The decision to close the school is ‘terrible’ – headmaster

The headteacher of a primary school which has been unable to open since the end of the Christmas holidays due to winter weather has said the decision to remain closed has been “terrible” and “really stressful”.

Rachel Tomlinson, head of Barrowford Primary School in Nelson, Lancashire, said the drop in temperatures meant it was too dangerous to welcome pupils back.

Dozens of schools have been closed in the north-west of England this week as snow piles have turned to solid ice.

Ms Tomlinson said the condition of the school site was not the only consideration for head teachers.

“It’s almost things that are out of our control,” he said. bbc radio lancashire,

“It’s the school site, but it’s the streets and roads around the school, and ultimately if we’re open there will be about 500 people around that school site and that’s just not safe.”

Ms Tomlinson, who has been a head teacher for 17 years, said schools were less localized than before, which was exacerbating the problem.

“You used to be able to walk to school,” she said.

“We have staff and children coming from very far away and it’s really difficult to balance their responsibilities and making sure everyone is safe.”

He said the enforced closure disrupted the curriculum, which was carefully planned by the staff during the festival holidays, but the biggest impact was emotional.

She said: “It’s been a really long week.

“Making the decision to close is terrible, no one wants to make decisions like that, it’s really stressful.

“A lot of it is emotional, we’re really sad about not being able to see our kids after the holidays.”

A yellow weather warning for snow has been issued for parts of Lancashire, Greater Manchester, Merseyside and Cheshire, with the Met Office warning of “severe frost” and freezing fog in some places.