We are always deeply reluctant to close the school unless we truly have no other choice. Clearly, the safety of students travelling to school is of paramount importance as is their safety on the school site. It is crucial, when we are open, to ensure we have sufficient staffing to safeguard children as well as have the time to make the site safe. 

Our ‘Inclement Weather Procedure’ is as follows……..

From 7:00am on any day where weather looks like it could prevent us from opening, our website will state one of three things:

• School Open
• School Closed
• Inclement weather procedure in place 

The decision will also be mentioned on the usual radio channels and websites:

• http://schoolclosures.suffolk.gov.uk
• www.bbc.co.uk/suffolk (BBC Radio Suffolk 95.5, 103.9 or 104.6 FM)
• www.heart.co.uk/suffolk (Heart FM on 97.1 or 96.4 FM)

We would advise families to consult the school website in the first instance as there is often a delay in messages being relayed from our texting service and Suffolk websites and/or radio channels when high volumes of information are being sent by many organisations.

Please do NOT contact the radio stations direct. 

School Open

If the school is described as Open, then we will be operating as usual and children will arrive and leave at the usual time.

School Closed

If the school is described as Closed, then no children can be admitted. 

Inclement Weather Procedure

If the “inclement weather procedure” is in place, pupils should delay their journey into school, aiming to arrive for 10:25am. Buses will be informed and will collect pupils two hours later than usual.

The day will then run as follows:

If we are concerned about lunch-time safety, students will be instructed to remain in the building through this 30 minute session, with staff on duty to ensure student safety is maintained. Should this bad weather procedure be adopted, students are encouraged to bring a packed lunch to school as catering arrangements will be limited during the available time. Buses will be organised to take students home at 2:35pm.

This delayed start and early ending ensures we have adequate time to clear the site in the morning and buses/cars are able to travel in daylight when roads are less busy and temperatures might rise to make journeys much safer. It also ensures that students are able to participate in 3 out of the 4 scheduled learning sessions for that day. As ever a decision about sending students to school in difficult weather conditions must be made by each individual family, as local conditions can vary considerably. 

Closing the school early

On occasion, weather conditions can deteriorate over the day and we may be forced to take the decision to close the school early so that students and staff can get home safely. Any decision to close is always made to give sufficient time to arrange for transport to get students home safely.

Students who live locally will be allowed to walk home if it is safe to do so. Students who need to be collected will contact their parents/carers.

We will record the planned destination of every student before they leave the school site. It is very important that you discuss with your child the plan you want them to follow so that they know exactly what to do if they are sent home early. It is also essential that the school and your child are able to contact you. Due to pressure on our phone lines, it would be helpful if parents only attempt to ring the school in a real emergency and not just to find out the state of play. We will do our best to keep parents fully informed through texting and the school  website.  The local radio stations will also be informed.

The most important consideration in these procedures is everyone’s safety and well-being. Any student who is uncertain whether they can get home, or to their planned place of safety, should stay at the school and remain in the care of the senior staff in charge.

At times there may be other reasons, unrelated to the weather, that force the closure of the school. Your support, co-operation and consideration for all the factors involved will be appreciated when these situations arise.

Please ensure that we are able to contact you in the event of an early closure by letting us know of any changes to your contact details or those of the person you have nominated to look after your child/ren.