In the event of an emergency closure of the school due to uncontrollable events (e.g. snow, flooding, no water or heating) the school will follow the Cornwall Council guidelines.
Our aim is to communicate our plan of action to all parents as early as possible, via the schools’ website, social media and local radio.
It is important that all parents familiarise themselves with this approach to avoid missing announcements.
In the case of a school closure, teachers may set work for pupils to complete at home. We will use our homework platform for this (Show My Homework).
Bad Weather Closures
We will always try to keep the school open during times of inclement weather. We take our responsibilities to educate and care for our students seriously and are aware of the impact on parents and carers if the school is closed at short notice. However, careful assessment needs to be made about whether opening in potentially dangerous conditions is appropriate. In making a decision we will consider:
- Severity of the weather in Bude
- Severity of weather in the surrounding areas
- The weather forecast and likelihood of a change in the weather
- The condition of the school site and our ability to offer lessons safely and normally
- Travel to school for our staff so that school can be safely staffed
- Travel to school for our students (significant numbers of students use local and regional bus services)
We will always try to give parents and carers as much notice as possible. Our website and social media pages (Facebook, Twitter) will be regularly updated during periods of bad weather.
On days of potential difficulty due to snow, early inspection of the site is conducted, staff and student ability to travel to school will be assessed early in the morning and we will make an initial decision, dependent upon the above factors.
Please note however this decision will be reviewed throughout the day as these factors are subject to change: the weather may deteriorate; the forecast may change; the ability of bus companies to operate may change or unforeseen other factors may impact on our ability to operate. Therefore we may be forced to close even during the course of a school day.
Again, we will always try to provide parents with as much notice as possible and make every effort to ensure students and staff can leave the school and return home safely.
These are difficult decisions. We appreciate your patience and understanding at these times.
School Closure In Emergencies (PDF – 122Kb)
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