Extreme Weather & School Closure
Some weather apps have forecast snow so we thought we would take the opportunity to offer a reminder about what happens in the event extreme weather.
In the event of bad weather we will always endeavour to open. However if the weather conditions are extreme or the threat of extreme weather later in the day is compelling, we will also have to give serious consideration to the safety of our children; you, their families; and colleagues travelling to and from school.
If the weather is extreme then we have three options:
- to open school as normal
- to open school with a later start time and/or earlier or staggered finish time
- to close school completely
Our decision will always be based on the best information available to us, including the latest weather information as well official advice from the local authority and emergency services.
We will also take account of what neighbouring schools are doing – and it is often the case that there is a flurry of calls between Headteachers very early in the morning when we are all faced with extreme weather. Our priority is to provide an education to our children so we will always try to open if we can.
We will use the Parentmail service to contact parents/carers by text AND email – to inform you of our decision. This is one of the reasons why it is important to inform us of any change of details (including mobile telephone numbers and email addresses).
If your details are NOT up-to-date, please contact us as soon as possible!
We will share important information via our website: www.st-johnfisher.org so please keep checking and sign up for alerts at the bottom right-hand corner of the home page (www.st-johnfisher.org/home/).
We will also notify the local authority and BBC Radio Sheffield and details of the arrangements will be shared on their websites. We notify the local authority and BBC Radio Sheffield if we have a later start and/or are closing earlier. Please note that we will not notify them if we are opening as normal.
Sometimes when we are open the weather conditions can deteriorate dramatically during the school day. If this happens, we will use Parentmail again in order to notify parents/carers that school is closing earlier. The website will be updated (and alerts sent to those who register for them) and we will contact the local authority and radio stations.
If we are remaining open as usual we may post confirmation of this on the website.
Late Start
A decision on the time of the late start will be made on the day based on the information available to me. Typically, a later start time will either be 9.30am or 10.00am. This means that children can arrive right up to the later start time without being marked as ‘late’ in the register. Children can also be dropped off before the later start time and will be looked after by staff in school, where it is warm. JPAC will operate as normal, and will contact customers directly or through our Parentmail service if their information changes.
Early Finish
The timing of an earlier finish will again depend on the weather conditions and the best information we have to hand. We will aim to contact parents/carers via Parentmail and ask them to arrange for their children to be collected from a certain time or as soon as possible. If children are left, staff will obviously remain to care for them until they are collected. However your cooperation is expected and appreciated because if the weather becomes particularly difficult, I also have to consider how my colleagues will get home safely once the children are collected. If children are just left with us, it could cause staff significant additional problems. If you are not contacted and there is no information on the website then it is safe to assume that school will be closing at the normal time. No need to phone us.
Phoning School
Please read the text messages, emails, website alerts and look at the website itself, as well the local authority and radio station websites. Calls to school should only be made in exceptional or emergency situations and not simply to confirm something that has already been shared. This is because it is important that the phone line is left as free as possible so that staff are able to make/take important calls.
Thank you in advance for your cooperation and support.
