In the event of heavy snowfall, burst pipes/flooding or electricity/heating failure a decision will be made as to whether or not the school can open. Factors that must be considered as per guidance from the Department of Education include:
Health and safety questions, including:
can pupils and staff access the school building safely?
can pupils and staff be evacuated in an emergency?
in an emergency, could the Emergency Services access the school?
is the area designated for disembarkation from transport safe for pupils?
Transport – can buses, meal deliveries, etc. reach the school?
If a limited number of staff and pupils can attend, is the Pupil-Teacher Ratio acceptable?
Information will go out to parents at the earliest possible time (hopefully before 8.00am) via text message. If possible, prior to the closure, a note may be sent home with your child. In the event of a sudden need to close the school, we would appreciate you spreading the word with friends/relatives/neighbours. On some occasions, heavy snowfall during the day may necessitate early closure of the school, in which case a text/Facebook post will inform parents that children should be collected. For some parents, you may decide that early collection of your child is necessary – we understand that and will facilitate this.
If you have changed your mobile phone number recently and have not informed us, please let the school know as soon as possible. A text will only be sent to the parent listed as Priority No 1 on our system.
