How are schools prepared for this year?
The education department has put in place additional measures to try and ensure the education of children and young people continues in the event of severe winter weather conditions.
School closures
A new protocol has been put in place for situations when adverse weather impacts on schools, replacing the Resilient Schools policy.
The new protocol has been established after it became clear over recent severe weather events that Resilient Schools was no longer sustainable as significantly fewer teachers lived within walking distance of schools than in 2010, when the policy was developed.
Decisions about school closures, either individually, by locality or across the whole Scottish Borders will be taken centrally by senior staff, based on the latest weather forecasts, information from headteachers, locally based staff and partners, including Police Scotland.
Travel conditions, staff availability and the safety of school buildings and access arrangements will all be taken into consideration.
At all times, decisions regarding school closures will be taken in the interests of pupil and staff safety.
Please see our FAQ page for more information on school closures in severe weather.
eLearning
Work has been developed and pupils can access this work either via our website or the school's own website, or GLOW (the school's national intranet) if they cannot get into school. Many schools have also uploaded lessons onto their own school's website. Please check this first.
Snow clearing equipment and salt supplies
We have made significant investment in providing snow clearing equipment for schools. All schools also have a substantial supply of salt which was delivered to all schools in August. The amount of salt each school has in supply depends on a range of factors:
- school location
- size of campus
- geography
How can you help?
All schools are always keen for volunteers to make themselves known to help clear accesses to schools if necessary. If you would like to help please contact your local Resilient Communities group.