12.7.1 Having given due and appropriate praise to all involved in achieving the hugely challenging logistical task of providing an alternative place for every pupil within an amazingly short time-scale, there is still little doubt that the impact of the enforced arrangements resulted in significant concern, inconvenience and disruption to the lives of pupils, parents and staff. Some of the parents expressed the view that the level of anxiety caused by the uncertainty and disruption to their daily arrangements was not fully appreciated by the Council.
12.7.2 There was little that the Council, itself a victim of circumstances, could do to mitigate this negative impact but a complaint made by several parents who gave evidence or made submissions to the Inquiry, was in relation to the lack of clear information from the Council at the early stages of the process. In a number of circumstances, it is evident that this led to a degree of frustration on the part of some parents.
12.7.3 It is also evident to the Inquiry from the records of the daily meetings held, that the Council were constantly aware of the importance of good communication and anxious to keep parents as fully advised as possible. This issue was discussed at every meeting of the CIMT and was viewed as a priority issue. It is also clear from these minutes as to the degree of frustration felt by officers of the Council as to their inability to provide more information and greater certainty in their communications in the early stages of the decant period.
12.7.4 On the Council's part, particularly at the early stages of the closures, the reason for the somewhat limited content in their communication with parents was that they in turn were unable to get the information they needed from ESP to allow them to give firm information to teachers and parents on the extent of the defects, the level of remedial works required and, most importantly, dates for the completion of remedial works and the reopening of schools.
12.7.5 ESP also in turn experienced difficulty, particularly in the initial weeks, in getting firm information from their supply chain.
12.7.6 A very much more positive view was expressed by those parents interviewed as to the quality of communication by the Council during the later stages of the decant, once clearer information had been made available to the Council.
12.7.7 Despite this initial problem, there was also extensive praise expressed to the Inquiry for the many individual contributions made by a wide range of individuals and teams from within the Council and the schools. There was also a major appreciation of the pressures that heads and teachers had been put under and the level of resilience and positivity they were able to maintain throughout the process.
12.7.8 The Inquiry would suggest that, if it has not already happened, the Council should facilitate a joint meeting with representatives of the Parent Councils and heads of schools to review all issues relevant to the management of the closure, and to help inform the development of protocols for future emergency situations which hopefully will not be on the same scale as this one.