Termly School Newsletter – Summer 2024

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CSW Resilience Team Termly School Newsletter   

The CSW Resilience Team comprises of Emergency Planning Officers that represent the local authorities of Coventry, Solihull and Warwickshire. We enable compliance with the Civil Contingencies Act through risk assessments, business continuity, training and exercising, recovery and supporting the planning and response to incidents.

The CSW Resilience Team helps schools to prepare for sudden and unexpected emergencies which cause trauma within a school community and overwhelms normal coping mechanisms of the school. We share a termly newsletter which encourages schools to consider their emergency planning procedures. Last term, I introduced myself as the new schools lead and encouraged your school emergency planning lead to refer to the DfE resources and the complimentary CSW developed resources.

This term we are discussing keeping cool this summer. There are several ways that schools can make changes to keep children safe in hot weather, especially as children are more at risk of becoming ill with heat-related issues than adults. For advice on recognising heat related symptoms visit Hot weather and heatwaves.

The Heat-health Alert service - Met Office forewarns of periods of high temperatures, which may affect the health of the public. It is aimed at health and social care professionals and any with a role in reducing the harm extended periods of hot weather can have on health. We encourage schools to sign up for Heat-Health Alerts and to follow the advice shared by the Met Office during an extended hot period.

Hot summers bring regular queries about the maximum temperatures under which staff and pupils should be expected to work in schools. Although it is generally accepted that people work best at a temperature between 16°C and 24°C, there are no specific legal maximum working temperatures for schools or for offices or other workplaces. Very high temperatures can affect the ability staff and pupils to concentrate and to work effectively, and can cause physical discomfort and illness.  It is important that all schools have in place contingency plans to help staff and pupils cope with the heat.

  • Redesigning work areas: moving people away from windows, or installing reflective film, blinds to windows, to keep workplaces cooler.
  • The installation of fans. Portable air-cooling cabinets are also available, which are much more effective.
  • Development of shady areas over time, either through planting of trees or the construction of shelters in playgrounds.
  • Curtailing of certain heat-generating activities, for example, use of computers, Bunsen burners, ovens, design and technology equipment, strenuous physical activity in PE lessons etc, unless effective heat extraction measures can be put in place.
  • Provision of water coolers.
  • Reallocation of classes to cooler rooms whenever possible.
  • Relaxation of dress codes for staff and pupils.
  • Appropriate changes to the school lunch menu.
  • Installation of white blinds and/or reflective film on windows.
  • Use of portable air conditioning units in the worst affected classrooms/staff room (although these can be noisy).
  • Timetabling sports days for earlier in the summer term.

During hot weather it might be necessary to consider amending starting and finishing school early, if staff are happy with such an arrangement, provided that adequate notice has been given to parents. If you’re temporarily closed during severe weather, please consider informing the council by filling out the school closures form to report any full or partial closures of the school, including where classes or year groups are switching to remote learning. Further guidance is available online.

I hope you all had a good break and have a great summer term. Please do not hesitate to contact me regarding your school’s emergency planning arrangements. 

For more information visit - https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/beat-the-heat-hot-weather-advice/beat-the-heat-staying-safe-in-hot-weather

Kind Regards,

CSW Resilience Team

Email: CSWRT@warwickshire.gov.uk