Education Secretary, said:
"I know hot weather can be a struggle. But my message to families
is simple: if your child's school is open, you should keep
sending them into school.
"Teachers are relaxing uniform rules, keeping classrooms cool,
making sure children are hydrated, teaching critical skills like
water safety, and avoiding vigorous activity on the hottest days.
If your child has medical needs which mean you're especially
worried about the heat, talk to your school about what they can
do.
Every day of absence and lesson missed has a cost and that cost
falls hardest on our most disadvantaged pupils and working class
communities. So, pack a water bottle, put on the sunscreen, and
trust that your child's school has got this.
Background
- Some trusts are seeing a big impact in attendance dropping
compared to an average school day due to the heatwave. We know
the vast majority of schools are open and parents should send
their children in as usual.
- Schools and other education settings set their own plans and
policies on how to deal with adverse weather conditions. It's up
to schools to decide on whether it is safe for them to open or
close based on their own risk assessment and taking local issues
into account we encourage them to use our advice asking them to
prioritise staying open wherever possible.
- There is no maximum limit for air temperature in UK
workplaces, which includes educational settings.
- The Workplace (Health, Safety and Welfare) Regulations apply
to schools and cover a wide range of basic health, safety and
welfare issues including temperature in indoor workplaces.
- Measures schools can take to ensure student safety are
included in the latest guidance: Hot weather and
heatwaves: guidance for schools and other education settings
The Education Hub
- It's up to schools to decide if they should stay open or
close, see guidance here: Do schools close because
of bad weather? Everything parents need to know The Education
Hub
- Pupils who attend nearly every day in Year 6 have 30% higher
odds of reaching expected standards in reading, writing and maths
compared to those missing 510% of school.
- Last year, over half per cent of absence was among children
missing 0-15% of school, representing about 55 million days of
missed school in 2024/25.
- We have announced 93 new RISE Attendance and Behaviour Hubs
which will be led by schools with excellent attendance and
behaviour practice who will work closely with other schools to
help improve their approach, so teachers can focus on teaching.
- We have also published The Working Together to Improve School
Attendance guidance which sets out a support first approach to
improving attendance including whole school culture, data-led
early intervention and pastoral support, as well as great
teaching and leadership. Identifying and targeting patterns of
predictable absence can help schools build on these gains.
