Ceredigion is developing new guidance for schools dealing with extreme weather following concerns that existing arrangements do not adequately address increasingly severe conditions.

Councillors have called for the new policy to specifically address extreme heat after dozens of schools across the county were forced to close during exceptionally hot weather this summer.

The issue was raised during a meeting of Ceredigion County Council’s Corporate Resources Overview and Scrutiny Committee. Members were considering a wider policy covering adverse conditions for council employees when concerns were raised that existing guidance for schools was too brief given increasingly changeable weather.

Councillors particularly highlighted heat-related risks, which they said were becoming a significant issue for schools.

Council officers confirmed that a separate policy was being developed with health and safety and education colleagues.

A further draft is expected to be shared with trade unions and headteachers before being brought before scrutiny and Cabinet in early 2027.

The framework will cover how decisions are made when weather or other conditions make operating schools difficult or potentially unsafe.

Officers confirmed that decisions on individual school closures would continue to rest with headteachers and chairs of governors. However, councillors said there needed to be greater consistency across the county while recognising that individual buildings and locations can face very different conditions. The council said professional judgement would therefore remain necessary.

Members also stressed that pupils’ attendance records should not be negatively affected when they are unable to attend school because of circumstances outside their control.

The move follows disruption during recent years’ extreme heat, including the June heatwave of this year, when a large number of Ceredigion schools closed as temperatures rose sharply across Wales.

The new framework is intended to give schools clearer guidance while retaining the flexibility to respond to conditions at individual sites.