to help paint me new house!!! :(

Schools here closed again tomorrow - thank God - wasn't looking forward to trying to get down our road again. Now just need to work out how to keep DD2 from going getting cabin fever

Well, I'm in Scotland (west coast) and we got phoned at about 1pm to come and get the children as school was closing. Apparently it's not officially closed tomorrow (listen to local radio etc) but it is "at our discretion" whether we take them or not, so, since I'm working tomorrow, I will leave them with my dad (thank God he is around!) so I can concentrate on the hell that will be getting to work

we have been given no definate answer from our council as to wether schools will be open-they expect to know by 7.30am tomorrow! what good is that to parents who may have to plan child care?!

in fact, in the last hour, the four schools that were due to re-open, have now been re-closed!
yes another day in the house, on the bean bag with my 'babies', sounds like a good plan!

Flipping heck - just checked the closures lists for today and my old school has actually thrown in the towel and closed today. First time I've ever known it to!

My girls GS in Wiltshire did the 'stay open at all costs' thing. I recall one severe winter (78?) when I was 14 or so. About 25% of the pupils showed that morning. The rest ha dteh sense to stay home. By lunchtime the bus company called the school to say they were about to run their last buses to the outlying villages (the GS had a big catchment) so what did the school do? Release the Y7-9s at noon, then the Y10-13 at 1pm. So I missed the bus home. I had to go out on the bypass and hitchhike home- I got a lift from a Belgian lorry driver heading to the docks with snow chains in situ.

My mum was livid (she who couldn't drive!) but bloody hell! What did she expect?!

I have subsequently had a friend from Ontario who tells of being rescued from school - by skidoo!

our school is listed as officially open today, despite it still snowing very heavily at the moment, and the roads being gridlocked. they also have only a handful of staff.
we attempted to get into town to get a bus down, but thankfully had a phonecall from school saying they were only expecting kids whose parents were working to go in.
bet they must be relieved!

our schools are supposed to be open again today too (Scotland) and the snow is back, and heavy!! My kids arent at school though as dd was sick in the night so we havent ventured anyway (and wont if the snow keeps up). Am a bit pissed off though as they have been off since 12pm Tuesday and its interfering with my christmas shopping plans!

lol!! I know exactly what you mean! I had bits to finish off and am hoping for just one day when i can do it!

We are in Scotland too, have made decision not to take kids in tomorrow regardless of whether school is open or not. both the (service) buses i could get to school are cancelled until further notice and the thought of walking 2miles with3 dcs really isnt my idea of fun!

Hope your dd gets better soon.