We are committed to making sure that the school remains open even in poor weather.  However, when the weather deteriorates we have a duty of care for students, staff and you the parents, too.

If the school has to close early or not open at all on a severe weather day, it will be for one or more of these reasons:

 1.        The schools heating cannot keep students/staff warm

 2.       The water supply has failed (a basic Health & Safety requirement)

 3.       Safe routes to school cannot be guaranteed for students or staff

 4.       The site cannot be made safe (too much snow/ice to clear)

Please note: Parents and carers have the responsibility of getting children/students to and from school safely and need to decide if the journey is safe when severe weather affects transport and/or walking conditions.  Parents/carers should inform school if their child is absent due to severe conditions making the journey unsafe.  If your child has a disability and/or learning difficulty your decision to take the journey must take this into consideration.  Please consider carefully and only keep children at home if conditions are unsafe.   

If we need to close the school, we will provide parents with the earliest notice possible so they can make appropriate arrangements.  We use the following Radio Stations to broadcast messages:

1.        Invicta Radio                 96.1fm

2.       BBC Radio Kent             96.7fm

3.       Ashford KMFM             107.6fm

In addition the www.kent.gov.uk website will also detail closures or partial closures.

Please note that the radio stations will only notify full closure of a school.  It may be possible that the school will offer a partial service (possibly opening later in the morning once roads are clear or closing earlier if the weather gets worse during the day).  These will be notified by the Kent website.

It is useful for students to carry mobiles when weather conditions are poor as it will help with quick communications.  However, mobile phones will be carried at the owner’s risk.

On occasions, school meal services may be affected by weather conditions so it is a good idea for students to bring in extra food.  Please ensure your son/daughter is appropriately clothed for cold/wet/windy weather and that shoes/boots have good grip for icy conditions. 

Please keep this letter safe so that you know how our school will handle the possibilities of severe weather in the coming months.

Copy of school letter 24th January 2007