Schools across parts of England have had to close or partly shut owing to severe weather today, with many leaders opting for remote or hybrid learning.
Others introduced later start times or collapsed classes because staff and pupils were struggling to get to school, while some premises were forced to close as a result of heating failures.
More than 80 per cent of schools were closed in some local authorities, with teachers delivering live lessons online to some pupils.
And the government’s online learning provider - Oak National Academy - said that “classroom activity” was running 3.6 times higher today than last Monday, with 9,600 pupils logged in to the platform at 9am.
Parts of England faced heavy snowfall and freezing temperatures last night and today, with an ice warning covering much of the South East, including London and Brighton, from 9am on Monday.
Some leaders pushed back their usual opening times owing to the “treacherous” conditions.
Several councils told Tes a large portion of their schools were closed. For example, Medway Council, in Kent, said that of 103 schools in its area, 84 were shut, and just eight open, with the remaining 11 unconfirmed.
Barking and Dagenham Council, in east London, said that 22 schools out of 60 were closed or partly closed, while Essex Council has more than 100 schools listed as closed on its website.
Even in areas where schools were not closed because of severe weather, some were closed for associated reasons, with Slough Council saying two of its schools were shut as a result of heating failures.
Multiple councils said that they were advising schools to use a “Y” code in registers, in the event of either closures or pupils being unable to attend - referencing that the pupil was unable to attend due to exceptional circumstances - in line with Department for Education guidance.
Adapted start times
Some leaders who kept their schools open said they had adapted start times to allow students and staff extra time to come in.
Dan Morrow, chief executive of Dartmoor Multi Academy Trust, in the south-west of England, said schools in the trust opted for a 10am start owing to “treacherous conditions”, but were open for pupils to arrive earlier if they needed to.
He said schools had remote learning in place for pupils who could not make it in - with live lessons in the majority of cases - and had “plans to be fully remote if risk assessments necessitate”.
Vic Goddard, co-principal at Passmores Academy in Harlow, Essex, also said this morning that lessons at the school would start at 10am.
He added that the school would “serve the community by providing a safe environment for the students if their parents/carers send them in”, but that they had “collapsed classes where enough have decided it’s unsafe for their child to walk into school”.
‘Frustration’ for leaders
James Bowen, director of policy for school leaders’ union NAHT, said that the weather would be a source of “frustration” for some leaders but that schools had well-rehearsed policies for dealing with it.
He said: “Schools will try to remain open but problems such as staff being unable to get to school or hazardous conditions on school grounds may mean that some schools have no choice other than to implement short-term closures.”
Online lessons
Geoff Barton, general secretary of the Association of School and College Leaders, said he expected many teachers to be setting work online today, and added: “Closure will always be considered a last resort.
“School and college leaders are best placed to determine whether it is safe to open and will have their own health and safety policies to aid their decision,” he added.
Several schools took to social media to tell parents that they would be delivering remote learning - mainly via live lessons - as a result of closures.
Further extreme weather is expected later this week - with a yellow Met Office snow and ice warning covering north-east England from midnight on Tuesday until noon on Thursday - meaning further closures are possible.
A Department for Education blog on adverse weather conditions, published today, said: “It’s up to schools and local authorities (councils) to decide based on their circumstances. This is the best approach as it allows them to take local issues into account.
“Usually schools will have tried and tested policies in place to help them in adverse conditions.”
