Bad Weather

Rationale:

At Broadoak School we want to ensure that in the event of heavy snowfall or extreme weather conditions adequate measures are in place to enable our school to remain open. It is always the school’s priority to remain open in order to maintain the students learning and as such to ensure that our site staff maintain our high standards of safety.

Aims

This plan aims to:-

• Keep students and staff aware of our priorities in extreme weather conditions
• Keep parents/carers updated on our methods of communication
• Prevent students and staff from being stranded at school
• Reduce unnecessary risks in students and staff travelling to and from school
• Reduce accidents in the school

Procedure:

In the event of heavy snowfall where the school is unable to guarantee a full capacity of staff a decision will be taken by the Head teacher and Chair of Governors whether to close the school. This decision will aim to be made by 7.30am.

School Closure

In the event of school closure a member of staff will, where possible, be available on site to ensure that messages and communication are maintained for the first few hours of closure; thereafter the school site will be closed and unmanned.

Decisions taken by the Head teacher and Chair of Governors for ‘School Closure’, will be communicated by one or more of the following means:

• Text message to parents
• Published on the school website and Trafford Council website as soon as possible
• Message on Key 103 radio station
• A recorded message on the school answer phone (if possible)

Where no updates have been provided parents and students should assume that the academy is open as normal.

School Closure during School Day

In the event of heavy snowfall during the school day a decision will be taken by the Head teacher and Chair of Governors whether the school should remain open or not, taking into account the safety of the students and staff. The communication methods will remain the same as in full school closure.

Given the event of bad weather the academy advises all students, staff and visitors to wrap up warmly and wear sensible footwear.