Should schools close during extreme heatwaves? Balancing safety against learning

As June temperatures climb towards 38°C, school leaders across the country face difficult decisions about keeping their doors open. Classrooms with poor ventilation and ageing infrastructure can become dangerously hot, affecting concentration, wellbeing and health—particularly for vulnerable pupils—whilst closure creates childcare chaos for working families and interrupts crucial learning time. The question of whether to implement 'heat days' mirrors the longstanding debate around snow closures, but climate change suggests extreme heat will become a more regular feature of summer terms. Options include modified timetables with early finishes, relaxed uniform policies, increased hydration breaks, or outright closure when temperatures reach dangerous levels. Each choice carries implications for attendance records, safeguarding obligations, and equity—disadvantaged pupils often suffer most from lost learning days. For Lead Members and cabinet colleagues, this highlights pressing concerns about capital investment in school estates, the need for clear heatwave protocols, and how local authorities support headteachers to make consistent, defensible decisions. With weather patterns becoming increasingly unpredictable, building resilience into both school buildings and term-time planning is no longer optional but essential to maintaining educational standards whilst keeping children safe.