Appleton Thorn Primary School

The school will only be closed if one or more of the following conditions apply.

• Insufficient staff are able to come in to keep the school running safely.
• Conditions on site are dangerous.
• Conditions are considered to be or are anticipated to later become too hazardous to travel.

The school will make every effort to remain open whenever possible.

The decision to close the school will only be made by the Head Teacher.

In the event of heavy snow or adverse weather conditions before the school day starts

The Head Teacher will decide whether the school will open taking into account the conditions at the school and the ability of staff to get there. If the Head Teacher decides the school will close, they will update Warrington Borough Council accordingly for them to update their website, update the school website and send a school ping message to staff and parents advising them of the closure.

When school closure is a possibility parents should find out whether the school is open by:-

• Checking School Ping message system
• Checking the school website
• Checking Warrington Borough Website’s schools page  https://www.warrington.gov.uk/schools to see if Appleton Thorn Primary School is in the list of the schools that are closed.
• Listening to Local Radio to see if the school is listed as closed.

It is important for parents to also undertake the actions also outlined above during inclement weather in case the messaging system is slow due to the number of schools trying to use it.

If it is decided that the school will open, but the road conditions are difficult, parents should ring the school to advise that they are likely to be late. The school fully appreciates that in bad weather children may arrive later than usual

If parents assume that the school is closed, but it is actually open, the absence will be recorded as unauthorised unless the Head Teacher is satisfied that there are exceptional circumstances.

In the event of heavy snowfall during the school day

If there is heavy snowfall during the school day the Head Teacher will decide whether it is necessary to close the school. If closing the school is deemed necessary, the Office will contact parents via school ping and ask that they pick their child/children up from school as soon as possible.

The Staff that live furthest from the school will be permitted to leave at the earliest opportunity, however a skeleton staff will remain in school until all of the children have been collected.