Should Children Go To School On Snow Days?
As the UK was recently hit by the biggest bout of snow since 2013, hundreds of schools shut their doors leaving the children at home to wait out the wintery blast. However, this has sparked anger amongst many parents as schools just taking the "easy option". But should children go to school on snow days?
The closure of a school when it snows is usually down to health and safety issues. The headteacher of the school makes the decision to close the doors as they understand the area and it's hazards best. However, as seen in Birmingham, sometimes there can be a blanket closure placed over all schools in the surrounding area.
What are the health and safety reasons for snow days?
Schools always have the safety of the children at the forefront of their mind and snow increases the risk in many circumstances. The three main factors that impact the decision to close a school are as follows:
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Can the children get to and from school safely?
It goes without saying that children need to be safe on the trip to and from school. If they are crossing roads or walking along an icy pavement, the chance of a car collision increases. If they do not have the appropriate warm weather gear, traveling to and from school in the snow could also make them ill.
Furthermore, the school also needs to be safe. If it is too cold for the children, the facilities are broken or the snow/ice has made the area dangerous, it is much safer for the children to stay at home.
- Are there enough staff to supervise all the school children?
Many members of staff may not work in the same vicinity as the school and may have to travel far to get to school. If the snow has been worse where they live or it could be dangerous for them to travel to work, it is safer for the teacher and the children to stay at home.
So, should children go to school on snow days?
That's up to the jurisdiction of the school, of course. Any amount of snow or ice could make the school and trip to school treacherous and is that really a risk anyone wants to take? After all, one missed day of school can be caught up on quite easily.
If your child has an examination on the snow day, the circumstance does change slightly. Exams are expected to go ahead at another location if it is not safe for students to get to school. This will need to be discussed with the awarding organisation and the students involved will be notified as soon as possible.
Safety signs can help reduce the risk associated with snow. You can browse our wide range of safety signs here and hopefully reduce any risk caused by the white winter we have ahead of us!
