Winter school closure

The winter planning guidance for Kent schools (DOCX, 189.7 KB) aims to be a useful touchstone and offer reassurance that acting reasonably and applying sound risk assessment principles will enable headteachers to determine risks and confidently make the best decisions for schools.

This document contains guidance about:

  • Preparing for severe snow and ice - short and long term actions
  • School staff
  • Risk assessment/management
  • Communication with parents and staff
  • The Kent Closures Website
  • Appendix 1: Useful Websites
  • Appendix 2: Example Newsletter to Parents
  • Appendix 3: Risk Assessment Template

School closure website
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To communicate a closure to parents and staff the Kent Closures website allows a school representative to change the 'status' of the school to 'open', 'closed' or 'partially closed'. The information will then be displayed on the website for parents and staff and shared with Kent radio stations.

Register online in advance
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Please register online in advance by visiting the Kent Closures website and choosing the 'school admin' button.

Once you have registered, log on and set your status to OPEN. Please remember that once you have set your status to CLOSED it will remain as closed until you change it to OPEN again.

If you have any problems registering please contact your Area Education Officer.