Parents angry at timing of school snow closures

Parents in a Welsh county have vented their frustration at the decision to close all schools before any snow had fallen, despite an amber warning.

Seventy-eight schools shut in Flintshire as the warning for snow and ice came into effect.

The warning was in place for parts of mid and north Wales from 08:00 GMT until 15:00 on Thursday.

Flintshire council boss Neal Cockerton said the council had behaved proactively to prevent a risky situation developing.

An additional yellow warning for snow was in place from 06:00 on Thursday until 06:00 on Friday.

Six schools in Powys, external took the decision to close on Thursday, and the council cancelled school transport in the north of the county, while one school in Wrexham, external shut for the day.

Traffic Wales warned of delays on the A55 due to heavy snow late on Thursday morning.

Coleg Cambria closed all its sites due to the warning and said it would reopen on 19 February after the half-term break.

The college was already scheduled to close on Friday due to staff training.

Some parents expressed their frustration on social media after Flintshire council posted that it was shutting all its schools.

Emma Louise Williams commented: "So here we are, 7:35am and not a snowflake in sight."

Kelly Walker, from Mold, said the schools being shut had impacted her "quite a bit".

"I understand the reasons [for the closures].

"This morning when we woke up I thought perhaps it was a bit of a knee-jerk reaction, but it makes sense now doesn't it, now that it's arrived."

Timothy Cossa from Hawarden, Flintshire, who has three children aged three, 12 and 15, said the decision by the council was made too soon.

He said: “We all know the weather report isn't exactly known for getting it right all the time.

“I strongly believe closures should be a last resort, and if it was to snow, the attendance of student isn’t marked against them as an unauthorised absence if they can’t make it in for those who are affected by the snow."

He said there were many families and children who had not seen any snow, "and even though it is falling now, it isn’t enough to close schools and cause all these inconveniences”.

Anwen Manship, who lives in Mold said it was "frustrating".

"Schools are closed so I can't go to work because I've got no other childcare.

"I can understand [why schools are closed], but at the same time we get a lot of these forecasts and nothing comes of them sometimes, so it's a bit frustrating when you're having to re-arrange and make other plans," she said.

Flintshire council chief executive Neal Cockerton said: “The decision to close schools was taken by the council’s emergency management response team based on data provided by the Met Office on Wednesday afternoon, which placed many parts of the county on an amber alert for snow on Thursday, as well as tactical information presented by the police at a regional emergency meeting.

“An amber warning means that only essential travel is advised, and only if safe to do so.

"As a council, we took a proactive approach rather than waiting for a potentially risky situation to develop.

"Our aim was to avoid children being stranded at bus stops should school transport have to be cancelled or face being sent home during the day which is more difficult to manage.

“While we understand that some parents and carers may feel frustrated by the decision, it was taken in the best interests of the communities we serve.”

Ysgol Maes Garmon head teacher Bronwen Hughes said it was not an easy decision for the local authority.

Speaking to BBC Radio Cymru's Dros Frecwast, she said: "We had an email yesterday giving us instructions to close the school and that's what we've done.

"We heard the warning had been upgraded to amber and there were several meetings on county level to discuss the situation, we have to consider safety issues, there's nothing worse than snow falling at lunchtime and then the worry about how everybody will get home safely."

She added that it was the right decision, based on the weather forecast.

Flintshire's cabinet member for education, Mared Eastwood, apologised for the disruption caused and said the council thought by planning, arrangements could be made for online learning.

"We recognise the childcare difficulties that does arise for parents but we were trying to minimise the disruption – an amber warning is significant because it does recommend essential journeys only," she told BBC Radio Wales Breakfast.

"It’s not just the weather in your particular school that needs to be taken into account.

"The amber warning is expected to be lifted for tomorrow and it is expected that the schools will be open."

Thursday's snow and ice warning covered Conwy, Denbighshire, Flintshire, Gwynedd, Powys and Wrexham.

The Met Office said up to 10-15cm (4-6in) of snow was expected, with a chance of 20-25cm (8-10in) on higher ground.

Forecasters said a mixture of snow and ice could cause travel disruption, and power cuts may be possible.

The forecaster warned that some rural communities could be temporarily cut off.

The warning for Friday covered Ceredigion, Conwy, Denbighshire, Flintshire, Gwynedd, Anglesey, Powys and Wrexham.

The Met Office said places could see up to 2-5cm (1-2in) of snow, with 5-10cm (2-4in) falling on higher ground.