Hundreds of schools across England and Wales have closed due to snowy weather.

More than 400 schools are shut in Wales. And in Birmingham, the city council has closed all of the schools it runs.

Hundreds more have closed in counties across huge swathes of central England as snow continues to fall.

So has it become easier to close a school?

The short answer is no. There has not been any change in the rules governing school closures.

The guidelines from the education departments in England and Wales are clear. They stress schools can close only in truly exceptional circumstances, when there is no other option.

This is because schools have to be open a set number of days a year.

However, there are no systematic central records held on how many school days are lost to poor weather each year.

Source : BBC