Weather Updates and Alerts

Nothing extraordinary to report at present...

Our intentions with regard to inclement weather are:

Open Check is an easy-to-use service that will tell you if the school is open or closed in case of emergency, severe weather or any news which may affect children’s ability to attend or access the school. OpenCheck is also available via ParentComms:Mobile as an app available for all popular smart phones, ensuring that Parents and carers have a choice of options for keeping up to date.

The school policy is that we will aim to keep the school open if at all possible but safety of students and staff will always be a primary consideration in this.

As many students travel to school using community transport, their decision on whether to run the transport service will affect the numbers of students attending school during adverse weather. A small number of students also travel to school by car and public transport and parents/carers will be able to make their own decision with regard to the safety of bringing their children to school.

The severity of the weather and how many staff can get to school will impact on our ability to stay open. Many of our staff travel quite long distances and from fairly remote areas and so their ability to get to school will affect this.

Our main considerations in remaining open will be:

• Numbers of staff available to keep the children safe and secure
• Numbers of first aid/medication trained staff on site
• Safety of the school site

As we may be unable to determine these factors by the time the children leave home on school buses, we may have to decide to close the school later in the morning if we do not have adequate staffing. Therefore, in deciding to place your child on the school bus in the morning, you should be aware that you may be required to collect your child if the school cannot remain open.

As the school operates on two sites, Harwood Hall Lane and Avelon Road (including CT@TA Post 16 and Routes 4 Life Post 19 provisions), closure decisions may be made separately and independently based on the conditions and staffing levels and any other factors affecting each site. Separate decisions will therefore be made and communicated for both sites.