Rejected petition: Minimise school closures during elections by using alternative polling venues.
Rejected on
Councils should only close schools for polling where no reasonable alternative exists. Many schools already remain open using separate entrances or isolated polling areas, proving closures are not always necessary.
Schools are still routinely closed for polling days despite many councils successfully using alternative venues or keeping schools partially open through separate entrances and isolated polling areas. Elections are planned events, yet families face avoidable learning disruption and childcare challenges. Schools should only close where no practical alternative venue or operational arrangement exists.
Why was this petition rejected?
It’s about something that the UK Government or Parliament is not directly responsible for.
We can't accept your petition because the UK Government and Parliament aren't responsible for the issue you raise. Decisions about where to place polling stations are for your local council. Decisions about whether to close a school due to it being used as a polling station are for individual headteachers.
You could raise your issue with a local councillor who represents you. You can use this page to find out who your local councillors are, and how to contact them: https://www.gov.uk/find-your-local-councillors
You could start a new petition about something the UK Government and Parliament are responsible for. For example, you could start a new petition asking the UK Government and Parliament to ban councils from using schools as polling stations, if that's something you'd like to happen.
We only reject petitions that don’t meet the petition standards.