Member's statement: Schools: Threatening Emails

Member's statement by Mrs Cathy Mason on 19 October 2026.

MLA: Mrs Cathy Mason
Party at the time: Sinn Féin
Date: 19 October 2026
Type: Member's statement
Business: Members' Statements
Heading: Schools: Threatening Emails
Assembly identifier: Official Report component 5795374

Text

We know that up to 300 schools across the North this morning received a serious threat letter: first and foremost, that needs to be utterly condemned. There is absolutely no place for that in our society, especially not in our schools, where our children should be safe and secure. Yet, principals and parents were left in complete limbo with absolutely no clear guidance or direction from the Education Authority (EA). The confusion was stark. I spoke to one parent who was dealing with having to leave work at the last minute and to deal with the distress of having one of her children's schools closed while her other child's school remained open. Other children were evacuated and left standing outside, unsure of what was happening. This morning, I spoke to one principal who was in turmoil. He had complete fear for the safety of his children and his staff. His words to me were:
"There you go. They have thrown us under the bus again."
Understandably, parents were worried about their children's safety, while schools were left without answers or the support that they needed to make consistent decisions and reassure families. It must be noted that school leaders and staff this morning did their very best in extremely difficult circumstances. They basically were creating emergency guidance and policy on the hoof, and they should be commended for that. The Minister has said that the threat was not credible, and that reassurance is, of course, welcome. However, it does not erase the confusion and the anxiety that families witnessed this morning. School leaders are still not getting clear information. They are getting their information off the media, not directly from the EA. Where was the EA when schools needed it most? The EA cannot simply continue to wash its hands of responsibility and leave principals, staff and parents to fend for themselves. School leaders and staff are sick, sore and tired of what they see: the same pattern from the EA time and time again. Whether with weather warnings or security threats, they see poor communication, a lack of leadership and an organisation that appears all too willing to wash its hands of responsibility, leaving our schools again to pick up the pieces. We now need an explanation of what steps were taken and why schools were left again in that position. Families deserve to know why one school closed while others remained open and why children were evacuated and left standing outside with clear information. The Minister and the EA's chief executive must now account for how this was handled, why schools were left without that direction and what will be done to address the repeated failures.

448 words. Text as published by the Northern Ireland Assembly.

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