Schools in Auckland can open from tomorrow after the Ministry of Education lifted a direction to keep all Auckland schools closed for the week.
A Power of Direction was put in place on Monday as Auckland faced unprecedented weather, bringing flooding and slips to much of the region.
The current power was set to end on February 6, however as part of a daily review, that direction has been lifted with effect from today.
Secretary of Education Iona Holsted said this does not mean all schools have to open from tomorrow, with Stanmore Bay School among those schools electing to remain shut until Monday.
"This decision is based on situational analysis from Waka Kotahi who provide input to the Auckland Emergency Management Situational Report. This information includes high level of confidence in the weather settling, that water is draining more quickly than expected."
Schools that choose to remain closed will not be required to make up the two additional days by the end of the year.
Auckland Mayor Wayne Brown has welcomed the news.
"It turned out to be the right decision to keep schools closed today," he said.
"But Aucklanders are resilient and — where possible — want to get our region back to normal again.
"With blue sky over much of the city, the worst is hopefully behind us."
However, Brown urged Aucklanders to continue to take care, stressing that "our region is saturated" and there's a "big clean up" ahead.
"As everyone heads back to work and school tomorrow, please keep well away from anything that looks like it could become a slip, and do not play in floodwaters."
Speaking to media this afternoon, National leader Christopher Luxon said "It's been good to see the Ministry of Education come around to our way of thinking, to actually give local schools the discretion to make their decisions whether their schools are open or closed, based off their understanding of the local community and what is the best decision for them."
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