Dear all,
I hope your children had an enjoyable day today. We even had the coloured footballs out at lunchtime to ensure that play could continue!
It is now 4.30pm and the weather has taken a noticeable turn over the last three hours. The roads are apparently slightly chaotic - which is evidenced by the fact that we have a number of children whose parents are currently stuck in traffic. We also have a few staff members who have had to leave their cars in the school car park and walk home. Whilst waiting outside, from 2pm onwards, a number of parents let me know that they would not be sending their pupils to school tomorrow.
Therefore, I am making the difficult decision to close the school on Friday. I have made an early decision to enable parents to make suitable arrangements for childcare. As a parent myself I know that it is not easy to change plans at the very last minute. I appreciate that this will frustrate some parents (but may please others) - I hope that you will understand the fact that I have a duty of care to my staff who have to travel from an area encompassing Dorchester to Christchurch. Many of the staff also have children at schools that are closed tomorrow and therefore have childcare difficulties themselves to contend with (several joined us today). Whilst it was 'fun' today to play in the snow, if it turns to ice the school site will less easy to manage safely. Finally, our hot meal provider's host school is closed and we cannot guarantee the delivery of the meals at the moment.
I apologise for any inconvenience this may cause and look forward to welcoming the warmth of Spring as from Monday. If the weather changes overnight I fully understand that this could look a 'hasty' decision but sometimes I think it is important to consider all the available evidence and make a 'judgement' call to ensure that effective plans can be put in place.
Yours sincerely,
Nigel Helm
Snow update
Dear all,
Just to let you know that the children are enjoying their snowy World Book Day. It is lovely to see the school value of ‘resilience’ in action today!
All sporting events planned for today are postponed as are the after-school clubs.
Kidscape will be OPEN until the usual finish time.
We have decided to postpone the Music Concert and it has been rescheduled for Thursday 8th March (6.30pm-8pm).
Looking at the weather forecast we are aware that more snow is predicted this afternoon and therefore, if you feel the need to pick your child up early, you may do so from 2pm. Please report to the main office (no need to ring ahead).
In terms of tomorrow we will send a message and update the school website at 7am in the morning. Our current intention is to remain open.
Thank you,
Longfleet CE Primary School
Hello there,
We will be celebrating World Book Day as planed today. Does anyone have an Olaf costume!?!
Thank you.
Good morning,
Mr Helm here - I'm currently looking at Mr Heawood clearing the pathways into school (I'd better hurry up with the typing so I can help him!). I've driven in this morning and the main roads are clear. The roads in the vicinity of the school have a bit more of a covering of snow.
We are going to open this morning. Please can all the children bring a full change of clothes so that we can get outside and enjoy the snow on the school field.
We will continue to assess the situation during the day and will keep you informed. There is the possibility that we invite you to collect your children earlier than the normal pick up time if you want to.
For those taking part in tonight's music concert we will make a decision by noon today.
I'm off to find some carrots for the snowman competition!
Thank you.
Children should bring a change of suitable clothes to play on the field in.
The main roads are clear but the roads around school are less so.
Therefore everyone should take care and walk a bit further than normal if needed.
If the snow continues to fall we will continually monitor the situation and will communicate with parents throughout the day as to whether there is the option to pick up earlier than normal.