Why might my child's school be closed?

The most common reasons for enforced school closures are:

• Severe weather – heavy snow, ice or strong winds which may cause structural damage or disruption to safe travel to and from the school, or in some cases around the school site
• Damage to buildings – caused by strong winds, fire, flooding or criminal damage
• Utilities failure – a burst water main, issues with the toilets or a heating failure
• Shortage of staff – this will only happen if circumstances have meant that there are not enough staff in school to ensure the safety of pupils
• High levels of illness – significant illness amongst staff and pupils may lead to closure if there are insufficient staff to open the school safely, if the school requires deep cleaning or if public health advise closing for a short period of time
• Industrial action – there may be rare occurrences that unions call teachers to take strike action. If enough teaching staff choose to strike, the school may have to close