NI schools were closed during storm without ministerial approval

There were a number of road closures due to fallen trees, during Storm Amy, such as this one in Dunadry, County Antrim

Schools were closed during Storm Amy without prior approval from the Education Minister Paul Givan or officials.

During Storm Amy on Friday 3 October, schools in four counties were told to close at midday by the Education Authority (EA).

The Met Office had issued weather warnings for wind and rain during the storm.

But a review by the Department of Education (DE) said the EA made the decision "without prior consultation or approval from the Minister or senior DE officials".

The review also highlighted other concerns which it said "must be addressed as a matter of priority" to avoid repetition of what happened.

Schools in counties Antrim, Londonderry, Tyrone and Fermanagh were told to close at midday on Friday 3 October due to an amber weather warning.

But the DE review said that some "received closure notifications as late as 08:56 am on the day of the storm, causing significant disruption".

"There was also confusion as to whether all schools in County Antrim should close, or whether only schools in County Antrim within the Amber zone should close," it said.

"This led to inconsistent closures within the same county and confusion for schools near county borders."

Schools were closed during Storm Amy without prior approval from the Education Minister Paul Givan or officials

'Communication failures'

The EA had sent the closure advice to schools via email, but many school leaders said that due to the timing of the communication they first learned of the order to close from other sources.

That included the media.

The review also identified communication failures between the EA and the department.

It said that while the EA had attended a multi-agency impact meeting about Storm Amy on the night of Thursday 2 October, officials from the department had not been invited to attend.

While the EA had made the decision to close schools after that Thursday night meeting, a nominated contact at the department had missed a call from the EA at 22:39pm.

The DE official did not pick up a voicemail informing him of the decision until 07:45 am on Friday morning.

Other executive departments also got involved, with the First Minister's Office asking the department just after 0800 on Friday why "there doesn't seem to [be] any comms out. Can you advise re informing parents etc", on the school closures.

At 08:39 on Friday 3 October, the top official at the department, Ronnie Armour, had to send an email to Richard Pengelly, the EA Chief Executive, asking for confirmation of the school closures.

Schools themselves were told 17 minutes after that email of the closures due to the amber weather warning.

The EA had considered not closing schools or full closures but decided that a closure at midday would allow education to continue and allow pupils and staff to get home before the winds were at their worst.

The EA said that while there had been "some criticism of its decision making and its timing, there has also been praise" according to the review.

It said that school principals had praised the collective action and decision-making.

The DE review, however, identified six specific areas of concern including failures of communication and procedures, "geographic confusion" and governance concerns.

It also included 12 recommendations to prevent a similar situation happening in future.

Those include letting schools know "no later than 8.00pm the night before the proposed closure and earlier if possible".