Snow and Bad Weather Policy
Warlingham Village Primary School is committed to safeguarding and promoting the welfare of children
and expects all staff and volunteers to share this commitment.
Snow and Bad Weather Policy
In the event of disruption caused by heavy snow the prime concern of the school must always be the safety of pupils and staff.
The decision to close the school will take account of the safety of all our pupils and staff, some of whom travel a great distance to school each day. We will always endeavour to open the school in the event of bad weather, as long as it is safe to do so.
If the school is open in snow or bad weather the decision as to whether or not to send a pupil to school, however, must be at the discretion of the parent, taking into account factors such as local road conditions and the availability of child care.
The school appreciates that during bad weather children may arrive later than normal; parents should endeavour to contact the school to let them know they are on their way if likely to be delayed. The school recognises there will be isolated instances where families are cut off, even where the clear majority of children can get into school. In such instances parents should inform the school of the circumstances of this exceptional situation, as the school has a duty to clarify the circumstances of each case so as to be able to formally authorise the absence to the Local Authority. Parents acting on the assumption that the school would be closed without gaining confirmation, or failing to inform the school of the circumstances that prevents the child coming into school risks their child being registered as an unauthorised absence.
In the event of bad weather, parents should check to see if the school is open before travelling to the site. There are a number of ways to confirm whether the school is open or closed.
- Check the school website. We will aim to update the website by 6:30am.
- Check the school Twitter feed.
- Check to see if you have had a text message or email from the school.
- Listen for list of school closures on the local radio.
- Check the list of school closures on the Council Website:
If the school is closed, we will try and make a decision as early as possible, and will intend to re-open as soon as we can.
If the school does open, but extreme weather develops during the day, we will aim to remain open until the end of the normal school day. However this is not always possible when roads are becoming treacherous. In which case parents will be contacted via a text message and asked to collect their children as soon as possible. Under these conditions we will take verbal permission for their child/children to be collected by a nominated adult. Normal lessons may be curtailed and the remaining pupils assembled in groups under the supervision of authorised members of staff to await collection.
Staff will always make every reasonable effort to undertake the journey to school. It is appreciated that the journey may take longer than normal and therefore some staff may not be able to arrive before the normal start of the school day.
