Adverse Weather Procedures

EXTREME WEATHER – SCHOOL CLOSURE

(Parent/Carer information)

In the event of extreme weather, such as when heavy falls of snow or extreme icy conditions develop overnight and continue into the next day, or excessive and continuous heat, parents should follow the advice below about the possibility of their school’s closure.

Whenever possible, the schools within The Keep Learning Trust will remain open. However, each school must consider the safety of all of our pupils and staff, some of whom travel a great distance into school each day.

Should the need arise, in severe weather a decision about whether to close, or partially close, a school will be made as early as possible by the Headteacher in conjunction with the Chief Executive Officer (CEO) & Chair of the Trust Board.

A decision to close a school may apply to one or more of the following conditions:

Insufficient staff are able to come in to keep the school running safely
Conditions on site are dangerous
Conditions are considered to be or are anticipated to later become too hazardous for travel.

The schools within our Trust will make all practicable efforts to keep parents informed as to the situation within their own school during extreme weather conditions, as we appreciate that such conditions and the uncertainty places very considerable difficulties upon parents.

If the school is to close:

The closure will be recorded on the School Website and the schools Facebook page as soon as practically possible.

Parents will also be alerted to the closure using the text service and class Dojo.

Parents will be kept up to date on local conditions on a daily basis via the school texting service, class Dojo and the school website and social media pages.

If heavy snow is falling or has fallen overnight, we ask parents/carers to check the above for up-to-date information. All relevant information will appear on the individual schools’ websites. Please do not telephone the school before 8.00am. If you do arrive at school, please do not leave your pupils without confirming that the school is to remain open. In icy conditions the caretaker will salt pathways and where necessary, essential pathways will be maintained as clear as possible throughout the day.

Once the school is open for the day, it will usually remain open until the end of the normal school day, though School Leaders will continue to monitor conditions throughout the day.

As a Trust we appreciate that during bad weather pupils may arrive later than normal; parents should endeavour to contact their individual school to let them know they are on their way if likely to be delayed. The Trust recognises there will be isolated instances where families are cut off, even where the clear majority of pupils can get into school. In such instances parents should inform their school of the circumstances of this exceptional situation, as the school has a duty to clarify the circumstances of each case so as to be able to formally authorise the absence to the Local Authority.

Parents acting on the assumption that their school would be closed without gaining confirmation, or failing to inform their school of the circumstances that prevents the child coming into school risks their child being registered as an un-authorised absence. Where the school is officially closed, all absence is counted as authorised absence.

In the event of your school having to close during the day due to unforeseen worsening weather or similar unforeseen circumstances, parents will be contacted by text or phone and asked to collect their child/ren.

Such an early release will only be contemplated in very extreme circumstances.

In the event of snow some pathways will be cleared and salted. Parents, pupils and visitors will be made aware that pathways, even where cleared, do remain dangerous. Pupils will also be reminded of this in assembly.

Before and after school opening hours, parents are responsible for ensuring their pupils do not slide on the school playground.

During adverse weather conditions, the playground may be out of bounds to parents and pupils at the beginning and end of school, and if the Head Teacher decides it necessary, at break times as well. In the Head Teacher’s absence, another senior member of staff on site will assume responsibility for making all decisions relating to extreme weather conditions.

EXTREME WEATHER – SCHOOL CLOSURE

(Staff information)

In the event of extreme weather, such as when heavy falls of snow or extreme icy conditions develop overnight and continue into the next day, or excessive and continuous heat, staff should follow the advice below about the possibility of school closure.

Should the need arise, in severe weather a decision about whether to close an school will be made as early as possible by the Headteacher in conjunction with the Chief Executive Officer & Chair of the Trust Board. In some instances, a decision may be made to partially open the site e.g. in order to protect examination year groups. Relevant information will be shared via:

Text message to all staff
Any social media used by the school.
School websites.

It is the Trust’s expectation that staff make every effort to attend school/work and report to the Headteacher/Line Manager (or delegated person) upon arrival. Any staff unable to travel should follow the usual absence procedure. All staff are expected to attend the site as normal, even during adverse weather conditions, unless specifically instructed to stay home. While staff should take all necessary precautions when traveling, on-site attendance remains essential to ensure the smooth running of operations and support for pupils. Any changes to this expectation will be communicated directly by school leadership or your line Manager.

Once the school/office is open for the day, it will usually remain open until the end of the normal working day. School Leaders will monitor the weather throughout the day.

Decision-making process during extreme weather conditions:

The decision to close any or all of our schools will be made by the Headteacher in conjunction with the Chief Executive Officer & Chair of the Trust Board.

The caretaker attends site as early as possible and consults with the Headteacher who advises the CEO regarding the condition of the site and weather forecasts
Once a decision is made, it is communicated as appropriate through the following means:

If the school is to close (or partially close):

An email will be sent by the Headteacher to all staff
The Headteacher (or delegated person) uploads instructions/information to the school websites, social media pages.
The Headteacher (or delegated person) will text messages to staff and parents as soon as possible informing that the school is to be closed.

Reopening

It is essential that the decision to re-open a school following closure is taken as early as possible in order to ensure that pupils are not away from education for longer than necessary. Where possible the decision to re-open should be taken the day prior to re-opening, in order to ensure that the re-opening message can be communicated to parents/carers and pupils.

Each school should update their closure information regularly, including the expected reopening date on the school website. The decision to reopen will be made be made by the Headteacher in conjunction with the CEO & Chair of the Trust Board.

Relevant information about reopening should be communicated to staff, parents/carers at the earliest
opportunity via:

Text messaging service.
Class DoJo
Any social media used by the school.
School websites.
Schools might also consider updating their out of office phone message with the relevant information.

Warm Weather & Applying Suncream

As part of the PHSCE curriculum and in the course of general class discussion pupils are taught the dangers of over exposure to the sun and the need to maintain adequate hydration.

Sun Safety/Sun Awareness
All our pupils are taught how to keep themselves safe in hot weather and to be sun safe. All pupils have access to water throughout the day. Pupils from Y1 to Y6 have their own personal water bottles. During warm weather pupils are encouraged to drink more frequently and water bottles can be re-filled during the day.
Nursery/Reception pupils have water available during the day.

Sun Protection

The Trust staff cannot administer sun cream. Parents are asked to ensure their child has sun protection applied before they arrive at school. All pupils are encouraged to bring hats to school on hot sunny days.

(Nursery and Reception pupils will have suncream applied by an adult if parents send in the cream labelled and give permission.)

Advice for Parents

If you wish your child to have additional sun cream at lunchtime, please supply the cream clearly labelled with their name.
Pupils will be responsible for remembering to take home their cream at the end of each day unless parents are able to provide sun cream that can stay in school for the duration of the summer.
Pupils will be told not to use each other’s sun cream due to concern over allergic reactions.
Pupils will be asked to apply it themselves.
Pupils will be reminded to put their sun cream on, staff are not responsible for non-application.
Please send your child into school with a sunhat each day.

After School Clubs

Pupils attending any of our out of school clubs may require additional protection due to the length of day.

Please ensure your child has sun cream if they attend ASC

Nursery & Reception

All our Nursery and Reception pupils have access to the outside more frequently than other year groups and therefore may require extra protection. Pupils will not be outside for prolonged periods during extremely hot weather. Access to shade will be provided

Sports Teams

Pupils taking part in after school events in hot weather e.g. after school
matches and tournaments will have additional water provided and parents may wish to send in sun screen for
the event. Pupils must apply their own sunscreen themselves.
Pupils will not be outside for prolonged periods during extremely hot weather. Access to shade will be
provided wherever possible.