SEVERE WEATHER PROCEDURES
Closing a school due to bad weather is always a difficult decision due to changeability of conditions - it is not an exact science. At Freeman Community Primary School, we follow the advice from the Local Authority that has been issued to all schools and any decision to close is based on the safety of the school site, ability to provide sufficient staffing, transport arrangements and the day's weather forecast. The school may close for the whole day or open later and/or close earlier.
The latest school closure information will be available on the Suffolk County Council web site http://schoolclosures.suffolk.gov.uk We will use Arbor as a means of communication, either by email or text. The home page of the school web site and Twitter @FreemanCPSchool will also be updated with the latest information.
Local radio stations such as Heart FM and BBC Radio Suffolk will be notified although parents should be aware there can often be a delay in up-to-date information being broadcast on the radio stations and their Web sites.
Please do not phone the school to check if the school will be open as this will block the phone lines. If the school plans to close early because of severe weather or we have been informed the bus company will be running their service earlier, we will contact parents via email and/or text.
A path across the playground to the porch entrance and to Early Years will be cleared if there is snow or ice on the playground. All other areas may not be treated so please use the treated areas when bringing your children to school. We may also only use one gate to enter the playground depending on the severity of the weather.
In this cold weather, children should, of course, come to school suitably dressed in warm clothes with a coat, hat, gloves, etc. In the event of snow, they will also require a change of footwear for outdoor use. If they don’t have these, they may not be allowed outside, as they will otherwise end up with wet feet for the remainder of the day!