Parents hit out as snow shuts more than 5,000 schools Other mothers and fathers took to social networking websites to hit out over the late closure of schools. Some were not warned about the decision until 9am - making it almost impossible to arrange emergency childcare. Justine Roberts, co-founder of the MumsNet website, said schools should close if children are at risk, but added: "The one thing schools could do better in some cases is to communicate more. The most stressful thing is having to make desperate last-minute childcare plans. Many other parents complained over the "random" nature of closures, with many state schools closing while those in the private sector remained open. Martin Stott, the headmaster of fee-paying Old Hall preparatory school, near Telford, criticised schools that closed because of snow or ice. "In the middle of a recession, parents have to work even harder to make ends meet and it's vital that they don't take time off unnecessarily when the school holidays already stretch them in terms of childcare arrangements," he said. If all schools were self-employed, then every one of them would stay open, regardless of the weather, because they couldn't afford not to. The knock on effects of school closures ripple far and wide for families, businesses and the entire economy. Snow and freezing temperatures were expected to continue to the end of the week - causing many schools to close for a full five days. It is feared that some working parents may be hit with a childcare bill running into hundreds of pounds. Michael Gove, the Education Secretary, confirmed that more than 5,000 schools had closed on Monday but insisted reforms had been introduced by the Government to enable heads to keep schools open. Previously, pupils unable to get into school because of snow had been listed as unauthorised absences - hitting a school's truancy figures. This often made it easier for a school to close completely. But the rule has since been scrapped, meaning any absence because of snowfall is no longer counted. "No school which ensures that it is open will be penalised if individual students cannot make it to school on that day," Mr Gove said. Brian Lightman, general secretary of the Association of School and College Leaders, said: "I think schools are trying very hard to do everything they can to stay open, particularly when they've got things like exams going on. The safety of children on the school premises is paramount and head teachers have to do a risk assessment to ensure there will be proper supervision. Where there's a worry about that, that's what informs a decision to close the school. You cannot have children unsupervised in school.