Leuphana study on school closures: Grade 2.7 for the management at schools
Survey of parents on services offered by schools during weather-related school closures
2026-02-27 Lüneburg. “Schools remain closed,” “School is canceled today” were the headlines in the newspapers in January 2026. For such exceptional days, administrative regulations stipulate that schools must provide emergency childcare. Distance learning is also an option – but not yet mandatory. The Lower Saxony Ministry of Education subsequently stated that it had gained the impression that schools had provided ample services and that these had been well received. But how did parents actually experience the situation? A survey conducted by the Institute of Education at Leuphana University of Lüneburg in collaboration with the chair of the district parents' council in Lüneburg and the chair of the state parents' council in Lower Saxony examined how parents perceived the school closure at the beginning of January. Around 3,250 parents in Lower Saxony were surveyed online as part of a random sample. In about half of the cases (50.46%), the children of the respondents attend a Gymnasium (secondary school), and 25% attend a primary school.
There was no school, and some activities were offered, but they were not widely used.
For the children of approximately 90% of those surveyed, classes were canceled on January 9 and 12. Few schools (approximately 20%) offered distance learning, which the children used in most cases. The situation was different for emergency childcare. It was offered to half of those surveyed, but very few parents made use of it (1.5%). One possible reason: many respondents said they were able to look after their children in their family environment or while working from home on these days. Overall, the parents surveyed gave the schools an average grade of 2.7 for their crisis management.
The results so far seem to indicate that although some schools offer emergency childcare, parents do not find it attractive. An initial review of free-text responses in the survey revealed that in some cases the childcare would not have been long enough, or schools had asked parents not to take advantage of this option.
Marc Kleinknecht, professor of school pedagogy and school development, draws an initial conclusion: “Parents did not perceive the crisis management of schools during school closures as positively as the ministry portrayed it. However, parents seem to be quite satisfied with the minimal program and have come to terms with it.” His team's survey was not only concerned with gauging the mood, but also with finding out the reasons behind the assessments. “Educational equity depends largely on lessons taking place reliably every school day and being taught by professional teachers. The quality of a school is reflected, among other things, in how seriously it takes its educational and childcare responsibilities, even in exceptional circumstances,” says Kleinknecht.