It was magical to wake up to a world blanketed in snow this morning, there is no denying that. But upon hearing that a number of schools in my local area had shut their doors, my hackles were raised to say the least! Why is it that in this country there are those that carry on regardless, while others find any excuse to have a day off work? The Hampshire County Council website reports that 11 primary, infant and junior schools are closed today. No secondary schools it should be noted. Some are located in country lanes but the majority are situated on main roads and bus routes.

I managed the 6 miles to my children’s school, admittedly a little slower than usual, but still got them there in time for registration. Careful driving and avoiding the back lanes is all that was needed. After all, who wants their child to get marked absent these days with the strict new policies on attendance?

So, my question is this…what did all the working parents of those children who couldn’t go to school today do?….Call in saying they too couldn’t get to work? How much money is being lost today because teachers refuse to take a slightly longer time to get into school? Well in February £1.2bn was lost due to heavy snow, and I am sure a large proportion of that was due to the fact that some schools were very quick to shut their doors.

Unfortuntaely there is very little us private sector workers can do to keep the schools open, leaving us at the mercy of the educational decision makers.

Businesses need to wake up to the fact that in circumstances like this there is little that parents can do other than look after their children at home, even though they are perfectly fit to work. So why not give them the tools to be able to carry out work at home, even if it is simply being able to access emails rather than sacrificing a day’s productivity? Our economy should not be held to ransom because a few schools choose to close their doors prematurely.