NAHT teaching union hits out at 'conflicting advice' over school bomb threat emails
A leading trade union has raised concerns with the Education Minister after what it claimed was 'conflicting advice' about hoax emails containing bomb threats sent to some 300 Northern Ireland schools.
The National Association of Head Teachers (NAHT) was speaking out after the PSNI confirmed that the email was sent to some 300 schools this morning, but that it was treating the email as a hoax.
Similar threats were sent to Scottish schools today, while schools in the Republic of Ireland suffered a similar scare last week.
The News Letter is aware of a number of schools across Northern Ireland which evacuated children and sent them home, however it is understood that most schools carried on as normal.
Rob Kelsall, assistant general secretary of school leaders’ union NAHT, said the threats were "utterly unacceptable" and that every pupil, member of staff and family has the right to expect that schools are safe places to learn and work.
He praised schools' responses to the threats, saying school leaders and staff have responded with professionalism, calm and good judgement in extremely difficult circumstances.
"However, it is unacceptable that some have been left trying to reconcile differing and, at times, contradictory advice from multiple agencies while managing incidents of this seriousness," he said.
“When schools face threats of this nature, they need clear, consistent and coordinated communication from the relevant authorities. Instead, many leaders have been left dealing with uncertainty and mixed messages at a time when they should be able to rely on swift, unambiguous guidance.
“Our members are responsible for making decisions in real time to protect pupils and staff, but they should not be left carrying that burden without the support and clarity they need from the agencies responsible for public safety and education.
“NAHT Belfast has raised these concerns directly with the Minister and has been liaising with the PSNI to help support members as they respond to these threats. We are calling for a joined-up review of how information is communicated to schools during incidents such as these so that leaders can have confidence that advice is timely, consistent and aligned."
The union said that the safety and wellbeing of pupils, staff and the wider school community must remain the overriding priority.
"Schools deserve better than conflicting advice when dealing with situations of this seriousness.”