Hello all, Thermals on! The Met office have issued a:  Yellow warning of snow and ice Here's the  Chief Forecaster's assessment During winter weather which brings snow showers, it is not uncommon for snow amounts to vary considerably across short distances. On Friday and Saturday, the snow showers could lead to snow accumulations which vary markedly across the warning area. Strong northwest winds may cause drifting of the snow in places with blizzard conditions possible across northern Scotland. The warning area is shown below as skirting Weston-super-Mare and lies to the west of that. It does cover travel to work and home areas in S. Wales and the Mendips to be aware of. Please note our travel to work and home areas are affected at the lower end of the warning severity but take into account the chief forecasters words. From: 0005 on Fri 8 December To: 1800 on Sat 9 December During Friday, increasingly frequent snow showers alrea...

Hello all, In this very interconnected country and world we think it necessary to bring this to your attention, suggest vigilance and perhaps some action to communicate with staff and parent/carers about it and provide them with signposts to help and support? Public Health England (PHE) have issued advice for the public to ensure they have had the MMR vaccine after outbreaks of measles are confirmed in 3 areas of England. As of 29 November 2017, there were 16 confirmed cases in Leeds, 11 confirmed cases in Liverpool and 9 confirmed cases in Birmingham. All of the cases have been reported in children and adults who have not received 2 doses of the MMR vaccine. Measles is a highly infectious viral illness that can be very unpleasant and can sometimes lead to serious complications. Children and young people who have not received 2 doses of MMR vaccine are at risk. Unvaccinated people travelling to Romania and Italy, where there are currently l...

The Met Office has issued a Yellow Warning:   Yellow:   Severe weather is possible over the next few days and could affect you. Yellow means that you should plan ahead thinking about possible travel delays, or the disruption of your day to day activities. The Met Office is monitoring the developing weather situation and Yellow means keep an eye on the latest forecast and be aware that the weather may change or worsen, leading to disruption of your plans in the next few days.     Regional Forecast for South West England Headline: Mild and windy. Colder by the weekend. Today: This morning will be mild, cloudy and mostly dry, though light rain is likely over the moors. It will become very windy everywhere with severe gales on hills and coasts. Rain will spread from west to east later. Maximum temperature 15 °C. Tonight: Much of tonight will stay mild, wet and windy with heavy bursts of rain. The rain will clear later and Dev...

Hello all, The first frost has happened so its time to distribute the attached for your attention please.  I haven't included the aspect of one of your most difficult decisions, that of having to announce closure and when, where the approach has been that you don't contact the media yourselves direct so as not to overwhelm and it avoids a hoax, but do tell/feed your local council with the information and they share it. Please take action to find out what arrangements are in place this year in case they have changed with the pressure LAs are under. As usual, we'll keep an eye on those forecasts and communicate with you on them where we thing a warning is justified. As ever, any gems to add are gratefully received. All the best. Bill

Hello all, The Met Office has issued a Yellow Warning for our area for tomorrow.  You may wish to warn and inform your team and take precautionary actions later today in preparation, eg: batten down the hatches, bring in all that you can, etc, then be vigilant tomorrow as the storm moves through  and be prepared  ​to take immediate safety action if presented with an unwelcome challenge. This may mean agreeing some regular visits to your site tomorrow with key members of your team to reassure yourselves all is well or be able to take remedial action speedily. Today: Friday begins on a dry and bright note with a few sunny spells continuning into the afternoon across the east. However further west a band of wet and windy weather will arrive and steadily spread east with coastal gales likely. Maximum temperature 15 °C. Tonight: Rain clears to the east during the first part of the night with heavy, blustery showers following behind. Turning very windy acro...

Hello all, We've been asked by a number of you about this as there have been deals on offer in the past. I've liaised with Public Health England locally and have the following feedback: Staff in schools, unless they have individual health issues where their GP will be in touch with them about this, are not considered an at risk group (according to the Green Book) see https://www.gov.uk/government/collections/immunisation-against-infectious-disease-the-green-book However, education establishments are known by some as 'super incubators'. So the vaccination is recognised as a contributor to business continuity. Flu vouchers can be purchased by accessing: www.fluvouchers.co.uk You might alternatively contact the pharmacy of your local supermarket or Boots, etc. and enquire whether they are prepared to come to you for a competitive price? Don't forget too that the action of taking on board fully the: Catch It, Bin It, Kill it. adv...

Hello all, We are being far more cautious in these days of fake news, etc. about these warnings. However, the source is part of the Police Service and information useful and may help to track down the perpetrator. I repeat it below for your careful use. ​'There was ​an attempted child abduction last week.  A year 7 pupil at ​a S. Bristol Academy was approached by a man as she walked home alone.  The man attempted to abduct her but the child was able to run away to safety.  The man had a very distinctive snake tattoo on his face. Please can everyone be vigilant particularly at the end of the school day.​'​' Thanks. Bill