From mountain to sea Adverse Weather Conditions Guidance for parents and carers on school closure due to bad weather or other emergency We want to work in partnership You will be responsible for with parents and carers to ensuring that the children you took to school are transported ensure the safety of children home again and therefore need to at all times. These guidelines be available in the event that the outline the procedures for school has to close early due to dealing with school closures deteriorating weather conditions. during bad weather or other • In difficult weather conditions emergency. pupils should not wait any longer than 15 minutes past the normal Parental Role pick up time before returning home. In case the transport We would like you to: doesn’t arrive please make sure you have made alternative • Ensure your child wears arrangements for your child. appropriate outdoor clothes throughout the winter. • If your child travels by school transport you are responsible for • Decide whether it is safe for your their safety to and from the pick child to travel to school in bad up/drop off point whether they weather, either by school transport use school transport or a public or on foot. service vehicle. • Provide the school with School transport contractors have information about emergency been told not to allow children to contacts to whom your child can walk home alone from drop-off points be sent at short notice if you are under any circumstances during not available. Also tell the Head extreme weather conditions. If you Teacher about any changes to this can’t meet or arrange for your child information and to your daytime to be met, the school transport will contact details. return them to a designated location. • Provide the school with a bad Public service vehicles – drivers of weather address within safe these vehicles follow a specified route walking distance of the school. and keep to timetables – they cannot make special arrangements. Also: • If school transport is not running please don’t take your child – or other children – to school yourself unless it is safe for you to do so.

When will schools be Secondary Schools closed? Because of the large number of pupils in Secondary Schools, it is Head Teachers decide if and when impossible to inform all parents in schools should close due to bad advance of emergency closures and weather or another emergency. In schools may dismiss pupils without bad weather they will decide this after first contacting parents. receiving information about local weather conditions. This decision can Individual schools will let parents be made during any time, day or night. know of any local arrangements. During bad weather some staff may not be able to get to school – so the What education might my school may have to close because child be missing? there are too few teachers present. Sometimes only part of the school will Some parents and pupils worry that be closed or only some of the pupils important examinations or work is will be dismissed early. missed because the school is closed or conditions make it difficult to If you are concerned about local attend. But the safety and welfare of weather conditions contact the children must take precedence when school. You may wish to collect your making judgements about travelling child yourself and are free to do so to school in bad weather. provided you make arrangements with the school. Arrangements can be made for lost time to be made up and examinations Nursery, Primary and can be rearranged. Special Schools If your child attends a Nursery, Primary or Special School, which is to close early, the school will contact you by telephone. If this is not possible the school will contact your named ‘emergency contact’. No child will be released from school without contact being made. It is important contact details are current and the people named are available – particularly during bad weather. Further Information Aberdeenshire Council Website www.aberdeenshire.gov.uk/closures Outwith school hours, your local radio station is a good place to find You also have the option to sign up out information on school closures. to receive email alerts when your The following radio stations receive school(s) updates their closure status: updated information every 15 mins www.aberdeenshire.gov.uk/alerts/ from our website: index.asp School Information Line FM 96.9 Tel: 01224 337000 Tel: 0870 054 4999 then 02 + your school’s 4 Digit Pin. If you cannot get through first time, please do not put MW 1035 kHz this number on redial. This will only BBC Radio lead to the line being busier. FM 92.4 - 94.7 Please note: Call charges to the MW 810 kHz School Information Line will depend Moray Firth Radio on your contract with your telephone FM 97.4 service provider, for example, calling MW 1107 kHz from your home telephone may differ North East Community Radio in price from calling from your FM 97.1 - 106.4 mobile phone. Tel: 01467 632878 Public Transport Unit Tel: 01224 665194 (9am-5pm only) FM 101.2 Tel: 01779 491012 Education Offices (9am-5pm only) Banff Tel: 01261 813340 FM Tel: 01224 293800 Fraserburgh Tel: 01346 515303 Peterhead Tel: 01779 473269 Twitter Inverurie Tel: 01467 620981 http://twitter.com/aberdeenshire Stonehaven Tel: 01569 766960

If you require the above information provided in large print or translated into another language, please contact Aberdeenshire Council Education, Learning and Leisure on 01224 664630.

ProducedProduced byby AberdeenshireAberdeenshire CouncilCouncil GDT13326GDT24287 FebruaryOct 2016 2011