Guidance

Supporting vulnerable people before and during cold weather: for teachers and educational professionals

This guidance has been produced in collaboration with the Department for Education (DfE) for those who work in, or manage, schools or early years settings.

From:
UK Health Security Agency and Centre for Climate and Health Security
Published
24 September 2025

Applies to England

Who this guidance is for

This guidance offers advice on looking after children attending these settings during cold weather. It applies to:

  • early years and childcare

  • wraparound childcare and out of school settings

  • children’s social care

  • schools

  • alternative provision settings

  • special educational needs and disability (SEND) and specialist settings

There is separate guidance on keeping warm and well: staying safe in cold weather, which provides general advice to households, including those with young children, on how to reduce risks from exposure to adverse cold weather.

While time spent outdoors, exercise and play are all integral for children and young people’s wellbeing and development, children can be at risk of harm from adverse cold weather, ice and snow because of their physiology and behaviours.

Among children and young people, those aged 5 years and under are at greatest risk of harm from adverse cold weather, especially if they have underlying health conditions. This guidance therefore focuses predominantly on children in this younger age group, although it also provides general advice on the care of older children.

Where a child has complex health conditions or clinical vulnerability, parents or carers should seek advice from their clinical team and share with relevant staff. Further information about supporting children with medical conditions is available from the DfE.

Health risks to children and young people from adverse cold weather

Exposure to adverse cold weather can affect children and young people in a number of ways. Among other health problems, it can increase the risks of:

  • respiratory infections

  • skin conditions, such as eczema

  • mental health problems

Children aged 5 years and under are particularly vulnerable to the effects of adverse cold weather. However, the effects of cold, especially in combination with other environmental conditions including damp, can affect children of all ages and particularly those with underlying medical conditions.

Actions to take before and during adverse cold weather

To prepare for and respond to severe weather, including cold temperatures, snow and icy conditions, settings can follow the general guidance set out in DfE’s Emergency planning and response for education, childcare, and children’s social care settings. This document includes advice on developing emergency plans to prepare for risks from adverse cold weather, and approaches which can be used for communicating with parents, carers and others in the event of severely cold temperatures. It also includes advice on making decisions about closing education and childcare settings if weather conditions are severe enough to warrant this. It also sets out advice on the provision of remote education, where appropriate.

Settings can also sign up to receive Weather-Health Alerts from UKHSA and the Met Office. These alerts underpin the Adverse Weather and Health Plan.

Buildings and premises

Preparing for cold weather

Settings can consult:

Settings can help meet these recommendations and protect those on-site by:

  • ensuring heating systems are maintained and in good working order

  • draught-proofing windows, doors and other points of energy loss

  • identifying points of higher risk of injury on their premises in the event of ice and/or snow, such as at entrances, exits and playground areas, and prioritising these for clearance or gritting when snow and/or ice occur

  • ensuring adequate supplies of grit to clear ice and/or snow if these occur during the winter months

  • ensuring adequate supplies of equipment (for example shovels and gloves) to support gritting and clearance of key routes through the premises if ice and/or snow occur

During cold weather

Adverse cold weather, snow and ice may create hazardous conditions for children, parents, carers and staff. Settings can reduce this risk by:

  • gritting and removing ice and/or snow from priority areas and routes

  • prioritising maintenance of heating systems to keep rooms being used warm

  • closing rooms or buildings that are too cold for children, young people and staff members to use

Advice on keeping buildings warm during adverse cold weather can be adapted from guidance above to prepare for cold weather.

Finally, consider ventilating indoor spaces, especially those where people gather, even for short periods each day to help reduce the risk of spread of infection.

Supporting children

Preparing for cold weather

Reducing the risk of infections before and during cold weather spells is important for protecting children’s health. Settings can support this by:

Adverse cold weather may cause challenges for parents or carers at home. For further advice on these support measures or about how to stay warm and well during cold weather, please consult:

During cold weather

Settings can support children and young people during adverse cold weather episodes by:

  • encouraging physical activity where possible to help keep children and young people warm where appropriate, while reinforcing advice on appropriate activities and clothing to wear during adverse cold weather, ice and/or snow

  • providing information to children, young people and their parents or carers on important logistical changes during severe weather episodes such as changes to key bus routes

  • completing risk assessments and providing advice on reducing the risk of injury in icy and/or snowy conditions, and outdoor play in these conditions where risk assessments indicate this is possible

  • ensuring sufficient supply of hot meals and snacks while children are in settings

  • continuing to reinforce public health messages around hand and respiratory hygiene to reduce the risks from infections during the winter

  • continuing to signpost to parents and carers of vulnerable children to key sources of support (for example heating and other energy efficiency measures) during cold weather periods, where appropriate

Additional advice on caring for babies in cold weather

Staff in nurseries and other early years settings should be mindful that, while it is important to ensure babies are appropriately protected from cold, they should also not get too hot. Overheating can increase the risk of sudden infant death syndrome (SIDS). Babies can overheat because of too much bedding or clothing, or because the room is too hot. More information about how to reduce the risk of babies overheating is available from NHS England.

Supporting staff

To help prepare for cold weather, settings can:

  • promote vaccination for COVID-19 and/or flu among those staff who are eligible, to help reduce the risks from respiratory infections during the winter

  • ensure relevant staff members are aware of and understand emergency and/or cold weather plans, including cascading plans to others where relevant

  • support training for staff to help them identify those children most likely to be at risk from adverse cold weather and then signpost parents and carers to sources of support as outlined above, drawing on established resources such as UKHSA’s ‘Helping people living in cold homes’ e-learning module

  • test out and ensure that local dissemination systems for Cold- Health Alerts (CHAs) are fully operational and effective, and that staff understand what actions to take when they receive them.

Key resources for supporting vulnerable people:

Updates to this page

Published 24 September 2025

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