Schools shut as snow causes staff shortages

MORE than 1,000 schools were closed or had reduced opening hours yesterday after snow caused staff shortages.

Teaching unions insisted closures “will always be a last resort” as parents faced juggling work and childcare.

At least 800 schools were shut entirely. Gloucestershire was the worst affected county, with around 250 school and nursery closures reported.

Robin Walker, the Conservative MP who chairs the Commons education select committee, said snow “should not stop the vast majority of children and teachers from reaching school”. He also warned that the availability of online resources should not be used “as an excuse to increase the number of snow days” after dozens of schools said they would host classes online.

Schools and local authorities have the power to decide whether they should stay open.

The Department for Education says decisions on closure should be “made locally based on common sense” but key factors include staffing levels, safety conditions around the school and temperatures in school buildings.

Government guidance for schools states that remote classes should be provided “on occasions when school lead- ers decide that it is not possible for their setting to open safely”.

Lord Lucas, the Tory peer and editor of The Good Schools Guide, called for schools to allow children to “have some fun” in the snow. He said: “Particularly for kids in the south of England, they should have a snow day for goodness sake. We only have one every five years. Let them have some fun.

“There’s so much good to come from a snow day. Working together to build a snowman, building a sledge. It’s a miserable day to be learning. If it carries on, get back to school, but if this is the only day, then enjoy it.”