Why?
Seriously - why?
I have to drive 10 miles into work at tomorrow - I will do it because people will be waiting for me to deliver a course. If I can do that, teachers have no excuse for not getting to a school closer than 10 miles to their house. So the kids will have sufficient supervision.
In any case, schools should have a plan in place for if a certain number of teachers can't make it in - a plan that does not start with 'shut the school'.
The grounds are covered in snow? Fantastic - they can make snow forts on the playing field. And they will get wet and cold - they're suipposed to - it's winter. The school should have heating so they will soon warm up.
What changed in the (damn!) 30 years since I was at school? Has the snow got colder? The ice slipperier?
You presume all teachers and support staff live within 10 miles of their school? Definitely not the case in the schools I've worked with.
The 10 miles was an example - not a limit. I feel teachers (among other jobs) have a responsibility to get to work if they can. And the schools to have that expectation. My employer sure as hell does. Last year in that foul weather we were told that if we didn't come in we had to take the time as personal holiday. That was wrong becasue those of us who could make it did, and those that couldn't would have.
So the school closes - up to 2000 children are suddenly not going anywhere. Parents of younger ones may have to take a day off that they really shouldn't need to and possibly can't afford to.
I believe that closing the schools is taken as a first resort when it should be the last. Try taking a child out for a day off cos you don't fancy travelling to school and see what the school has to say about that.
they only used to close when the boilers broke....
I live in a rural area, and yesterday the high school was open to walking pupils - but the children who live in rural areas - such as ours - were at home as the bus that collects kids from 3 villages has a very steep hill to come down and then go back up - and the slightest bit of ice and it becomes impassable..
I for one am glad that the school has the sense to not risk the safety of our children.
I'm sorry but I love it when the school closes purely because my kids can actually enjoy the snow for the little time it is here. Their little faces are excellent.
They are old enough for me to leave home at 14, but I can also work from home in bad weather so not really an issue.
kaz is the y mark on an authorised absence just for the bad weather absences or for all absences where it has been authorised? i only ask because i had been given authorisation for some time off for my son but in his school report he got it taken off as a percentage and they stated it was an unacceptable amount of time off even though it was authorised. just wanting to warn people that although it may be classed as authorised it may still be taken into account on a child's report
i work in education and we stayed open yesterday but then some staff spent approx 4 or more hours getting home after work because the snow caused so many problems .... travelling on a bus that was on an ungritted route and slid and then got stuck with no help coming from anyone for several hours
also the grounds of my workplace are very slippy and dangerous because due to health and saftey rules they arnt allowed to grit/sand/salt it but the head teacher has a duty to make sure that the staff and clients have a safe enviroment there
it must be a nightmare to decide whether or not to open or close, they get bad press either way !
it is a good job that nurses etc do not use the same excuses not to work, i travelled approx 18 miles through hilly rural west wales through all weathers including snow so that the busy a & e dept was not short staffed, and because we all usually managed to get there it never was
I'm a teacher. My school has a snow day today. I'm off on long term sick leave anyway, but I wouldn't be able to get to school. One route to school is blocked by lorries which are unable to move. I travel 14 miles to school, much of it on country roads and often they don't get gritted. I have to say, driving in snow doesn't worry me at all because I do it carefully. However, many people don't like it, are nervous and cause accidents. Plus, the police are saying don't drive unless it's an emergency - so that's that. Last winter, we were all sent home one day as the weather gradually got worse. It took me three and a half hours to do a journey that normally takes me 30 minutes.
Our (primary)school ran out of grit last year, so we had two snow days because it wouldn't have been safe and there was nowhere to park our cars. You say older kids could clear the snow. Well no, they can't because their parents then complain that we've had them do that - they even moan when we let them play in the snow (because they get wet/cold). There are rules on how many children each teacher is allowed to supervise, so you can't just 'manage' with the staff that get there, if that ratio is wrong. And you can't just take time out to play either, as everything is geared toward delivering a certain curriculum. One day last year, I had 4 pupils and asked the head what we should do - deliver lessons already planned or not? All the staff wanted to get out in the snow and play, seemed silly delivering lessons when we were all down to less than 10 children in each class. The head said we weren't allowed out and we had to spend the day reading and assessing the children who were there.
As a side issue, prompted by Kaz saying the kids are told to wear warm clothes, it always amazes me that parents are never ready for the cold weather. A bit of snow, then they decide to keep their kids off school because they have no wellies or need a warm coat because last year's don't fit. Well, duh! - they won't fit because kids grow :shock:
There are a lot of people on here who clearly don't understand the issues. Our school closed not because the staff couldn't get in, and not because anyone actually wanted to skive, but because it just wasn't safe for the students. There have been a few cases over the past few years where students have slipped on icy steps, etc. and been seriously hurt; at least one case that I know of where the student hit his head and later died. That is why some schools will not open unless they can get the steps, walkways and yards clear and keep them that way; because they cannot guarantee the safety of the students in those conditions.
I personally hate having these snow days; I mean, it is okay for the odd day, but when it carries on into three days like it has this time I lose a lot of time with my year 11s who are about to do exams - I need all the time with them that I can get! I'd rather have that time now in school time than have to do more evening/holiday sessions over the coming weeks.
I wonder how many children off school for safety reasons are out there unsupervised, slipping and banging their heads with no-one around but some other 12 year-olds to deal with it?
Tweeky, for you - from the above link:
'Currently pupils who do not turn up to school even in extreme weather have to be marked down as absent. This is not the case, however, if the school shuts. Some parents argue this encourages schools to close when it snows so they can maintain high attendance levels, which are inspected by Ofsted.
This is dismissed by the DfE, which says there is flexibility. It advises "schools that do remain open... should not be penalised because absence rates have risen due to pupils having difficulty in travelling to school". It also says Ofsted inspectors are given additional advice on inspecting attendance which covers periods of extreme weather.
But some local authorities still take a strict approach. In its advice on emergency school closures, including snow, Kent County Council says "not sending your child to school when the school is open will count as an unauthorised absence on your child's record".'
What is the punishment for having an unauthorised absence? Or an authorised one that is marked as an absence on your record?
so dont just blame it all on the teachers... hey if the IT guy doesnt turn quess what the school is screwed another reason why they shut the schools lol >.<
