The Department for Education says that schools should only be closed as a last resort and that pupils and staff should seek alternative transport arrangements wherever safe and appropriate.

But where it is impossible for children to reach school, the education department says that absences will be recorded as "authorised" and will not count against pupils in their school records.

The Department for Education says there are no overall figures for schools affected by the fuel shortage, but there have been reports of growing levels of disruption.

A council in Wales has announced that it is closing 18 of its 19 secondary schools from Thursday because of the fuel shortage.

Rhondda Cynon Taf County Borough Council in South Wales said the main problem was that it could not be sure enough staff would be able to get to the schools to ensure the safety of pupils.

Four schools in the Bristol area will not be open on Thursday.

But for the most part the effect of the crisis on education seems to be confined to contingency planning, with councils saying that another day or two would bring more widespread problems.

Rhondda Cynon Taf council leader Pauline Jarman said the decision to shut the 18 comprehensives had been taken on the grounds of pupil safety.

"Some of our teachers won't be able to get to school through no fault of their own and that could create safety problems if there was only a handful of teachers to look after them," she said.

"Also we did not want pupils to be abandoned by the roadside if people run out of petrol."

Some schools in Powys, mid Wales, may have to close if education chiefs decide to implement winter crisis measures, sending teachers to their nearest school.

Priority service

Three primary schools are to close from Thursday in Yate, Bristol, and a fourth whose opening after the summer was delayed until Wednesday by incomplete building work will not now open until further notice.

Again the problem is that staff cannot get to their schools. A South Gloucestershire council spokesperson said it had received emergency fuel supplies overnight from the Avonmouth depot in Bristol.

In West Yorkshire, Leeds City Council has warned parents of about 1,300 special needs children that transport services could be cancelled at short notice.

Councils typically have made education a priority in terms of school meal deliveries and school transport, but this does nothing to help teachers who have run out of fuel.

Cornwall is asking school staff to consider car sharing and is asking parents to make contingency plans - either in case they cannot get their children to school by normal means or in case their schools do have to be shut.

Its main school transport provider, Western National, says it has fuel supplies to see it through to the end of the week.

Derbyshire has asked bus companies not to transport children to schools unless they can be sure to get them home again.

Other rural areas, such as North Yorkshire and Northumberland, say they have no problems so far keeping schools open.

'Education at risk'

The general secretary of the National Association of Head Teachers (NAHT), David Hart, has written to the Prime Minister, Tony Blair, urging him to resolve the situation "very quickly".

Mr Hart said his union had been inundated with enquiries from head teachers concerned that staff and pupils would not be able to get to school.