Welcome

As snow is forecast this week I would like to provide below a summary of the school policy regarding school closure. The school website www.st-andrews-pri.cambs.sch.uk

The school will make absolutely every effort to remain open in adverse weather, however, the safety and wellbeing of both pupils and staff is paramount and therefore should this be at risk, then it may be necessary to close the school.

As a significant number of both pupils and staff have to travel substantial distances to school this does make this decision more complicated. The conditions at school may be quite different from that experienced by many pupils and staff whilst at home.

Should an insufficient number of staff be available to supervise and ensure the safety of the children, then it will be necessary to close the school. Any decision to close the school will be made at the earliest possible opportunity and by 8.00am at the very latest. This will be communicated to parents via:

BBC radio Cambridge  95.7 and 96 FM

Heart radio FM 103FM

http://www.cambridgeshire.gov.uk/education/schools/schoolclosure/

In the event of the weather deteriorating during the school day, parents should use their discretion regarding collecting their children from school. Sufficient staff will remain in school until all children have been safely returned to their homes / emergency contacts.

In cases of exceptional weather conditions, the LEA may make a decision on whole school closure across the district. The information to close schools on an LEA basis will be broadcast on local radio stations from 7.00am on the day concerned.

Parents are asked to note that the time which the barrier stays up between vehicles has been reduced today so that only one vehicle may enter / leave at a time. The school will not be held responsible for any damage caused to cars by 'tailgating!'

I am sorry to inform you that due to the almost complete lack of uptake by parents, the current breakfast clubs run by Premier Sports will cease with immediate effect.

Road Barrier.

Following the newsletter issued at the end of last term, I am writing to inform parents that the automatic barrier at the entrance to the school drive will come down to prevent vehicular access by parents at both the start and end of the school day, with effect from Monday 31st October.

The Governors of both St Andrew’s and SVC are sorry that it has been necessary to take this action but the repeated failure by parents to drive sensibly and to only park within designated bays in St Andrew’s car park has repeatedly put the safety of both our own and SVC pupils at unacceptable levels of risk as well as causing severe inconvenience to SVC staff. 

The barrier will be closed between: 8.20am - 9.00am, 2.00pm - 3.30pm and 9.30pm - 6.30am, with vehicular access being limited to staff, official visitors and parents who are registered disabled.

If you are a new parent who falls into this last category, please contact the school office who will be pleased to forward you an application form for an electronic fob.

Access will not be allowed to drivers simply arriving at the barrier between the above times unless there is a genuine emergency.

We would ask all parents to adhere to the principles behind this initiative and not arrive before these times and simply wait in the car park. This is selfish and simply puts all of our children at increased risk.

We would also repeat our previous requests for parents not to park in the roadway adjacent to SVC and Addison House. This is a private roadway which is used by SVC pupils and is also required for emergency access by the college.

Road Closure - A message from the chair of Governors

I would like to take this opportunity of informing parents that the school is in the final stages of agreeing an extension with Soham Village College to the current downtime of the barrier at the entrance to our school site.

The intention is that the road will be closed to coincide with both the beginning and the end of the school day.

We are still looking at the exact time of the closure and this will be communicated to parents at the earliest possible opportunity. Mr Liddington is currently also in dialogue with Premier sports, regarding the possibility of extending the current active breakfast club to five mornings per week. For a moderate charge to parents this would enable children to be left at school from 7.45am onwards. This would particularly benefit working parents who could still be away from the school site in sufficient time to arrive at work. Please note that access to the car park will still be allowed for staff, registered disabled drivers and other parents in absolute emergencies.

Governors have not made this decision lightly as we know that it will inconvenience a number of parents and visitors, however the ongoing failure of a significant minority of parents to adhere to the numerous previous requests not to park on the roundabout, in SVC car park or outside of the designated parking bays means that the safety of the our pupils is being compromised to an unacceptable level. This is something that the governors and leadership team have decided must now be conclusively addressed.

Yours sincerely

Mr P Manley Chair of Governors