Teachers - day off at the slightest sign of snow

Dave_C wrote: »

Can't the little darlings (and their parents) walk?
Or use the Chelsea tractor with 4WD?

I lived 8 miles away from my school, guess I should have walked in huh?

not everyone grows up in the middle of a city where school is less than a mile away

Half of the female teachers (sorry but it's usually the females who end up with this role) could be actually childcare issues - ie their child's school is shut, so they can't get into work.

Also the side roads only being a bit icy can vary to a mile or 2 (unless the rest of the country is magically different), one place could be safe, a mile away people who lives down their roads could be facing a sheet of ice.

And frankly, risking a nasty accident for work always seems a tad stupid to me if I'm honest. I know people have to, but... odd.



The rest is the whole suing thing. And if the temperature drops below something preset kids have to be sent home too.

paulofessex wrote: »

I believe it should work that teachers who work outside of their own area should attend a school in the areas which they reside in. OK the lessons may not be curriculum based as the day was planned but learning can still go ahead by qualified teachers, pupils do not miss a day and it helps to relieve any child care issues for parents.

It is not as straightforward as this.

Firstly - some teachers (for example myself when I lived in Scotland) do not live within walking distance of a school nor have access to a car. Should I be penalised for this? Should other teachers have to work whilst I stay home because of this?

[ETA] I explained my first point badly. What I meant was what if people genuinely can't get in? For the record I have NEVER not showed at school on time (in my 9 years of teaching). Whilst in Scotland I had a back up plan that was my grandfather who lived 2 doors down and had a car - he often got me to work when buses decided not to show up/were cancelled etc. One year we were actually snowed in - literally - cars were COVERED 100% (and no it was not some bizarre area - built up housing estate near a city). Thankfully it was NOT a school day but what if it was? My grandfather could not possibly have dug the car out - and even if he did we wouldn't be able to get out of our street! My second back up plan was a colleague who offered to give me lifts if I was stuck - however she lived around the corner and would be in the same situation! So in that situation should I be penalised for not being able to get to work because (a) transport cancelled and (b) backup plans fail because we are snowed in. No doubt a number of my colleagues who lived in completely different areas could have made it in.

Secondly - Who will pay for these extra disclosure checks? Also who will manage this? It will require regular management given that teachers change schools/move homes, not to mention the situation with supply teachers! Do you have any idea of teacher/support staff work loads? Should we add extra "in-service days" to manage this scheme to cover a couple of potential snow days? (Thus reducing teaching days)

Thirdly - is it acceptable for teachers records (e.g. criminal record checks, photos etc) to be lying around the office of their "local" school. If it is stored securely who is to access such information when said teachers turn up to teach on the snow day? Who is to say who will and will not be able to make it to school to access said records?

Also - there are serious health and safety implications. Are there going to be enough teachers living within walking distance of every school? I doubt it. Also - are these teachers supposed to "magically" know about allergies/medical conditions of these children whom they have never seen before? Are they also supposed to know which children cannot be picked up by certain parents (e.g. in cases of parental separation)? Are they supposed to know which parents are "potentially violent" and should not be approached? (and before anyone asks YES this has been a real issue for me over the past couple of years teaching). Overcoming this would, yet again, be a serious administration burden to someone. It is highly sensitive information that cannot exactly be posted on notice boards in classrooms! Not to mention a nightmare for those poor teachers!

I could go on - but I think I have made my point.

We didn't have that much snow, but yesterday morning it took 4 hours 20 minutes to travel what is usually a 50 minute journey. We saw a jack-knifed lorry and a total of 4 cars off the road. And in our town there wasn't a speck of snow. Sometimes when it looks fine where you are, just a few miles away can be chaos.