Management Information Sheet
Is your School winter prepared? Five cold weather effects!
The Resilience team are keen to ensure that schools consider their Business Continuity planning and devise ways to keep delivering education, whatever the weather might be doing!
Have you used your Business Continuity plan to prepare for any unexpected incident or emergency?
Do you have an agreed option to use an alternative site, if yours is compromised?
Are you fully winter prepared, including heating, insulation and first aid?
Here's a summary of 5 effects that may impact schools, teachers and pupils in winter time:
Severe cold - ice, snow, hail plus dark mornings and evenings: a potent recipe for transport failures and personal accidents. Pipes and drains will be prone to freezing, make sure buildings are checked, before holidays.
Severe winds from any direction, especially wintry, north or north west, easterly - arctic blasts like the Beast from the East a few years ago can make travel or being outdoors, dangerous.
Storms - thunder, lightning strikes, rain and hail. Storms cause building damage, roof damage or can bring trees down.
Tides, surface water, flooding, drainage - the Environment Agency offer warnings to those buildings in flood risk areas, you can sign up to get these alerts warnings at FloodLine Direct 0345 988 1188.
Drains can be pre-checked, pipes can be lagged or insulated, do make your checks soon!
Freezing Fog - poor visibility, pockets of fog and mist hazards on roads, asthma triggers from pollution or particulates within fog and cold-air effects on lungs, if outdoors for a time.
The Met Office has also produced some very useful guidance which you can find on WeatherReady (Met Office). Thinking ahead and preparing for what the weather may bring can make a real difference. There are some simple steps you can take to stay safe and healthy at this time of year - from preparing your home or business to taking care of yourself, your family and neighbours.
School Closures
Make sure you have your password and can log in to the NCC school closures web page in advance of any incident to flag up any planned closure. If you need to update your password contact NCC IMT Help Desk.
Further Norfolk Resilience Forum Guidance
There is also a small section on Emergency Advice for Children which you may find useful at norfolkprepared.gov.uk
If you need further advice, please visit Norfolk County Council Business Continuity pages on www.norfolk.gov.uk/businesscontinuity or email businesscontinuity@norfolk.gov.uk