Bad Weather Plan and Snow Protocol

We want to ensure that in the event of heavy snowfall or extreme weather conditions, adequate measures are in place to enable our school to remain open.  It is always the school’s priority to remain open in order to maintain high standards of learning.  To this end, our site staff work tirelessly to ensure that the site is safe for pupils, staff and visitors.

Aims

•           Keep pupils and staff aware of our priorities in extreme weather conditions

•           Keep parents/carers updated on our methods of communication

•           Prevent pupils and staff from being stranded at school

•           Reduce unnecessary risks

•           Reduce accidents in the school

Procedure:

In the event of heavy snowfall, a decision will be taken by the Headteacher and Chair of Governors as to whether to close the school. Where no updates have been provided parents and pupils should assume that the school is open as normal.  However, if a decision is made to close, this will be communicated to parents/carers and staff as soon as possible.

School Closure

In the event of school closure, decisions taken by the Headteacher and Chair of Governors for ‘School Closure’, will be communicated by one or more of the following means:

•           Teachers2Parents text message to parents

•           Email to parents (via Parentmail)

•           Published on the school website and on Hantsweb  https://www.hants.gov.uk/education/schoolclosures/

School Closure during the School Day

In the event of heavy snowfall during the school day, a decision will be taken by the Headteacher and the Chair of Governors as to whether the school should remain open or not, taking into account the safety of all pupils and staff. If a decision is made for an early closure, the communication methods will remain the same as in full school closure.

In the event of bad weather, the school advises all pupils, staff and visitors to wrap up warmly and wear sensible footwear.