Emergency School Closure

You will be aware of the Emergency School Closure procedure which many of you had to use at the end of January 2003. Both my staff and the local radio stations are very aware that this did not operate as smoothly as in the past due to the sheer volume of calls coming through.

We have learnt some important lessons from a training exercise held in November, the snow earlier this year and a very helpful meeting with Radio Norfolk. As such the guidance document has been amended and a revised copy is attached. This provides clarification as to the service which is available and some additional advice on early closure. The manual for the Emergency School Closure team has been extensively modified to include these changes.

I would like to draw your attention to the following points:-

· the Severe Weather Closure telephone line will begin to operate from 0600 a.m. Calls made to 01603 222008 earlier than this will be directed to an answer phone which has limited capacity.

· the Emergency School Closure procedure is designed to inform the local media of the situation, there is no need for you to ring them directly.

· one phone call, to a member of the team, is all that you need to do. Additional phone calls add extra pressure to an already busy workload.

· the details of schools which are closed are displayed on the new Esinet public web-site www.norfolk.esinet.org.uk as soon as they are received. Some parents are already using this facility and more will do so soon. It is important that, whenever your school is closed, you inform the L.E.A. through either the severe weather or occasional closure procedures (paragraphs 2.1 and 4 respectively in the procedure document

· It is important that, where schools close early during a school day, arrangements are made with parents to receive their children. I am sure that I do not have to remind you of the personal liability which exists under Health and Safety legislation should something go wrong. You will also need to inform the Authority on 01603 224308.

· Radio Norfolk have stated that they will provide a regular update on school closures (during severe weather) after each news bulletin (i.e. 3 updates an hour - travel, news, weather, school closures).

· you will need your school’s Location Code - why not write it on your copy of the procedure document and keep it in your brief case/car/wherever is most convenient

Finally it is now possible to enter school closures directly onto the Esinet web site using the School Management Resources facility.

If you have any comments to make on emergency school closure procedures, Jonathan Towns will be happy to hear from you.

Yours sincerely

Director of Education