A school in Longridge is closed today (February 9) and we have the details.

St Cecilia’s Roman Catholic High School, in Chapel Hill, is closed as the school has no heating.

Children will be provided work via Edulink.

A spokesperson for the school said: “Unfortunately the school will be closed on February 9 due to no heating. Work will be set for all classes via Edulink.”

According to the National Education Union (NEU),  schools must follow the same health and safety law for indoor temperature as other workplaces.

The Workplace (Health, Safety and Welfare) Regulations 1992, which apply to all workplaces, including schools, set out minimum temperature requirements.

They require temperatures to be “reasonable”, defined as "normally at least 16°C". This applies to non-teaching areas as well as classrooms and applies outside school session times.

A spokesperson for the union said: “Where sudden faults or failures arise with heating systems, the NEU safety rep should ensure that the head teacher has firstly taken action to ensure that the system is repaired as quickly as possible and, secondly, considered appropriate additional measures until the system is repaired (as above).

“Where temporary faults occur which can be resolved within 24 hours, again school closure will in most cases be impossible but other appropriate action could include closing those parts of schools most severely affected, rearranging timetabling or bringing in temporary heating sources.

“The NEU advises against the use of portable gas heaters unless no other temporary heating system is available.”