Snow & Adverse Weather Policy

In the event of disruption caused by heavy snow or adverse weather, the prime concern of the school must always be to ensure the safety of our pupils and staff. The decision to close the school will take account of the safety of all our pupils, staff and visitors, some of whom travel a great distance to school each day. The decision will be made by the Headteacher and chair of Governors.  We will always endeavour to open the school in the event of bad weather, as long as it is safe to do so.

School attendance

If the school is open in snow or adverse 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 un-authorised absence. 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. It may be necessary to ask all children to bring packed lunches if the kitchen staff are unable to reach school safely.

Communication with Parents/Carers

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. The school will send out a communication to parents via our website at:  https://www.theredeemercep.co.uk/

Notification of a school closure will also be communicated via our Facebook page.

Parents/Carers should also listen for list of school closures on the local radio.
BBC Radio Lancashire

Capital Lancashire

Once a decision has been made to shut the school, the Local Authority will be notified. They will have a list of school closures on the Blackburn with Darwen Council Website.

Please check the contact details attached to your School Money account, as we may be able to update parents through our text messaging service.

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.

School closure during normal working hours

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 these extreme circumstances, parents will be contacted via our text messaging service and asked to collect their children as soon as possible. The school will also communicate to parents/carers via our school communication system, Facebook page and website. It is important that parents/carers do not attempt to make contact with the school before any decision has been made about closure and wait for a communication to be sent out. This is to ensure that phone lines are kept open for us to liaise with other schools and agencies.

To ensure the safety of the school community, access to the school site will be restricted to the main entrance gates. This is to enable staff to ensure that the pathway is clear from snow and safe to navigate. Parents will be directed to the main hall to collect their child/children.

Under these conditions we will take verbal permission for their child/children to be collected by a nominated adult. We will require all children who are collected to be signed out by a responsible adult. Normal lessons may be curtailed, and the remaining pupils assembled in groups under the supervision of authorised members of staff to await collection.