This Sunday afternoon the following message from Ralph Tabberer, Director-General of Schools, is being sent to schools in England.

Dear Head Teacher

The Met Office issued, at 10.31 am today 18 March, a warning that severe weather with snow will affect most of the UK from Sunday to Wednesday. There is likely to be a 60% (at least) risk of disruption in the following parts of England, arranged in regions:

• Norfolk, Lincolnshire, E Riding of Yorkshire, Kingston upon Hull, Nth Lincolnshire, Nth Yorkshire, NE Lincolnshire, York, Durham, Hartlepool, Middlesborough, Redcar+Cleveland, Stockton on Tees, Tyne+Wear, Blackburn with Darwen, Blackpool, Cheshire, Greater Manchester, Halton, Lancashire, Merseyside, Warrington.

The risk of disruption elsewhere in England is less though in some regions the risk is 40 per cent. Further details are on the Met Office website.

Decisions or advice on whether an individual school stays open in bad weather should be delegated as far as is possible and should be consistent with clear information for parents in each local area.

We recognise that, where the judgement on the ground is that pupils or staff of individual schools would face significant risk of serious injury, closing would be the right decision.

At the same time, because every lesson counts, we believe that head teachers will want to keep their school open during severe weather wherever reasonably practicable, balancing any risks from lower supervision levels, late return journeys, or minor slips and bumps, against disruption to pupils' learning.

We have helped by changing Attendance guidance so that schools staying open in bad weather do not have to show as "absent" any pupils unable to attend due to cancelled official transport.

In managing safety for pupils and staff, we support HSE's "sensible risk management" campaign, which encourages a "no more than proportionate" response to risks.

Yours sincerely

Ralph Tabberer

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