General advice

Hormead First and Nursery School puts the safety of our children, staff and families at the front of everything we do.
Our site, emergency procedures, fire evacuation and response alarm procedures are reviewed annually by the Headteacher and Governors. We base these procedures on our understanding of the school, the Government and Hertfordshire County Council guidance. 

Drills

We will carry out fire drills every term. These drills are practiced at all times of the school day which ensures that different staff teams and children get a chance to understand what they need to do to ensure everyone is safe.
During a drill, adults are asked to support children, ensuring they are moving to the fire assembly point quickly, quietly and safely.
These practice drills take place without prior notice and parents are not informed of when they will take place.  However, there are times when children with specific needs may be given prior warning to help support them.
Once a year, the school carries out an evacuation off site.  Our off-site evacuation point is Hormead Village Hall.

Communication 

If an emergency occurs while the children are on site we will communicate with parents in the most appropriate way, that could involve the following;

• A whole school email
• A whole school Ping message
• A whole school Class Dojo message
• Individual phone calls 
• Updating the school website with key announcements   

If the phone lines are down, please look at the website for key announcements.
If the internet is down, please be reassured that your children will stay on school site, under our emergency procedures and will be looked after until communication returns and we can get in contact with parents. 
When there is severe weather we will also use the above communication links to share with you as quickly as possible what our response plan will be.
Collection if an emergency occurs: 
The school will always keep your child at school if it is safe to do so.  If we need to evacuate off site then children will walk to Hormead Village Hall.
We will keep children at the Hormead Village Hall site until parents arrive.  Communication will be key in such a situation as this and our school staff will work hard to keep parents up to date with the developments. 

Lockdown procedures

If there is a risk of harm in the local area and the need for a lock down is put in place, we will secure the school.
At this point communication with parents via the methods above will be carried out but only when it is safe to do so. We will be liaising with the police and the local authority when making decisions on when it is considered safe enough to re-open the school.
During this time, we will encourage parents to stay at home and not come to the school. We will communicate with parents at all times to keep everyone up to date with the situation.

Trips 

If an incident occurs while children are out on a trip the group leader will liaise with the Headteacher or senior leader at Hormead School.
Emergency procedures will then be put in place and the staff with the children will make appropriate arrangements to keep the group of children they are with safe. The group leader will liaise with senior leaders from the school about how to return to school safely. We will take advice from the local authority and police. We will again communicate with all parents via communication outlined above whenever further information is brought to light.

Bad Weather and School Closure

Very rarely there may be a school closure due to snow or ice, or due to other reasons beyond our control, ie burst water main.
If at all possible, we will try to keep the school open, but we may have to act to ensure we can maintain proper standards of Health and Safety to keep children safe. In these cases, we will make a decision based on common sense and by following local authority guidance.
When the school needs to close we will use the above communication links to share with you as quickly as possible what our response plan will be.
If you have learned of a school closure, and you are sure it's accurate, please inform other parents you may have contact with.