How cold does it have to be for schools to close? UK laws explained

Hundreds of schools are shut, some for a fourth day, as weather warnings, including an amber alert, remain in place across many parts of the country.

Much of the UK endured temperatures below freezing overnight, with preliminary data from the Met Office indicating the mercury fell to as low as -13.6°C at Tulloch Bridge in the Highlands.

It comes after the UK had its coldest night of the winter so far on Tuesday into Wednesday, when Dalwhinnie in the Scottish Highlands experienced a temperature of -14°C.

An amber warning for snow across northern Scotland, the Orkney and Shetland Islands is currently in place until 6pm on Thursday, with the potential of up to 20cm more snowfall.

All schools were closed on Thursday amid the wintry conditions in Orkney and in Shetland, where many have been shut since Monday.

In Aberdeenshire around 130 schools were shut and others have delayed openings, while in Moray nine schools and nurseries were closed due to the weather, and others have late or staggered starts.

How cold does it have to be for schools to close?

Schools will make every effort to stay open during poor weather conditions, but the safety of pupils and teachers remains a top priority.

There is no generic ruling in place that dictates if and when schools should close due to adverse weather, however, with schools making their own plans on how to deal with this based on their own risk assessments.

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Government guidance states that schools must follow the same health and safety law for indoor temperature as other workplaces, however.

While there is no official law for minimum or maximum working temperatures, all indoor workplaces (or schools, in this instance), must be kept at a “reasonable” temperature, with guidance of a minimum of 16°C or 13°C if employees are doing physical work.

As schools tend to be heated, the decision to close a school due to cold or bad weather often relates to the hazard of parents, children and staff travelling to and from school during icy or snowy conditions.

Power cuts or frozen pipes caused by poor weather may also prompt school leaders to make the decision to close a school.

Can I pull my children out of school due to the weather?

According to the UK Government blog The Education Hub, “parents should not send their children to school if they believe it is unsafe to travel”.

It adds that they should “inform the school as soon as possible to let them know their child will not be attending and why (in line with the school’s absence policy)”.

However, this conflicts with other published government guidance which states that taking children out of school due to poor weather is not included in the list of authorised absences, which could lead to a fine.

Fines for school absences begin at £60, rising to £120 if you fail to pay within 21 days.

i has contacted the Department of Education for clarification on this point.