Emergency Closures

In the case of severe weather conditions, or any other emergency, we may need to close the school. In the event of severe weather, the decision can often only be made early in the morning, unless otherwise advised by the authorities. When a decision is made, we post the information on our home page and via social media, as well as the home page of Worcestershire County Council. The telephone service will carry an appropriate message, and we will also contact local radio stations.

We need to balance the health and safety of students and staff when making a decision. We are conscious of them making potentially hazardous journeys against the loss of a day’s learning in school. Additionally, the bus companies can decide separately not to undertake their services because of their own risk assessment.  We will always endeavour to be either open with a full school, or closed, but at times we may need to prioritise any students or year groups undertaking public examinations, the result of which would be a partial closure.

Whilst the school premises are closed, teachers will continue to set appropriate work and tasks for students via Google Classroom to minimise any loss of learning as result of the closure.  Depending on their individual circumstances, teachers may undertake remote teaching to maximise the impact or effectiveness of work set or to contextualise the online learning.   There will be no expectations of synchronous and continuous live teaching for a short-term emergency closure.  We also recognise that in the event of heavy snowfall, parents may wish their children to have some time to play in the snow.  Whilst we expect students to engage with and complete any work set, there will be no expectation for students to ‘attend’ all lessons at all times, allowing them the flexibility to manage their own time and workload.

In the event of an extended school closure, the Headteacher may take the decision to increase the expectation of remote synchronous teaching and learning.  These expectations will be communicated to parents and students and support provided where appropriate.

Pleaseclick here to view the school emergency closure procedure in the 'Finance and Other Key Policies' section.