School snow advice defended
Thursday 14th February 2008, 11:44AM GMT.
Education chiefs have strongly defended advising Shropshire schools to close early amid fears the county was about to be hit by heavy snow, which never arrived.
More than 14,000 pupils were sent home early on Friday, February 1 as nearly 60 secondary and primary schools took the decision to close after lunch following advice from the county council.
Weather experts said that no more than one centimetre of snow fell in parts of Shropshire.
But council bosses said they had received fewer complaints from parents than when unplanned closures had happened as a result of severe weather.
A report to council watchdogs says as late as the Friday morning the Met Office was still forecasting a 60 per cent chance of severe disruption.
It says advice is issued when the Met Office warns of expected severe weather which could put children at risk of harm at school or on the way to or from school.
The council judged that there was a risk of traffic disruption across the county and there would be a “real risk of harm” to any pupils caught in this due to the potential for accidents and possibility of hypothermia.
The report says: “Given the high level of confidence by the Met Office that travel disruption would take place across Shropshire at all levels, contingency planning and early information for schools, was an appropriate response.”
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I am sure the Education Chiefs would defend their decision. It seems to me that schools close at the drop of a hat these days. Snow if often forecast but rarely affects Shropshire. If snow does fall the occasions on which it causes disruption on the roads are minimal! I daresay the afternoon off was enjoyed by both pupils and teachers (although of course I am sure the latter were marking!!)
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“But council bosses said they had received fewer complaints from parents than when unplanned closures had happened as a result of severe weather…”
Erm, that’s probably inevitable isn’t it? What people were complaining about was that there seemed to be no sense of PROPORTION here, and that ‘Health and Safety’ was being applied as an excuse for an action which – if applied across the rest of industry and public transport – would have brought the entire county to a halt for nothing.
But the point is that – being the local council – no one seems to be accountable. They can do what they like and no one can question the justification. Of course, the cynics might say that at least this was only a half day closure; if it had been left to local heads and teachers they’d probably have been closed for the entire day. Any old excuse eh?
Naturally, only a cynic would say that;-)
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In the interests of balance, I would imagine that when schools do close early (for ‘good’ or ‘bad’ reasons)it must be quite a logistical challenge in trying to inform parents, rearranging school transport, making arrangements for those whose parents can’t be contacted etc.
Which would only seem to reinforce the view that decisions like this are taken to make life easier for Shropshire County Council and it’s many employees, rather than safety concerns.
Makes you wonder what some of these people are paid for, but then featherbedding public servants is something taken for granted these days.
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I seem to remember the forecast (for Shropshire) being a 60% chance of some snow in Shropshire, not a 60% chance of 10cms (heavy snow).
Perhaps given that it wasn’t even snowing, they could of advised parents to be prepared for a school closure on that day rather than actually closing them just in case? And then not unreasonably, if it did begin to snow, children living a long way from home could be collected straight away.
What a waste of public money and everyone elses time (and parents annual leave if they where working).
To be fair though, what a waste of time weather forecasts are. In general they seem to struggle forecasting the next day with any sort of reliablity.
I could look out of the window and probably have a good chance of getting the forecast right for the next 12 hours. Over a few months, i reckon i’d probably get close to a 85% accuracy. The skilled bit is forecasting 48 hours with 85% accuracy – trouble is no one seems to be able to that!!!
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scholls closed as there was a risk of snow mmmmmmmmmmmmm pathetic actions great to use h/s as a defence,
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What qualifications do you need to work for a council, because all they seem to do is give awful advice and do everything that no sensible person would….glad they are not doctors…
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I’m afraid Itsallajoke’s recollection of the weather forecast is incorrect. The Met Office’s own website declared that there was a 60% chance of severe disruption because of heavy snow. Still, let’s not let mere facts get in the way of a good rant, eh?
Simon and Annie strike me as the sort of people who love to complain, though I’d rather they were complaining about this than the deaths of children caught trying to get home in blizzards which the County Council knew were likely.
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‘The deaths of children caught trying to get home in blizzards?’
Come off it Chris, when did you last hear of a child being killed getting home in a blizzard in Shropshire? Or anywhere else in the UK for that matter?
We really don’t get blizzards in the UK, save for parts of Scotland. As Simon said, it’s all about a sense of proportion.
Interestingly, my daughter’s primary school had a video conference with a school in America only a few days after the non-event of snow. The school they were speaking to was in an area where they get snow in terms of feet, not centimetres, every year.
One question put was: ‘How bad does the snow in your area have to be before your school is closed?’
The Americans were nonplussed – close? Because of snow? Apparently, it doesn’t happen. And guess what, none of them have died or been injured as a result of being at/travelling to and from school in the snow.
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People like chris p bacon (notice how these people never use their own name?) are typical of the sort of idiots that’s making britain what it is today…a laughing stock. Get out and smell the roses chris p …they won’t kill you either…
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