Clerkhill Primary School
Emergency Closure Policy 2009 -
Information to Parents
The safety of pupils and staff is the prime consideration in relation to any decision
to close Clerkhill Primary whether due to severe weather conditions, long-
It is therefore vital that procedures are in place so that all understand the series of events that could take place in such circumstances.
- Firstly it is vital that Emergency contacts for families are kept up to date so that in the event of a child having to be sent home for any reason that this can be done easily. Please update yours immediately there is a change in your circumstances.
- At times it is necessary for Clerkhill School to close because of adverse weather conditions. Several staff members may have difficulty coming to school Aberdeenshire Education and Recreation Service would not want to put staff at risk travelling to and from work on dangerous roads. Staff in this situation are asked if possible to report to their nearest school.
- Parents should send their children to school as normal, but can decide to keep their children
at home if they feel that walking to school in adverse weather is unsafe. This may especially apply to out of zone pupils. The school would ask parents to call the school in this instance and report the child’s absence.
- A Management Team Member at Clerkhill, will be designated to monitor the staff / pupil ratio in each class and to assess the situation. Hopefully there will be enough staff to cover each class, but in exceptional circumstances it may be necessary to send a class home. However Parents are assured that contact will be made with yourselves or your emergency contact first so that the children can be safely collected.
- It is understood that many parents work outwith Peterhead and may be affected by adverse weather conditions delaying their journeys home. Please contact the school if you are running late and we will either hold on to your children or contact your emergency contact for you.
- In the event of having to close the school for any other reason rest assured that we would contact you or your emergency contact first. We would ask that the children be collected from school as the Lollipop staff will not be on duty. If we are unable to contact your or your emergency contact the Management Team will keep the children in school until the normal home time.
- If the school is not going to open for any reason a message will be relayed to families over the local radio station “Waves” and “North Sound Radio”. Parents should also use our new emergency information line 0870 054 4999 PIN Number 021470 or www.aberdeenshire.
gov.uk/ However a Management Team Member will be at the school to deal with pupils arriving who have not heard the message. We will then contact you or your emergency contact.
- Hopefully there will be few occasions where we will need to put the above into action. However rest assured that staff at Clerkhill would do all they can to ensure the safety of your family.
- Separate guidelines will be issued shortly for those travelling under a bus / taxi contract to school.