---
title: "BREAKING NEWS: Schools should stay open in snow and storms 'wherever it is safe'"
description: "DfE: schools stay open through snow, storms and flooding wherever safe — closure is a last resort. What premises teams check before winter, from Statlog"
image: https://statlog.co.uk/hubfs/Gemini_Generated_Image_ax1uilax1uilax1u.png
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# BREAKING NEWS: Schools should stay open in snow and storms 'wherever it is safe'

 by [**Richard Melis**](https://statlog.co.uk/statlog-news-insights/author/richard-melis) on 10 Nov 2026, 16:04:16

BREAKING NEWS: DfE winter post — schools should stay open in snow, storms and flooding ‘wherever it is safe and reasonably possible’

On 9 November 2026 the Department for Education set out its winter position on severe weather: schools should stay open in snow, storms and flooding wherever it is safe and reasonably possible, closing or restricting attendance only as a last resort, after a local risk assessment.

The action for premises teams comes before the weather does: “Before winter, schools should check that their business continuity and emergency plans are up to date and cover severe weather risks.” Schools are “responsible for their own plans and policies on how to deal with severe weather conditions” — plans that “help schools operate safely and reduce disruption”.

The closure test is local, not regional. A weather warning or alert “does not automatically mean a school should close”, and other schools closing “does not necessarily mean your school needs to close”. Several of the risk-assessment factors DfE lists are premises questions: whether staffing levels can be met when transport fails, whether access routes are safe, and the condition of the buildings themselves — “heating, structural safety in high winds, or flood risk to the site”.

If attendance does have to be restricted, DfE says schools should prioritise vulnerable children, children of critical workers and pupils taking exams, provide remote education for those who cannot attend, and tell parents promptly. One instruction stands out for anyone planning a snow-day routine: schools “should not take an afternoon register and then offer large-scale ‘optional’ early collection of pupils immediately afterwards”.

---

[Statlog](https://statlog.co.uk/)....More than just compliance and premises software

---

### Sources

All quotations: [How should schools prepare for snow, storms and flooding, and will they close? The Education Hub (DfE), 9 November 2026](https://educationhub.blog.gov.uk/2026/11/how-should-schools-prepare-for-snow-storm-and-flooding-and-will-they-close/)

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