Dear Parent / Carer
Thank you for your support today in getting all the pupils home safely, it was very much appreciated.
I have taken the early decision that The Corbet School will be closed tomorrow and that remote learning will be put in place for the pupils to be accessed through Satchel:One.
The reasons I have decided to make an early decision on this, is based on the weather forecast for tomorrow that would indicate even trickier conditions on the journey to school tomorrow:
- There is an amber weather warning in place across Oswestry, Wrexham, Welshpool and North Wales; a significant number of staff live in those areas, some of whom have not been able to get to school today and more staff are likely to be affected tomorrow. There could be significant staffing issues tomorrow, meaning that we would be unable to open the school safely as we would not have enough staff.
- The Met Office forecast for Baschurch between 5 – 10am tomorrow is for heavy snow, that would indicate that it would be the same situation as today and we have had to close as a result of site safety. The paths that had been cleared and gritted around the site became covered with snow and there was a risk of injury to pupils and staff.
- Our buses may not be able to leave the depot as they are within the area covered by the amber weather warning.
- An early decision for a planned closure means that we can deliver remote education to the pupils (see below).
Pupils will have learning activities set on satchel:one for all lessons by their teachers. The tasks will be set as ‘Classwork’ and should be accessed at normal lesson times. Tasks can be accessed via the pupils’ ‘To Do List’ or their ‘Timetable’ on satchel:one. As is typical with remote learning, activities may not take a full hour to complete due to there not being any normal teaching taking place. Pupils may wish to take a break for their screens and carry out wellbeing activities if they find they have spare time during the school day. Teachers will be available to be messaged on satchel:one should pupils require any support during their normal timetabled lesson slot. There will be no Form Time activity set for pupils; therefore, the school day should begin at 9.10am for Period 1.
It is always a very difficult decision to make but, on balance, the evidence as I have it, would suggest that if we have had to close today it is more than likely it would be the case tomorrow. I am hoping that giving you notice of this enables you to plan yourselves rather than making a late call in the morning or the worse case scenario, as we had today of closing during the day.
Best wishes
Dr Jane Tinker
Headteacher
