Preparing for winter weather in schools
Preparing for winter weather in schools
As the likelihood of getting snow and bad weather rises throughout the winter months, it is important for SBMs to prepare to keep their school open. Winter weather can impact safe access to school, and it is up to SBMs to make sure students and staff can access the building safely. This can be done by having a plan in place for adverse weather conditions such as flooding, heavy rain, cold weather and snow. To assist SBMs with this, we have listed ways for preparing for winter weather in schools.
Plan
The first step to implement winter weather safety in schools is to create a solid well-thought-out plan. This plan needs to protect everyone on school property from injury and to stop any unsafe situations occurring.
A perfect way to plan the safety of everyone on school grounds is by carrying out a risk assessment. This is an opportunity to weigh up foreseeable risks for the school due to bad weather. It doesn’t have to detail every single hazard and risk, but it should show the likelihood and the effects of ice, snow, excessive water and high winds.
You can also think about more unusual occurrences such as snow sliding off roofs or roofs collapsing. Find solutions for all the possible risks and plan for when school closure is needed when winter weather is severe.
Share the plan with parents
Once your plan is in place, it is best to share this with parents as well as staff to keep them in the loop. This could be an update via a letter, email or a summary on the school's website.
This statement should headline the solutions that will be put into place when winter weather occurs. It should also state when a school closure is needed so that parents will know when to expect a closure. With this, outline work that can be done at home and consider hosting lessons online if severe weather continues for a long period of time.
Know potential risks
When it comes to bad weather, such as snow, SBMs must consider the real risks to students and staff. This comes with consideration such as if there’s some snow fall is it appropriate to close the school? Thinking about how students and staff will get there, how bad the weather is and how children will miss a day of learning.
If the weather isn’t severe, it is best to tackle ice or snow with gritting the pathways and school grounds. Stock up on plenty of grit or salt and when weather warnings of ice or snow are forecasted, plan for everything to be gritted prior to ice and snowfall. This is more effective at making the school a safe place than trying to melt ice or snow afterwards.
Have the right equipment
Preparing for winter weather can’t be done without the right equipment for your school. Being prepared to make the school grounds safe to access requires a few essentials. Having grit or salt is a must when temperatures drop to freezing. It is important to ensure that your grit or salt supply doesn’t run low as this will always need to be topped up throughout winter.
Think about where to store grit or salt that’s accessible to staff to use quickly and easily. A couple of grit/salt bins located outdoors for easy access is best. These bins have a large capacity to hold enough salt or grit and are resistant to most solvents, salts and acids. Any excess will need to be stored in an easy place ready for topping up the bins.
Depending on the size of your school, having good equipment to spread grit or salt is needed. Having a spreader makes it easier to melt ice or snow or prepare for icy conditions. This is especially useful when you have a large area to cover.
Know when it’s unsafe- closure of school
Even with preventative measures, winter weather can be brutal and very unsafe. SBMs must know when it is appropriate to close the school and make the call based on how bad the weather is. Such as continuous falling thick snow. Extreme weather such as this can be dangerous for travelling to school and hard to keep school grounds safe too.
Measure how the winter weather is and have an action plan for extreme weather that leads to the closure of the school. An action plan will help you be prepared and keep everyone updated in an efficient and timely manner.
Give advice for students
To ensure the safety of students, pass on vital information on how they can keep safe in winter weather. This could be in a themed assembly or an information pack you hand to your staff to use in the classroom. Key information to share is how children can wrap up warm in wintery conditions. This could be shown in clear images of winter coats, gloves, hats, scarves and winter footwear. As well as showing how to layer clothes like t shirts and jumpers to ensure students can spend time outdoors safely.
Other information to share could be how to safely travel to school in icy/snowy conditions, being aware of weather changes and how to be prepared for excessive rainfall.
Implement these preparing for winter weather tips to ensure that students and staff stay safe during bad weather. Take precautions early so that the school can remain open as much as possible. Remember to know when the weather is too unsafe and closing the school needs to be implemented. It is important to have a winter weather safety action plan for all outcomes to ensure that SBMs are prepared for their school.
As well as planning winter weather safety for the new year, it is important to plan for the return of staff and students after Christmas. To help you do this, take a look at our how to prep for the new year blog.
