SCHOOL IS CLOSED THURSDAY 14th JANUARY 2010

I have just completed a site visit and the Chair of Governors and I have decided to close the school on Thursday 14th January 2010. The main road is clear, but the snow ploughs that were used to clear the road overnight have sprayed slush on to the pavements which has already frozen.and the surrounding streets are still under inches of snow. RCT have withdrawn their home to school transport tomorrow. The school will be open for staff in the morning, unless conditions deteriorate overnight. We plan to reopen school on Friday as usual as conditions are due to improve throughout the day, I will confirm this tomorrow on this site.

My thanks go to our relief caretaker who has begun clearning the snow from paths and will continue to make improvements to the site tomorrow to make sure that we are open on Friday. I would like to thank everybody for their patience this week in what must be the most difficult of times in recent years, Thank you for your co-operation. I have been in touch colleagues and our cluster schools have also made a similar decision. Please will parents circulate this information to others. We will also post this link to our facebook page.

WEATHER UPDATE AT 10 am JANUARY 13th 2010

It is still snowing in the village and my sources report that there is between 8 - 10 inches of snow on the ground.

RCT has advised staff to take extreme care and not to put themselves or others in danger by attempting to access areas affected by heavy snow. However, I plan to make a site visit later today to see if it will be practical for us to make the pathway from Ystrad Road safe enough to open the school tomorrow. The Chair of Governors and I will discuss a number of possibilities from closing the school to opening with reduced a timetable. I also need to contact staff members to assess their local circumstances and to see if we have an adequate complement off staff. I will make a decision later in the day and post an update on this site and our facebook page.

SEVERE WEATHER WARNING FROM RCT CBC MONDAY 11th JANUARY 2010

RCT issued the following weather warning at 3.30 p.m. this afternoon.

"This is a weather forecast, prepared by the Met Office specifically for Rhondda Cynon Taf CBC, which we have received within the last 30 minutes. You may, therefore, wish to make contingency plans for tomorrow, to send pupils home early if the forecast materialises, "

On Tuesday afternoon, a band of persistent sleet and snow will push in slowly from the south-west. This is expected to continue into Tuesday evening and right through until Wednesday morning. Some of the snow will be heavy, threatening widespread and very significant accumulations (especially, but not exclusively over the high roads) with greater than 15cm possible. RSTs below zero with widespread ice. Fog developing over the high routes too. On Wednesday daytime, outbreaks of sleet and snow will become lighter and more patchy, but may persist for much of the day, with further slight accumulations. Widespread ice. The rest of the week is expected to remain cold, although milder conditions will attempt to move in off the Atlantic. As a result, there is low confidence in forecast cloud amounts and RSTs through the week but they are likely to be below zero at times with ice. Snow is possible at times, but this threat will mainly become confined to the high roads where it will also be very foggy.

As a result of this advice schools in the area are closing at lunchtime tomorrow. Please will you organise that your child is picked up after they have had their lunch. Packed lunch children can be picked up at 12 noon.
Nursery and Reception children to be collected at 12 noon.
Year 1 and 2 children at 12.15 p.m.
Junior children will be picked up at 12.30 p.m.

PLEASE WILL ALL PARENTS KEEP THEIR MOBILE PHONES SWITCHED ON DURING THE MORNING IN CASE WE HAVE TO EVACUATE THE SCHOOL.

SCHOOL WILL BE OPEN TUESDAY 12th JANUARY 2010

I am delighted to announce that school will be open on Tuesday 12th January for all pupils. As you can see, the relief caretaker has cleared a path from the gate at Ystrad Road to the main entrance and the nursery door. Please can we observe the following safety precautions.

• Children in Nursery should be brought to the nursery door as usual NO EARLIER THAN 8.50 a.m.
• Children in Reception class, Year 1 and Year 2 must be accompanied by an adult and brought to the main entrance under the clock NO EARLIER THAN 8.50 a.m.. They will be taken to their classes immediately.
• Children in Years 3, 4, 5 and 6 should also come in to school via the main entrance NO EARLIER THAN 8.50 a.m.
• SCHOOL WILL FINISH FOR ALL PUPILS AT 3 p.m.
• THERE WILL BE NO BREAKFAST CLUB tomorrow.

The surrounding streets and pavements are still very icy and I would warn you to take extreme care when walking to school or from your car. This situation may continue around the school for some time as the LA have no plans to grit schools and their environs and we do not have any stocks of grit in school or are likely to source some for s considerable length of time..
In addition PLEASE DO NOT USE THE SCHOOL CAR PARK as we have been unable to clear it of the snow that fell last Wednesday morning.
I apologise for the disruption to your children's education and hope that the coming days will see a return to normal.