UP at 5am to gauge the weather conditions has been the common theme for many Derbyshire head teachers this week.

Hurried calls to their teachers, a look at the weather forecast and assessment of footpaths at schools has become the norm in a very difficult week.

Time is of the essence, because if you are going to notify up to 100 staff and more than 1,500 pupils they are having a day off, it has to be done early. While children may be happy, parents probably aren't.

Chris Reynolds is head of St Benedict Catholic School in Darley Abbey, which closed on Wednesday because of bad weather for only the second time in 25 years.

He said: "We had to send children home early on Tuesday because the bus companies told us they would come for them at 12.30pm and no later.

"The uncertainty of whether the buses could bring them in Wednesday led to the decision to close, together with having staff in Stoke, Matlock, Sheffield and north Notts.

"We do have a duty of care towards the staff and pupils and I have to make a decision that I consider the best to achieve that."

Faced with having to take a day or two off work to look after children, has led to much condemnation by parents.

They can understand the need to close if there is 10 inches of snow outside .

But when there is less snowfall and main roads seem to be flowing fairly normally – as in Derby city centre this week – it seems that parents' sympathies fly out of the window.

Derbyshire has seen exceptionally high snowfall in the north of the county, leading tiny village schools such as Tintwistle C of E Primary to decide to close for a week.

But further south, lesser accumulations still led to more than 200 school closures and children being sent home early on Tuesday and Wednesday, when snow was at its heaviest.

Catholic schools have a particular problem because many rely on buses to bring in pupils from a large catchment area.

John Port School in Etwall, despite not being a Catholic school, has a similar problem, with three-quarters of pupils arriving by bus.

Head teacher Wendy Sharp said: "Our bus companies said that while they would run the buses on main roads, they were unlikely to be able to access students who live in villages."

Special schools also fell victim to the weather, largely because most of them rely on taxis and minibuses.

When deciding whether to close a school, head teachers judge the ability of staff and pupils to get to the school, whether the school is heated and if the school grounds are safe to use.

It is the latter that has caused most controversy this week, closely followed by head teachers' anxieties that staff living a distance from the school might not be able to get in.

Aldercar Community Language College, in Langley Mill, was closed on Monday, opened for a few hours on Tuesday morning and then remained closed until yesterday when it opened for years 11, 12 and 13.

Head teacher Tony Cooper said: "It's a difficult decision to close a school, especially when a large number of pupils have exams in the near future.

"But my caretaking staff worked throughout the early hours of Monday to try to clear the grounds of ice and it couldn't be done, despite putting down large quantities of salt and grit.

"I also have 16 staff who live on the other side of Chesterfield, where conditions are very bad."

Ice on school paths led to the eventual closure of Kirk Hallam Community Technology College on Thursday, and again yesterday.

Head teacher Peter Hamer said he stood by his decision.

"Staff have made it into school so it is ironic that ice has caused us, regrettably, to be closed," he said.

Ice on surrounding roads led to the closure of a series of primary schools in Derby.

Redwood Infants', Redwood Junior, St James' Infants', St James' Junior and Rosehill Infants' schools all fell victim to ice on roads and pavements nearby.

Redwood Road, Leonard Street and Reginald Street were turned into skating rinks and the head teachers decided things were too dangerous to open the schools.

Ian Bell, head at St James' infants' and junior schools and Rosehill Infants', said: "Closing the schools is the last thing I want to do.

"I am aware that pupils need their education and that parents should be in work.

"But I couldn't risk injury to staff and pupils either so I decided to close."

The "Dunkirk spirit" prevailed at Littleover Community School, where head teacher David Nichols issued a letter to parents at the beginning of the week saying there would be no closure unless absolutely necessary.

He said: "On Wednesday, we had a 97% attendance rate from pupils, despite the weather. There is an expectation here that staff and pupils will make it into school no matter what.

"Some of our pupils have modular A-level exams next week so we intend to be open for those."

Pupils who miss exams will be able to take them in May or their grades may be assessed from work.

Education authorities prefer to leave decisions about school closures to head teachers.

Mike Longden, Derbyshire County Council cabinet member for schools, said: "Any decision we make would not be right for all schools, as shown by this week's weather.

"Schools are advised that every effort should be made to open but that safety of pupils and staff must be the priority," he added.

The National Association of Schoolmasters and Union of Women Teachers has condemned the complaints against head teachers choosing to close schools.

General secretary Chris Keates said: "Accusations that schools are being closed for no good reason are inappropriate and ill-informed.

"Questioning the professionalism of teachers and head teachers by implying that they are simply using the bad weather to "have a day off" is disgraceful and scurrilous."

Andrew Davies is head teacher at Holbrook C of E Primary School, which opened all this week because staff and pupils live locally.

He said: "I don't envy heads who have staff travelling large distances.

"I wouldn't want to insist on them making the journey, risking their health and safety and adding to the congestion on the roads.

"After all, schools are not a front-line service like hospitals and getting here shouldn't be a matter of life and death."