St Louis Roman Catholic Primary School, Newmarket
Learning Together in Faith
Snow Policy
St Louis Primary School, Newmarket
Snow Policy
Purpose: To set out the School’s policy regarding the clearance of
snow and ice on school grounds.
Next Review Date: September 2012
Review period: 3 Years
Introduction
The school has a duty to take reasonable care to clear ice and snow. This is
because if the school sees the potential for harm from an icy or snowy
playground it would be more negligent to do nothing than to take remedial
action within its resources…and not to see that an icy or snowy playground is
a risk is itself potentially negligent.
However, the need to clear a path where heavy traffic can be expected, say
between the link corridor and the gym does not imply that the whole
playground has to be cleared.
The school could decide to let the children play on an icy playground, fully in
the knowledge that they may slip provided there is adequate supervision and
the children are suitably dressed (e.g. with gloves, coats, etc.).
Notice
Whenever the Head Teacher (or through delegation, the caretaker)
determines that the playground presents a risk due to ice or snow, the people
arriving on site should be notified by placing a prominent notice on the
playground whiteboard.
Clearing a path
When a significant amount of snow accumulates, it is the duty of the caretaker
to clear a path between the link corridor and the gym, and between that path
and the nursery. These routes represent the highest traffic across the
playground and so present the highest risk.
Spreading of salt
Salt for spreading on an icy playground is stored in the yellow box by the link
corridor. It is the duty of the caretaker to ensure that salt is spread on the
playground before 8.30 a.m. If the weather is particularly cold, it is the
responsibility of the Head Teacher to assess the playground surface at around
8.30 a.m. (i.e. just before the main bulk of children begin to arrive on site) and
to spread more salt if necessary.
The head of the Friends of St Louis should also be made aware of this policy
and should take a secondary responsibility to the Head Teacher for checking
the playground at drop off time.
Risk assessment:
The school considers the likelihood and the severity of an incident. In practice,
this means clearing snow or ice from areas where relatively large numbers of
people have to walk in the normal course of school business. Particular
attention is also needed in respect of those areas where the consequences of
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St Louis Primary School, Newmarket
Snow Policy
a slip or fall could be more serious. Combining these means that we regard
the following areas as high risk zones:

Around entrances to buildings, particularly where there are steps

Other steps around the site where lots of people will walk

Sloping paths and walkways around the site

Within the school boundary, near gateways used by pedestrians
Wherever ice and snow have been treated, whether by means of salt, grit,
sweeping, shovelling, etc. the surface must be left reasonably clear. Where
the slip hazard is easy to see it will also be apparent where the treatment has
been applied. However, more care is required when ‘black ice’ is present, and
it is necessary to make sure the treatment (salt, grit, etc) is spread evenly and
that invisible slippery patches aren’t left.
We do not have to keep slippery areas treated at all times, only when the risk
is highest, which is probably the start and the end of the day. The duty
requires the school to devote reasonable levels of resources to keeping the
areas free of the hazard. So, with our limited staff time to undertake snow or
ice clearance work, we are not expected to sacrifice more important work. A
common sense balance of priorities is required.
The school has identified the path between the link corridor, gym and nursery
as those areas of the site that will probably require treatment in bad weather.
There is a standing instruction to the caretaker to treat the identified areas,
and back-up plans to check the state of the playground around drop-off time
(when the temperature is likely to be at its lowest).
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