Bad Weather

Heswall Primary School

 

Snow & Bad Weather Policy

Snow and bad weather

In the event of disruption caused by heavy snow or other extreme weather, the prime concern of the school must always be the safety of the pupils and staff who have to travel along potentially hazardous routes from a variety of locations.

We will always endeavour to open the school in the event of bad weather, as long as it is safe to do so. We will aim to grit paths and clear snow wherever possible.  If the school is open in snow or bad weather, the decision as to whether or not to send a pupil to school, however, must be at the discretion of the parents, taking into account factors such as local road conditions and the availability of child-care.

 In the event of bad weather, parents should check whether the school is open before travelling to the site. There are a number of ways to confirm whether the school is open or closed.

  • Listen for lists of school closures on local radio - for instance; BBC Radio Merseyside 95.8FM, Radio City 96.7FM.
  • Check the school website and your mobile phone as we may have been able to update the school website or we may have sent you a text or an email to update you on the possibility of a school’s closure.
  • School Facebook/Twitter/Instagram Feed

If the school needs to close, we will try and make a decision as early as possible and we will always intend to reopen as soon as we can.  If the school does open and extreme weather develops during the day, we will aim to remain open until the end of the normal school day at 3.15pm.  However, this is not always possible when roads are becoming treacherous.  In which case, parents will be contacted via our texting service/email service and asked to collect their children as soon as possible.  Under these conditions we will take parents/carers verbal permission for their child/children to be collected by a nominated adult.  Normal lessons may be curtailed and the remaining pupils assembled in groups under the supervision of authorised members of staff to await collection.

Staff will always make every reasonable effort to undertake the journey to school. It is appreciated that the journey may take longer than normal and therefore some staff may not be able to arrive before the normal start of the school day.

We understand that any school closure will cause disruption and inconvenience but are only ever made in the best interests for the safety of children, their families and the school staff.  Any absence caused by school closure will be classed as authorised absence.