This page is to let you know what happens at our school in the event of an emergency closure. This is usually due to extreme weather conditions but could also be due to security alerts, national emergencies etc.

The first place to look is our Twitter feed @KibMeadAcademy

We will also endeavour to email or text parents when possible, it is therefore very important that you ensure we have your most up to date contact details.

During the adverse weather conditions we are experiencing at present the school have received a number of queries from parents/carers regarding the school transport. As schools are not responsible for school transport, we have contacted the Passenger Transport Unit (PTU) at Leicestershire Local Authority on your behalf for the following advice:

CUSTOM AND PRACTICE NOTE FOR PTU STAFF DEALING WITH CALLS FROM, PARENTS, OPERATORS AND SCHOOLS DURING EPISODES OF BAD WEATHER

  • We expect contractors to make their best efforts to operate routes as normal – accepting that for some there will be inevitable delays
  • Although the Authority has a responsibility to ‘help facilitate the attendance of eligible children at their schools’ this does not mean we will put their or others safety at risk to achieve this when conditions are such that to operate would place the child and others in danger.
  • We allow contractors to decide which routes they are comfortable operating and indeed, on occasion, to alter the route to miss out suspect parts of the route – individual drivers are also empowered to make these decisions.
  • Where transport is not provided because the operator or driver has determined the route or part route to be unsuitable then we will not make alternative arrangements. Whilst parents should not assume that the pm journey will operate as normal operators will be encouraged to take any students who have attended school home – taking them as near as they are able to normal drop off points where parents should make arrangements for them to be collected.
  • Operators have been told to report to Customer First any routes not operated, operated excessively late, or varied and they will pass this information to PTU.If you require further information or clarification of this information, please ring the Passenger Transport Unit on 0116 3058777.

Kibworth Mead Academy serves a wide area and some pupils live in remote places. From experience we know how quickly roads can become impassable in bad weather, particularly in the east of the area

Please may I remind parents that the final decision to send children to school in snowy weather rests with them unless a school closure notice has been issued. We expect the guidance issued by Leicestershire County Council to be followed if the school remains open. This states that “if the bus is late, you should wait for 20 minutes after the bus was due to arrive at the pick-up point…”. We accept that bus companies must decide if they should risk sending vehicles. It is very important to note that, in snowy weather, if a bus company does not send a vehicle in the morning it will not send one in the evening. If parents decide to bring their children to school in snowy weather they have to pick them up in the afternoon at 3.00pm.

If the weather seriously deteriorates during the day, we send for the buses and get the children home whilst the roads are open. It is usually the case that we have been alerted by anxious parents or by the bus companies themselves. We cannot take chances that, later, children could be stranded in remote places

If you have any doubt please contact either the passenger transport helpline 0116 3058777 at County Hall or the bus company :