School prints pickup lists after Aula outage delayed pupils

Frejlev School near Aalborg will print its daily pickup lists after an Aula outage left staff unable to check agreements with parents, DR reported. Some pupils had to stay at school longer while staff tried to reach their families.

Municipal IT provider Kombit shut down Aula and several other services on Wednesday afternoon because of a potential security risk. Aula was back in operation on Thursday morning.

At Frejlev School, deputy head Evald Lange Rise said staff could not see which children were supposed to be sent home or to after-school activities. They kept the pupils at school while trying to contact parents by Facebook or phone.

The school will now keep printed copies of the lists showing each child’s arrangements for the day, Rise said.

Martin Eriksen, head of the school leaders’ association in Aalborg and head of Gudumholm School, plans to seek talks with Aalborg Municipality about how schools should respond if a larger crisis takes down multiple platforms and systems. He said schools and staff could manage a more analogue routine, but wanted expectations clarified so schools knew what they should and were allowed to do.