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Education, Leisure and Housing

Winter Newsletter 2023 - 2024

IMAGE: The Orkney Islands Council crest and the words “ORKNEY ISLANDS COUNCIL”. The motto within the crest is not legible.

Weather disruption to schools

There will inevitably be days during the winter where the weather causes disruption to both schools and school transport. This newsletter contains the information most frequently requested by parents and carers.

Orkney Islands Council and the Scottish Government share the same clear objective of keeping schools open, wherever practicable, to minimise both the impact on education provision, and the wider community.

During times of severe weather, Education, Leisure and Housing will:

  • Work to keep our schools open wherever possible.
  • Provide a good educational experience during times of disruption.
  • Enable as many pupils as possible to access work from home.
  • Provide pupils with specific work for home study.
  • Provide opportunities for pupils to ‘catch up’ with work where necessary.

Where to find up-to-date information

Mornings

  • The OIC School Transport Facebook account should be your first stop for information regarding school closures and changes to school transport. Note this is an information only post and will not be monitored or replied to.
  • The Facebook page and OIC Twitter feed are both updated as soon as information is available, this can be as early as 06:15. Note: this service is provided by the Council’s Roads Service.
  • Information about, and links to, the OIC Facebook and Twitter pages are available at: https://www.orkney.gov.uk/Council/O/OIC-Updates.htm.
  • Where possible school closure information is passed to BBC Radio Orkney, for broadcast on their programme at 07:30 (on 93.7 FM) and is also posted via their Facebook account.

Note: In bad weather conditions it is often challenging to obtain specific route information, as this will depend on the local weather and road conditions. We therefore are only able to advise whether there may be disruptions to school transport in general. We are unable to respond to specific enquires as the information we receive is network wide.

Throughout the school day

  • Schools have arrangements in place to contact parents if the school is closing early, or if scheduled transport times are brought forward.
  • OIC School Transport Facebook media will continue to provide information on any disruption during the day.

School Transport and Parental Responsibilities

During periods of adverse weather, it is possible that some or all school transport may be cancelled or required to operate a curtailed service (for example main roads only) depending on local road conditions. As the driver of the school transport has responsibility for the safety of their passengers and vehicle, changes may be made by them during the school run including cancellation. We will endeavour to communicate any changes as quickly as possible.

If your regular pick up/drop off point is on a side road and conditions in your area are poor, you may wish to use the alternative point, where your side road meets the main road, for pick up and be there in the afternoon for drop off.

Decisions to cancel or amend school transport routes are taken in the interests of the safety and welfare of pupils, bus drivers and other road users. These decisions are taken by conveyors in liaison with Education staff and will consider the prevailing weather forecast and road conditions.

We have been working with Stagecoach and they will be producing a more detailed list of routes that are impacted on a day to day basis and this will be posted on OIC Transport Facebook page around 7am.

Throughout the winter months the Met Office often issues ‘Yellow’ (be aware) warnings for both wind and snow/ice. On rare occasions these are upgraded to ‘Amber’ (be prepared) warnings.

Where an ‘Amber’ warning is issued with advance notice from the Met Office, this will automatically mean school transport will not operate for the duration of the warning (when any of the warning period includes school hours). Notification of this will be via sources listed above.

In deciding whether a school will be closed, as a rule, we will still review on the morning of the predicted severe weather, as it may be that the weather has since changed for the better and, whilst there will be no transport, the schools could remain open.

As the inevitable short daylight hours of Winter approach, as always, we urge parents and carers to remind children of the importance of crossing the road safely, and of being seen in the dark. Please remind children that they must never take a signal from any driver to cross – as the driver may not be able to see if the road is clear in both directions.

IMAGE: A school-road-safety graphic showing a school bus, a car, and two children crossing a road. It carries the text: “Never take a signal from any driver to cross – they may not be able to see if the road is clear in both directions.” and “Check Before You Cross”. It reinforces the advice to wait until the bus has driven away and the road is clearly visible in both directions before crossing.

