'Closing the school may be the right decision where the judgement is that students or staff face significant risk of serious injury in school or travelling to school'.  (DfE)

‘Unless specifically told otherwise, staff will be expected to use their best endeavours to attend work without putting themselves or others at risk. When the police and motoring organisations, such as the AA, recommend that motorists undertake only essential journeys this is considered to include travel to work and school.’ (HCC)

The Headteacher and Site Team staff assess the situation in terms of health and safety. We also consult with other local schools. If conditions pose a significant risk, the school will close. There is a robust system for notifying families which includes:

News of any school closure or part school closure will be made available to parents via the school website, we will also send notification to parents and students via the regular communication  system as well as Class Reps sharing on class WhatsApp groups.

If a substantial amount of snow falls during the day senior staff may decide that the school day should be shortened so that staff and students can leave the site in order to get home in the daylight. School day times may alter – open later, have a shortened lunch or leave earlier.

When we remain open, risk assessments will be undertaken to ensure the health and safety of staff, students and all site users. Our Site Team staff formulate an action plan which includes clearing and gritting paths and walkways.

There are a number of options which may be adopted, in the case of severe weather and school closure, to ensure continuity in teaching and learning for example:

• School is open but there is a reduced number of staff. Classes may be reorganised with priority being given to identified year groups.
• Certain year groups may be asked to stay at home in a specific Key Stage.
• Day one of a snow day, no learning will be set. This is in line with local primary schools. If your child wishes to, they can access Reading Eggs, Times Table Rock Stars, read or practise spellings.
• If the school closure is anticipated, or in the case of two or more snow days, remote learning will be emailed to parents from 10am on day two from the class teachers. This work will not require a printer and will not involve live teaching via Google Classroom.

The decision to close the school is complicated and not taken lightly; the information outlined here shows some of the strategies which will be used in the event of heavy snow.

Further Information for Parents - Click here