Dear Parents and Carers
 
As you will no doubt be aware, a Red Weather Warning has been issued by the Met Office across parts of South-West England and South Wales, due to the arrival of Storm Eunice and likelihood of extremely strong winds and continued disruption throughout tomorrow, Friday 18^th February.
 
We have undertaken a risk assessment this evening to assess the safety of keeping the College open tomorrow. Given the scale of the warning, we have had to consider what we are able to do in the event of power failure, significant levels of staff absence, danger from debris, and the possible risks for students and staff traveling to and from College.
 
The safety of our students and staff is of paramount importance, and as such, we have taken the precautionary decision to close the College for the day. Whilst we appreciate this may cause some disruption for you as parents and carers, we hope you can understand that we have decided upon this course of action in the best interests of the entire College community.
 
Weather warnings of this nature are extremely rare and we therefore take the recommendations of the Met Office very seriously.
 
Our concerns include students travelling in, as well as the possibility of our staff being unable to travel to College due to living in Red Weather Warning areas, so we believe it is part of our duty of care to take this action thereby reducing the staff available during the day. This is further exacerbated by the large number of primary and secondary schools that are closed which also means that some staff may have to stay at home to supervise younger children.
 
To accommodate this, remote learning will be in place for all students, meaning minimal learning time will be lost, and your child will continue to receive support despite the adverse weather conditions. Remote Learning will be primarily set via Class Charts for years 7 -11, and TEAMS for Post 16 students, for each lesson your child is timetabled tomorrow. If you have any issues accessing the Remote Learning, please do not hesitate to email respective teachers. Staff will be available by email at the times of your child's lesson. In some cases, TEAMS invites may also be sent to groups for live face to face learning.
 
I strongly advise that students stay indoors during the severe weather and stay safe.

Should you have any questions or concerns, please do not hesitate to contact us as per the appropriate email addresses on the website, we will endeavour to respond as quickly as possible. Phone calls may not be answered due to the uncertainty of power onsite so please do not phone the College.
 
I can assure you that closing the College is the last thing we wanted to do, especially given the loss of schooling that our students have suffered due to the coronavirus pandemic. However, I hope you can appreciate that this precautionary decision is proportionate to the potential risk to our students, staff, and wider community.

I look forward to welcoming our students back to school on Monday 28^th February.
 
Andrew Davis
Principal
Exmouth Community College