St Catherine Of Siena Catholic Primary School

School Closure

Extreme Weather and Emergency Closure

This message will update if there are any changes to the status of the school.

St Catherine of Siena Catholic Primary School is CLOSED on _____________ due to severe cold temperatures, possible snow overnight and dangerous travel conditions for parents and staff. We apologise to all parents and families for the inconvenience caused. This decision has been taken to keep children, staff and commuters safe on the roads tomorrow. 

It is always a very serious decision to close the school. We appreciate that it can cause a great inconvenience to parents, children and staff and will not happen unless absolutely necessary.

Reasons for closing the school may include:

• Severe snow making travel to/from school unsafe
• Conditions around the school site and local area are dangerous
• Conditions are considered to be or are anticipated to later become too hazardous for travel.
• A sufficient number of staff are unable to come in to keep the school running safely.
• Breakdown of the school heating system making it impossible for us to keep children and staff warm.

The decision about whether or not to close the school is taken by the Head Teacher in consultation with the Chair of Governors. If the decision is made to close it will be made as early in the morning as possible (or on the night before) to prevent unnecessary journeys.

The school will communicate this information in a number of ways

• School Website
• A text message to all parents via mobile phone and Class Dojo
• Birmingham City Council website
• Local radio.

In extreme weather circumstances, the Local Authority may decide on a blanket closure of all schools. Head Teachers receive this information by email as soon as the decision is made and then we will advise parents as listed above. Any other reason to close will come from the school directly.

Please avoid telephoning the school to ask if we are open. It blocks the phone lines. If you do not get a message from the school by one of the methods listed then we are open as normal and you do not need to check.