How effective is your school's 'closure information' system?

[OnlyTeaForMe]

Because I can't help feeling ours is rather pants...

It's a small independent school, so doesn't have the advantage of county council notices etc, but I still think it could have been better organised.

On Monday at 7.30 I got a call from one of DS2's teachers, who is also a friend, saying 'school's closed - tell everyone you know...' However she wasn't calling in an 'official capacity' - just as a mate.

I sent a text/ e-mail to all other mums in DS1's class, but I'm sure there must have been people who didn't find out.
There was nothing on the website.

At least today they have a notice on the website about going back tomorrow.

I feel I should suggest they have some proper system in place e.g. answerphone message/ website message/ text cascade....

What does yours do?

We have a phone number and a class list. The phone number has a recorded message that is updated fairly randomly. When I called it to check on Monday it was referring to weather conditions for 9th Feb which I guessed was last year!. We are supposed to get a call from the person above us on the list and call the next person. I got a message on my answer machine and I called the next person but it is a bit ad hoc as it is dependent on people having similar morning routines. It doesn't work for those few of us who use the school's before school facility - I left home at just after 7am today to get to the school for 8am (usually 10 min journey). That is way to early to call someone who is not using bsc and planning to drop their child at school in time for school start - 8.50am. I think an automated SMS would work better.

DDs school has an appointed person for each class who we can phone for information on school closure. This worked well today.

It wasn't very snowy here on Monday morning and dd's school was not listed on the website for closed schools. However, when she and all the other children got up there they'd done a U-turn and sent them home, without checking they had anywhere to go. Thankfully, the driver of the disabled taxi was still around.

At the school next to dh's workplace, the school made another last-minute decision and left the lollipop man to inform the parents.

Today, the schools were on the radio broadcast.

Ours private school announced closure at lunchtime yesterday and said there would be no school today.

Of course there was no snow by this morning.

They shuold have left the decision until later and told parents to look at the website at 6.00 a.m this morning to see if the school would open today.

Utterly useless!!!

its on the internet site andlocalradio.

thekids justlooked it up this morning and said " its shut again mum"

i think its a great system

Ours was good (also indep) message on website before 7am each day, text and email at same time.

We have nothing - I've rang the school myself both days (and it took 40 minutes to get through this morning)

I've just emailed the office the link for the Parentmail scheme