Bad weather procedures

All schools in Gloucestershire follow the guidance from the Local Authority regarding bad weather procedures. Details of closed schools can be found on gloucestershire.gov.uk website. This section outlines the procedures for informing you of the school closure in the event of extreme weather conditions.

Why is the decision made to close a school?

The decision to close the school is not taken lightly and will be based on a number of factors. We know that any closure causes difficulties for working parents, but our decision has to be based on our duty of care and the safety of both the children and adults who attend school.

• It would be deemed irresponsible and unsafe to open in very icy or snowy weather which makes the journey to and from school hazardous
• We also need to ensure that even though some families may be able to walk through the snow to school, all the staff need to drive here without putting themselves in danger
• We cannot open the school without sufficient numbers of staff
• We must also ensure that everyone can return home safely if continued bad weather is forecast during the school day

When is the decision to close the school made?

• For a closure before the start of the school day the decision is usually made before 7.30 am. This is after an assessment of the general and local conditions. The Local Authority (LA) is notified immediately and this early decision enables staff, parents and the local radio stations to be notified in good time before anyone starts their journey to school.
• For a closure during the day we will inform parents using the text message alert system 'School Spider'.
• If a period of bad weather continues, the same procedures will be followed each day

How are parents informed?

• Announcement on Heart FM or Radio Gloucestershire.
• We may also use our communication App School Spider; as soon as a closure is decided we will send a message to your nominated mobile phone. It is important that you keep us up to date on any change to your telephone numbers
• If any parents are still unsure of the school closure, we have arranged for a notice to be placed on the school gate. Therefore may we ask that you accompany your children to school on these days

Which route should we take to reach the school?

Parents are asked, in poor weather conditions, to find an alternative route to the school along The Lane, rather than using the school playground. The school playground easily becomes very slippery and treacherous to walk through, so we advise everybody to keep clear of it until a safe path can be cleared. This usually takes a little time to organise as obviously we are a small school and do not have caretaking or other staff available and therefore rely on organising volunteers.

Can I help?

Clearing the site, as we are sure you will appreciate, involves a lot of hard work! A task such as this must be coordinated and risk must be assessed to ensure everyone is kept safe. If there are any parents who would be willing to volunteer to join our ‘Snow Clearing Team’ please let the school know.