As the weather forecast could potentially be detrimental to the school day, we write to inform you of the implications to school in the event of severe weather.

There may be days when severe weather conditions require that those responsible for running schools will have no option but to close the school or to instigate a variation to the normal start and end of the school day. This is obviously something that we hope does not happen as we recognise the difficult situation that this causes with childcare arrangements. However, safety is of paramount importance and as a school we will have taken into consideration all the following key factors:

• Availability of staff- will there be sufficient teaching and non-teaching staff able to get into school and ensure that pupils are properly supervised and safeguarded? Are those able to get to school likely to be able to arrive on time or will they be delayed by problems with public transport or accessing roads from their homes. Whilst we are able to function with a reduced level of staff, this would need to be carefully reviewed. Not only would there need to be a sufficient number of staff, we will need to be confident that we have a trained paediatric first aider on site for the youngest children, emergency first aiders for the rest of the school, that the kitchen staff will be able to arrive in time to carry out their duties and so on.

• Condition of paths and access routes in and around the school- is there any risk of slipping and injury to pupils, including those who make their own way to school and are therefore unsupervised?

• Deterioration of the weather during the day- if the weather is predicted to deteriorate, will the school be able to ensure that all pupils and staff will be able to return home safely? Will the transport for pupils who travel in minibuses or taxis, or parents and carers who live away from the locality of the school actually be able to return and collect the children at the end of the day?

• Catering supplies- will deliveries of food supplies be able to get through to enable the kitchen staff to provide a meal?

• Is it possible to open the school for a shortened day- by having a slightly later start will this enable more staff to get in safely and ensure the correct ratio of adults to pupils? By starting later in the morning will this reduce the risk to all who are trying to travel in the severe weather by delaying the school run?

• How reliable has the weather forecast been – has it been accurate or is there a high possibility that in fact the severe weather warnings may come to nothing? Or do the actual conditions in the area of the school indicate that the weather is more severe than had been indicated?

In the event of a school closure or a change to the school day, the following will happen:

• If the school is closed for the day, we will email parents as early as possible in the morning through Arbor (please make sure the school has any recent changes in contact details) and will also add further details to the school website. The email and website update may also include information regarding a later start to the school day if this decision is made.

• If the pupils are at school and we decide to close due to a change in weather, we will also inform parents by email and a website update. We will expect pupils to be collected promptly (i.e. within the hour from this communication). For those parents who work longer distances and may have difficulty in collecting their child please make sure that alternative emergency arrangements are in place, e.g. collection by child minder, relatives or friends.

In both situations please do not phone the school office to check as this can often tie up the phone lines for more high priority issues.

Where we try and give as much notice as possible, please be aware that when there is snowfall overnight it is not possible to make a decision until first thing in the morning, once an assessment of the school site has been made as well as the availability of staff. Of course, if you hear nothing, you should assume school is open and we will be expecting your child. We do understand for those of you that do not live in Stansted you may face challenging journeys and it is for you to decide whether you can make it in safely.

We very much hope that severe weather will not prove disruptive this year. However, just in case, please can you keep a copy of this letter to hand. A copy will also be placed on the school website.

Kind Regards,

Mr Rogers