Wise Owls Childcare have an adverse weather policy in place to ensure we are prepared for adverse weather such as heavy snow/storms. In the event of disruption caused by adverse weather, the prime concern of the setting must always be the safety of the children, their families, and our staff. As a company we risk assess the safety of all before any decisions are made with Wise Owls operating its services. We will make every effort to stay open and to cause as little disruption as possible.

All our staff are expected to attempt to get to work, in the event of staff shortages we will try to organise staff from other settings. If ratios cannot be maintained or if we feel the safety health or welfare of the children is compromised, then we will make the decision to close or alter our usual opening times. If high snow fall is forecast during the day, then the Manager will speak to the Director and a decision will be made as to whether to close the nursery early and parents will be contacted to arrange early collection of their children.

Any decisions will made by the Manager in conjunction with the Director and will consider the safety of the children, their parents, and the staff team. Parents will be contacted by email in the first instance and then by phone.

As per our terms and conditions if the setting closes due to circumstances outside of our control no refund will be given.

As a company we risk assess the safety of all before any decisions are made with Wise Owls operating its breakfast, after school and holiday clubs. If heavy snow falls overnight and continues into the following day, parents are asked to observe the following procedures.

If adverse weather is due them the breakfast club may open from a later time until we can establish if the school’s, we cater for are open. Schools usually update their website and inform parents between 7.00-8.00am, in this case the breakfast club would only open from 8.00am if the schools are open.

Wise Owls will post updates on our social media pages and send an email to all parents to provide information of the situation. In particular, parents will be advised if the schools that Wise Owls run remain open, we will operate a normal timetable if our staff can reach the site safely and we can maintain ratios. If the host school is closed, Wise Owls will not be able to operate at that particular setting.

If the school is open, we will aim to remain open until the end of the usual session (6.15pm) however in the event of extreme weather during the afternoon session it will result in the children needing to be collected early. You will receive a phone call from our staff to advise collecting your child, if you work further away, we kindly ask that you make other arrangements for an emergency contact to collect your child for you.

If in doubt, you may also telephone the office (01628 620013) but please check our social media (Facebook and Instagram) and your emails first before phoning.

As per our terms and conditions if the setting closes due to circumstances outside of our control no refund will be given.