Castleman Academy Trust schools will always endeavour to open their schools, regardless of the weather. Please assume Broadstone Middle School is open unless you are informed otherwise. We really do try to give you as much notice as possible when this happens, but please be aware that there are many factors that influence school closures.
We must ensure we have enough staff to supervise the pupils and our staff live some distances from the school in most cases. The staff also have to make arrangements for their own families who are no doubt involved in closures of other places, particularly in the case of snow. This does hamper their ability to get into school in the normal manner at the normal time. They will always strive to do so, however supervision levels for the pupils must be considered as well as the individual needs of pupils. We can’t make a decision to close the school without assessing the situation first. We will always aim to let you know about the status of the school as soon as we possibly can.
Delivery of school meals may be interrupted due to the weather and we have no control over this. If your children do normally have school meals. You will need to send in a packed lunch as we can’t be sure deliveries will arrive. We are often not told until after school starts.
Due to the natural springs within the locality of the school, the car park can become icy and treacherous in very cold or snowy weather. The car park will therefore be closed to parents on such occasions.
Transport arrangements for some pupils can also be disrupted and these are all factors we must take into account. We are not always informed as early as we would hope but will always try to get information to you as soon as we can.
In the unlikely event of having to close the school we will text families, inform you via the website and use the Borough of Poole website to keep you informed. Please remember that we have a limited number of characters we can use when texting. We will use the texting service to alert you to the fact that information has been updated via the website where we have capacity to give more detailed information. It is vital that we have your up to date contact details so that you do get this information from us. Please ensure that if you have changed your number recently that you let us know.
We do not use the radio service as in the past they have confused schools and given out incorrect information. The most accurate and up-to-date information will come from us via the above methods.
Particularly in the case of snow, a day where we have limited opening, it can be a little exciting! If the school is open and it has been snowing, we will ensure the pupils get the opportunity to enjoy it. We would expect them to come to school with their wellington boots, warms coats, hats and gloves. We will then be able to make sure they get out to play safely in the snow and really enjoy such an event.
Should you have any further questions, please do not hesitate to ask. I appreciate that inclement weather can cause chaos and will do all we can to minimise this. Thank you in advance for your understanding and support.