Suffolk County Council

Clare Community Primary School Telephone: 01787 277423 Fax: 01787 278390 Email: [email protected] .uk www.clareprimary.net

Erbury Place Clare Sudbury Suffolk CO10 8PZ

Executive Headteacher: Mr P Illsley November 2016 Dear Parents & Carers, SEVERE WEATHER PROCEDURES Please take a few moments to read the information below then store this letter where you can easily locate it for future reference. In the event of severe weather it may be necessary to close the school to ensure the safety of the children and staff. Should the severe weather conditions occur overnight the local radio stations Heart FM on 97.1 or 96.4 FM, and Radio Suffolk on 95.5, 95.9, 103.9 or 104.6 FM will be informed as early as possible. You are advised to listen to one of them as they provide regular updates. Radio Suffolk will have timed updates at 10 minutes past and 20 minutes to each hour. Please understand that all staff have to travel to school, some a considerable distance (eg, currently from Colchester, Ipswich and Swaffham), others from outlying villages and, as conditions may vary from area to area, please do not assume that, if Clare itself is clear, the school will not be closed. If you do hear a radio announcement about school closure, please pass round the news to other parents who may not have heard. Similarly, if you judge the conditions where you are living to be hazardous to safety, keep your children with you whether the school is open or not. The bus company will be contacted in the event of closure, but may take the decision not to operate anyway if the road conditions are too dangerous. Should the conditions deteriorate rapidly during the day and the school be forced to close early you will be contacted by text or telephone. Please make sure that we have your current contact numbers. No child will be sent home early if you, or your representative, have not been contacted. We will send a text message to all families using the Callparents system, so please ensure that we have your up to date mobile numbers. An announcement will also be placed on the school website www.clareprimary.net I do hope it will not be necessary to close the school this winter but, as with all arrangements, safety considerations will be paramount when making the decision. Thank you for your co-operation.

Yours sincerely

Mr P Illsley Executive Headteacher