Could schools close this week?
Met Eireann has warned of freezing temperatures arriving this week.
The forecast predicts lingering frost and icy patches over the coming days with lowest temperatures of -3C.
The west of Ireland and the midlands are in for the coldest temperatures, with areas of Mayo hitting the -3C mark.
If you have little ones attending school, you may be wondering if closures are expected due to the icy weather, which has been coined by some forecasters as an arctic blast.
According to the Office of Emergency Planning, schools across Ireland will be keeping an eye on conditions and will conduct ‘pre-event evaluations’.
They will be considering all factors of safety before making any decision this week, from the conditions in the specific school to the capacity of classrooms and the general health and safety of their students.
Travel and road conditions will also be considered, but schools should notify parents via text if there will be closures this week.
The ‘Be Winter Ready’ information page on gov.ie explains: “The decision to close a school rests with the school management authority taking into consideration the full guidance and direction available from the principal response agencies, especially An Garda SÃochána.
“Any decision to close is taken in the interest of child safety, having assessed the local risks and having consulted, as appropriate, with school transport operators.
“Some of the issues that schools take into account include:
- conditions in the school itself
- the capacity of the school to ensure the health and safety of students whilst in school
- the ability of parents, students, staff and school transport services to safely negotiate local road conditions to reach the school
- guidance and direction from the principal response agencies.”
How cold the classroom is will also be a consideration. According to the Irish National Teachers Organisation, each room needs to be a minimum of 16C by 10:00 am.
So, if there is no heating on a cold day, the school would shut its doors for the day.
If the school can’t guarantee that heat will be working the following day, parents will be informed to keep their children at home until it’s fixed.
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