Snow - School closed but staff have to go in

Hiya,

Was just wondering how acceptable is it for a HT to close the school to pupils on H&S grounds but then expect the staff to go in?
Surely if its not safe for pupils, it's not safe for adults??

Thanks x

Think its up to the ht though not sure they can make you if its dangerous road conditions.
Just means they have the right not to pay you if you dont turn up (fair enough )
Think there is a system in place where if you cant get in and the school is open then you have to go to your nearest school and offer your services there .
But not heard of school expecting staff to go in even when its shut to pupils in this weather -whats the point,unless you live very close and can walk in .
Perhaps its different in other counties

hmm, well by the time I had someone to watch my kids it was 12.50pm before I got to school, only to be sent home at 2.15 cos it was snowing again. Some staff had been there since 9am.
The thing is HT put on local council website that school was closed due to the dangerous conditions and that safety of pupils, staff and parents was paramount, yet within 5 minutes of him posting that, we'd all had a text saying he wanted us in school. Some of the staff had a chat about appointing a new union rep, even temporarily as our usual one is on sick leave. Some of us felt bullied into going into work. :-/

yes I dont blame you I wouldnt have gone in -Im too old and opinionated these days so will not risk my life just to get in .

We didn't close at all this time, but in the past we have been closed to children and staff have been expected to still come in 'if they can'. It's a very grey area; some people didn't come in because they didn't want to drive and live a long way, others couldn't get childcare. No-one has ever been stopped any money if they didn't come in - so it makes you wonder why some of us risked life and limb to get there, feeling too guilty if we didn't! LAs need to issue clear guidelines!

As a union rep sadly I would say the HT is in the right here but you could use your own discretion and say whether it was safe for you to travel. In this case you are expected to go to the nearest school you can and offer your services there.

Again this does need to be clearer and written down somewhere.

We have the "onion" skin system in operation where every body has to attend , then peel off layers according to distance away from school! Although , think this is being reviewed a bit as last week when we had the worst snow .....this left the newest , most recently employed TA in charge of last 5 children lol. So this will not happen in future.... SMT member must stay on premises no matter where they live if HT is not available !