Snow and Severe Weather

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At Llantilio Pertholey we have understand the importance of pupil attendance and we promote the importance of children attending school every single day.  That's why we never quickly or willingly decide to shut the school when the snow starts to fall.

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But in managing the running of the school we have to take account of safety as well as the school's ability to function as a school.  We can only open when we believe the site is safe or can be reasonably made safe and we are able to appropriately teach and supervise children. 

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When snow is forecast we watch the reports carefully overnight and early in the morning and constantly assess three key aspects:

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1 - Is the site safe / can it be made safe enough to open?

How we know: The caretaker and/or other local staff report site conditions from 6.30am onward and prospects for making the site safe for children, parents, visitors and staff (by whatever time they arrive to start their work)

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2 - Do staff assess that they will be able to travel safely from their home to the school?

How we know: Staff unable to reach school must notify the headteacher by 7am.  Staff travel each day from far beyond Abergavenny.

 

3 - Are more snow or icy conditions likely later in the day?

How we know: We look at the weather forecast as well as reports from the site.

 

4 – What are other schools in our cluster doing

How we know: The Headteacher would be in contact with other Headteachers in the cluster from 6.30am.  We try to agree a cluster approach, whilst considering our own school site and situations. 

 

 

​Once we have considered these four factors (and any other additional factors) we aim to make any decision on opening at 7am.

 

Any decision to close is a joint decision between the headteacher and Chair of the governing body.

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We will announce this decision on our messaging service SCHOOP, on our twitter feed (@LPCommunity_) and on the school website www.llantiliopertholeycv.monmouthshire.sch.uk

 

This information is always conveyed to Monmouthshire County Council who will display all schools who are closed on their website www.monmouthshire.gov.uk/school-closures

 

There is always work and activities for the children to access on the school website.