Snow Policy/School Closure Policy for Parents and Carers
Rationale.
Whilst always mindful of any over-riding considerations of Health and Safety,
we will always try to remain open for “business as usual”. The fact that there is
snow on the ground or that it is still snowing during the school day does not
mean that we will automatically close the school. Snow conditions vary
enormously and it is often possible to keep functioning in a relatively normal
way.
Clearly, there may be some circumstances where the conditions are extremely
bad, e.g. thick snow on the ground; heavy snow falling and laying; major
disruption to traffic; continuous heavy snow forecast for the hours to come,
boiler failure. In such extreme circumstances, the senior management team will
exercise careful judgement and the decision may be made to close the school.
Decision-Making Criteria.
The following are some of the key criteria that will be considered when there
are extreme conditions such as snow events.:
 Are access roads to the school relatively clear and safe?
 As far as the school site is concerned, is this safe with exits and
pathways clear and gritted if necessary?
 Is the heating system functioning effectively?
 Are there adequate staff numbers to maintain safe and staff: student
ratios? Please note that there must be at least one qualified teacher
amongst staff present
 Could emergency vehicles access the site?
 Will students, parents and staff be able to leave the school site safely at
the end of the day?
It is never easy to make such decisions and it is appreciated that school
closures can cause inconvenience for parents and carers. However, the school
has a duty to consider the safety of students, parents and staff – as well as
that of providing day to day education.
When a decision is taken to keep the school open in snow events, staff are
asked to make every effort to get to school, providing they are not putting
themselves at undue risk. Assuming that we have enough staff to operate
safely, we will then organise ourselves to continue our normal teaching
programme as far as possible.
Parents will need to judge for themselves whether they deem it safe to bring
students to school, depending on conditions where they live. Similarly, they will
need to judge whether to collect students early/ask us to send them home
early, if conditions are worsening in their area during the day.
Communicating Decisions and Information.
It is appreciated that parents will need to know at the earliest possible
opportunity whether the school is open or not on a given day. Some students get
transport at approximately 8am and Breakfast Club would normally be open from
7.45am. Decisions will therefore need to be made by the SMT by 7.00 a.m. if
possible so that appropriate communications can be put out. If conditions during
an evening are severe, and particularly if this is backed up by Severe Weather
Warnings from the Met. Office, it may even be possible for a decision to be
made that night.
Parents, staff and students should use the following avenues to find out if
the school is closed on a given day:
 Listen to Radio Northampton
 Check the County Council website http://www.northamptonshire.gov.uk/en/councilservices/EducationandL
earning/Parents/advice/Pages/closures.aspxCheck
 Check the school website - www.loddingtonschool.org.uk/
 Check your emails – we will always endeavour to send you an email
If nothing is on the websites, then the understanding should be that the
school is open. However, even if the school is open, then there may be relevant
details for that day on the school website. The school website may also be used
to provide updates throughout snow events.
Please would all parents, staff and students use the above sites as their
first port of call as far as is possible? If you ring school you may not get an
answer because staff will be clearing the playground and pavements to allow
safe access to school and the buildings..
If a decision is made to close during the school day, we will put out
announcements as above and we will also contact parents to ask them to collect
students/inform them that we are sending students home. Obviously, we will
ensure that all students are safe and supervised until parents are able to
collect, so there is no cause for alarm if a journey is delayed.
Staff Communications.
All staff have a copy of the communications tree which will be activated in the
event that the school is closed. When the school is open, then if a member of
staff is unable to get to school it is essential that they contact the
Headteacher or Senior Teacher at the earliest opportunity.