[Jim Jones]

I think a lot of it depends on what you do.

We don't live in the 1950s any more, we live in a world with coherent and incredibly capable IT infrastructure, and where a large number of people work in jobs which do not need them to be tied to a specific workplace at specific hours.

I own a serviceable 4x4 car, which is capable of making it to the local railway station, or to my workplace, in virtually any conditions......

Schools are perhaps the abberation - schools cannot function remotely, and most pupils at most schools live in walking distance, whilst their teachers are adults capable of travelling. Particularly younger children at home means that their parents who may be in essential service jobs also cannot so easily go to work. That is a problem and the common argument that teachers are not there as a state babysitter really doesn't hold much water for me if it stops nurses and bus drivers from then doing their job.

G

The problem for many schools is that the staff don’t necessarily live nearby, and a certain minimum needs to be on site to ensure safety. Having a 4x4 is no guarantee as roads become blocked by less suitable vehicles, ask how I know.

For some schools staying open, when you know pupil attendance will be poor due to the weather, means their attendance % is damaged. However if they snoclo, they are deemed 100% for that day. ( One performance measure is attendance, which is why term time holidays are strongly discouraged. There is no such thing as permitted absence these days).

[Colonel Panic]

Jeez, don't-cha just hate it when (half-sensible) rules create unintended consequences like this. Talk about tail wagging the dog.

[Genghis the Engineer]

Absolutely - but far too much of our world is run to satisfy poorly constructed metrics which actively undermine the professionalism of the people running coalface activities.

G