Closures
Our key objective during the worst weather conditions is to open school on a site that is safe and adequately staffed. When we experience ice or snow our first priority is to assess whether we can make the site safe enough for adults and children.
Although we keep up-to-date with forecasts and weather warnings, some snow and ice conditions can be quite localised. What appears to be 'slushy' snow at school can be compacted very quickly on frozen ground when children are walking on it. The weather may be fine in one area served by the school, but treacherous in another part of the county.
When there is a possibility that school may not be able to open we will assess the following criteria:
- Can the site be made safe and is there safe access to the site?
- Can the staff travel to work safely?
- Can the site be made safe and is there safe access to the site? Will we have sufficient staff to meet safe and appropriate adult to child ratios?
- Can we provide meals at lunchtime?
When we are confident we have an adequate number of staff and accessibility to school is safe, we will open.
As soon as a decision to close is made, we will email and text parents directly, where possible. A message will also be posted on the school website and Twitter account. The school answerphone will be updated with a closed message to inform parents of the closure. We obviously cannot ring every parent and for the same reason we would ask parents to ring or email school only if it is absolutely necessary.
