Purpose
Positive Aspirations is committed to protecting the safety and wellbeing of our staff, foster
carers, children and young people during periods of extreme or severe weather.
This policy applies where a Met Office weather warning is in place for the area in which a
person lives, works or is expected to travel.
The overriding principle is that nobody should be expected to undertake travel where doing so would place them, a child or another person at unreasonable risk.
Red Weather Warnings
Where a Red Weather Warning is in force for the area where you are located or through which you would need to travel:
- Staff and foster carers will not be expected to travel.
- Staff should work from home where this is possible and should notify their manager.
- Routine home visits, meetings, training and other appointments should be rearranged
or moved online. - Foster carers should remain at home with children wherever it is safe and appropriate
to do so.
A Red Weather Warning does not automatically mean that decisions about a child’s school
attendance, family time/contact or other essential arrangements should be made by the
foster carer alone. Where these arrangements may need to be cancelled or changed, the foster carer should discuss this with their Supervising Social Worker (SSW) as soon as possible so that an agreed decision can be made and, where necessary, the child’s social worker or local authority can be informed.
Where there is an immediate risk to safety the foster carer should prioritise safety and notify the SSW or out-of-hours service as soon as practicable.
Yellow and Amber Weather Warnings
Where a Yellow or Amber Weather Warning is in place, travel should be limited to essential
journeys.
For staff, this includes considering whether planned:
- foster carer visits;
- children’s visits;
- meetings;
- training; or
- other work-related journeys can safely be postponed, rearranged or undertaken remotely.
Managers and staff should use reasonable judgement, taking account of the specific warning, local conditions and the journey involved.
Foster carers should take similar precautions. Where severe weather may affect school
attendance, contact arrangements, appointments or other important activities, the foster
carer should discuss the situation with their SSW before cancelling or significantly changing arrangements wherever it is reasonably possible to do so.
Safe Travel Precautions
Where travel is considered necessary during a weather warning, appropriate precautions
should be taken. These may include:
- checking the latest weather and travel information before leaving;
- considering road, rail and public transport conditions;
- allowing additional travel time;
- ensuring vehicles are safe, appropriately fuelled or charged;
- carrying a charged mobile phone;
- taking suitable clothing, water and basic emergency supplies where appropriate;
- avoiding flooded roads, unsafe routes or other known hazards; and
- reconsidering or abandoning the journey if conditions deteriorate.
No member of staff or foster carer should feel under pressure to continue a journey that they reasonably believe has become unsafe.
Communication
Staff should keep their line manager informed where extreme weather affects their ability to work or travel.
Foster carers should keep their SSW informed where extreme weather affects the care of a
child, school attendance, family time/contact, appointments or other significant arrangements.
Where circumstances arise outside normal office hours, foster carers should contact the
agency’s out-of-hours/on-call service where advice or a decision is required.
Safety must always take priority, while ensuring that changes to children’s important
arrangements are communicated and agreed with the appropriate professionals wherever
practicable.
Last reviewed: 19/08/2026