Parents are responsible for their children until they have boarded school transport each morning, and from the moment they alight from the afternoon journey. To minimise the risk of accidents it is advised that parents stand on the same side of the road as the pick-up and drop-off point. Pedestrians should only cross when the bus has driven off and you can see clearly in both directions.

Over the winter months when conditions of severe weather can arise, we advise that parents agree a length of time, such as 20 minutes, that children will wait for transport at their designated pick-up point before returning or contacting home if it has not arrived. Parents should then contact the conveyor direct in the first instance so they may advise if there has been a delay, and if a vehicle is on its way. Their telephone number is on your route allocation letter (we recommend you save or keep their phone number handy).

Make sure your children are aware of what to do if the bus is late or does not arrive. It is good practice for children to have an emergency contact number with them. It must be stressed that the responsibility for the safety and welfare of children prior to boarding school transport remains with the parent.

If there is no school transport due to bad weather, parents must decide whether it is safe to transport their children to school. We expect parents to base this decision on the conditions in their area. We do not expect that all parents will be able to transport their children. Should a parent decide that it is not safe to put their child to school, then they must contact the school stating that the absence is weather-related, and the absence will be marked as authorised.

If school transport is cancelled in the morning by the operator and parents make the decision to transport their children to school, they must also arrange their afternoon transport as the operator may not be operating. If the weather has greatly improved throughout the day, transport will be scheduled to take pupils home, this will be communicated through our Facebook page.

Parents also need to be available to pick up their children earlier if conditions deteriorate and an earlier closure is needed. It is therefore essential that parents provide the school with up-to-date emergency contact details. In the event of an early closure schools will contact parents. It is important that parents are familiar with the emergency closure procedures and can be reached on the numbers given.

Be Safe, Be Seen, Be Warm this winter

We are pleased with the uptake of Hi-Viz vests issued to P1 pupils each year.

It is important that pupils are seen – whether walking or cycling to school or waiting for the school bus. Pupils should understand the difference it makes in terms of motorists being able to see them in plenty of time, and wear (or carry) something bright or Hi-Viz (reflective strips on coats, bags, shoes, LED flashing lights etc).

IMAGE: A safety sign for winter travel displaying the words “Be Safe”, “Be Seen”, and “Be Warm”. It shows a child wearing warm, high-visibility clothing and carrying a light, reinforcing the advice to remain visible and warm.

Pupils should also dress warmly to suit the weather conditions in case there is an unexpected delay to school transport.

After completing cycle training, pupils cycling to school should take the same safety measures as those walking and wear reflective clothing. In addition, it is strongly advised that they wear a cycle helmet and have fully operational lights – red at the back and white at the front. Red rear reflectors and spoke reflectors will also help ensure that cyclists are seen in the dark.

Coughs, colds, sneezes, COVID and Winter Vomiting Bug

Coughs, colds, sneezes and Winter vomiting bug

Winter is also a time where there can be an increase in illness among pupils. This can be for many reasons but could include (for example) norovirus, also known as the “winter vomiting bug”.

Sensible precautions (and behaviour to be encouraged) to help stop the spread of all coughs, colds and sneezes at this time of year would be in line with the ‘catch it, bin it, kill it’ campaign – this refers to using tissues, putting these in a bin and maintaining good hygiene through hand washing.

A person who develops symptoms of the bug (vomiting, and/or diarrhoea) needs to be isolated from other people as far as possible for 48 hours after the last episode of diarrhoea or vomiting.

Any questions or comments

Further details of various aspects of school transport provision, including the school transport policy, frequently asked questions, and advice to and the responsibilities of parents/carers, is available at https://www.orkney.gov.uk.

Alternatively, please contact Education, Leisure and Housing on 01856 873535 extension 2433 or email education.leisure@orkney.gov.uk.