In the event of severe weather conditions it may be necessary as a last resort to close the school. This decision will be dependent upon a number of factors which includes accessibility to the village by staff.

In the event of the school being closed before the start of the school day the following systems will be in place:

• Log onto the school website www.debden.essex.sch.uk/weather

• By ringing the school number after 8.30am you will hear a message advising you of the closure

• A board will be placed outside the school informing you of the closure

• Local radio stations will be informed and will broadcast a list of schools closed. BBC Essex and Heart FM will publish the names of CLOSED schools on their websites www.bbc.co.uk/essex and www.heartessex.co.uk

In the event of the school being closed during the school day the following systems will be in place:

• Parents will be contacted by phone to advise them of the time of the early closure

• Please ensure we have your up to date contact details for work, home and a mobile number

• Transport for Carver Barrack’s pupils will be arranged with Walden Travel

• Children of Carver Barrack’s parents who are not able to be contacted will not be put on the school bus but will remain in school until contact is made and other arrangements for collection are agreed

• Verbal or written permission will be required from any parent whose child is to be collected by another adult. We cannot release children into the care of another adult without direct permission from the parent (See permission slip at the end of this Newsletter)

• Parents to go directly to classrooms to collect their children

This page has been created as a dedicated page to give information on school closures due to weather. We will endeavour to publish accurate information on it by 8:00am should the school be closed. To improve the accuracy of the information on the website we've set up a school Twitter account purely for Severe Weather Closures. However this is reliant on being able to update the school Twitter account. The widget below will update itself every minute or so to add new messages.

This version of the Twitter widget is not dependent on Flash so is compatible with iOS devices.

Snow Play Activities
We would like classes to have the opportunity for constructive snow play if conditions on the playground or field are deemed safe should we have significant snow over the next few weeks. Should this situation arise a risk assessment will be undertaken and a decision made on the day by Mrs Gibbons in consultation with staff. This decision will be reviewed on a daily basis depending on the snow conditions. In order for children to participate in their class snow play activity they MUST HAVE the following clothing and footwear:

• Warm coat

• Wellington boots (named) with peg to attach boots together

• Change of footwear for indoors

• Gloves

• Hat

If you do not want your child(ren) to be included in this activity should the situation arise please let your child’s teacher or the school office know. If you have any queries regarding this please speak either to me or your child’s Class Teacher.