Should pupils be required to wear masks to school ?

[worzelsnurzel123]

Iabu - yes children should be required to wear Masks -this should be compulsory.
Ianbu - no children should only wear if they wish to.

Obviously there are caveats here around children with asthma, anxiety etc but on the whole should it be the norm to wear a mask.

[BogRollBOGOF]

No masks.

About a third of any class would be exempt due to asthma, autism, anxiety, ADHD etc.
Education relies on communication and relationships and masks distort speech and remove non verbal communication, especially to those with hearing impairment or processing difficulties. (Pluse the "why should I wear it if Johnny doesn't have to" factor)

Masks should be replaced frequently, stored hygienically. They are at best useless and worse breeding grounds for bacteria if not replaced or regularly manhandled or fidgeted around with. Most masks worn in the community are ineffectively used.

They present fantastic opportunities for low level disruption- whispering and noises, flinging them around for the eurgh factor.

No, no, no. A huge range of disadvantages for minimal benefit.

[AgentProvocateur]

I don’t live in the U.K. at the moment, and the rule here is that everyone has to wear a mask in public - on the beach, at the pool, in shops, at school (when they go back).

I’m amazed by the controversy around masks in the U.K.

[Iwalkinmyclothing]

My eldest child is delighted at the prospect of wearing a mask everywhere. My eldest child is excluded from the mainstream school system and 'educated' via the PRU network, has a depressing history of antisocial and 'low level' criminal behaviour and is general the sort of kid regularly featured on the curtain twitching local facebook groups as "up to no good". He will happily wear a mask, on the grounds that it will make him harder to identify when he is indeed up to no good.

Masks should be replaced frequently, stored hygienically. They are at best useless and worse breeding grounds for bacteria if not replaced or regularly manhandled or fidgeted around with. Most masks worn in the community are ineffectively used.

They present fantastic opportunities for low level disruption- whispering and noises, flinging them around for the eurgh factor.

Yes, this. "Everyone should wear a mask!" is becoming the new "Just fucking stay inside!" on here.

[FanFckingTastic]

Given that kids are not - in general - a high risk group and the thinking at the moment is that they are not likely to be super-spreaders either it seems crackers to insist on them wearing a mask at school. A mask worn incorrectly is pretty useless anyway as I understand it. I think that something like this would be a whole lot of faff and discomfort for negligible benefit.

[worzelsnurzel123]

I think that wearing masks will become really difficult for all the reasons outlined. Unless the pupils have the see through ones where the mouth is visible, the teachers may find it hard to hear the children properly when they are asking/ answering questions. All sorts of high jinks could take place involving shouting out/ inappropriate words etc ( secondary more so) and the teacher may not know who the culprits were. Also pupils are likely to forget, loose masks.

Pupils with disabilities who can’t wear them eg asthma may become more of a target for bullies.

[Imaystillbedrunk]

I'm not sure primary school children would be able to put them on correctly, not touch them or play with them, therefore negating the use of the mask

[worzelsnurzel123]

Yes the upside would be for teachers who have been shielding who need to come back might have felt a little reassurance through others wearing masks. It sounds like they’d cause more problems on balance

[worzelsnurzel123]

Be interesting to hear from those who think IABU

[OverseasTeacher99]

We use them here for all children, age 3 up. No problem.

[ExtremelyBoldSquirrels]

It would be fun teaching phonics In particular with a mask on to a room full of kids wearing masks.

Masks are not magic bloody bullets. Despite what the mask evangelists of MN seem to think.

[puch]

No as I think it would be harder for some pupils to hear properly. My son has a moderate/sever hearing loss and he relies on lip reading a lot. He wears hearing aids which masks would actually make his hearing worse as they pull on the ears. He would be struggle to understand which will put him at a loss.

[Aroundtheworldin80moves]

Maybe at Secondary age, especially when moving through crowded corridors.
Primary- no.

[BigChocFrenzy]

Strangely enough, German teachers and pupils have not found masks a problem

• optional here for both
  
  I also haven't heard problems from other countries where some / all wear masks in school.
  
  Why are so many things impossible to do in the UK school system, but manageable without fuss elsewhere ?

[Picklypickles]

I bought masks for us all, my 8yr old is happy to wear hers but the 6yr old flat out refuses, he is currently waiting to be assessed for ASD and does seem to have a few sensory issues.

[Yellownotblue]

They are mandatory here in Hong Kong schools. Children get used to them very quickly, it’s easy when everyone else is doing it. It’s like putting your shoes before you leave the house, it’s a second nature.

It’s crass and bad science to say that they are “pretty useless”, when there are good studies showing they save lives. It’s also common sense that a barrier that catches germs will decrease the risk of infection.

You just have to look at the number of deaths in mask-wearing settings vs non-mask wearing settings to see that they are efficient.

UK deaths per million: 647
Hong Kong deaths per million:0.9

Since Covid is likely to be around for a long time, maybe years, I think everyone should start adapting. Wearing masks would be part of that. Our schools here (I have DCs at primary and secondary) have not reported any increase in bad behaviour due to wearing masks.

If people can wear them in Hong Kong and Singapore summer heat and humidity, there’s no reason why they can’t be worn in the U.K.

[Yellownotblue]

Why are so many things impossible to do in the UK school system, but manageable without fuss elsewhere?

Quite. Along with testing, PPE provision, contact tracing, proper quarantine, online education. There are so many things the U.K. could have done better. Masks is certainly one of them. But of course they make all of us look like letterboxes, so BJ would not approve.

[amijustparanoidorjuststoned]

I'm baffled by the attitude towards masks in the UK.

Most other countries seem to make them mandatory in most places, with some exceptions for deaf people etc. But we seem to have a very "nah thanks" attitude which I do find bizarre.

[Mascotte]

Oops, tucked wrong box, no they shouldn't

[sunlightflower]

Absolutely not. The evidence in favour of using them is nowhere near strong enough to outweigh the disadvantages, in my opinion.

And I don't have any sensory issues or ASD and neither do my children.

[Mascotte]

Children's masks will be a veritable breeding ground for germs and disgustingness.

[araiwa]

Everybody should wear masks outside of home when with other people

[Yellownotblue]

Children's masks will be a veritable breeding ground for germs and disgustingness.

What data do you have to back this up?

Do you know that masks are either disposable or washable, so you don’t just accumulate germs for days on end?

Evidence suggests that countries where mask wearing is widespread, have a much lower rate of infection. In the case of Hong Kong, the death rate from Covid is 650 times lower than the U.K. I’d say that’s a pretty significant benefit.

[LaurieMarlow]

I don’t have strong feelings about masks, except that young children might find it hard to keep them on. However, that should be overcome if they’re seen to be effective.

I do think that all teachers should have visors. That strikes me as a no brainer and I’m not sure why it hasn’t been talked about much.

[Redolent]

Absolutely.

Older secondary school pupils who have exams next year should, IMO, have been attending classes for the last month. In sports halls, gyms etc, tables spaces apart, Wearing masks.

[Yellownotblue]

So many posters here are still in denial. It’s baffling.

I remember the early days, back in January, when hundreds of posters were saying it was just the flu, and what was all the fuss about?

Then posters were in denial about the fact that panic buying/stockpiling was inevitable. Much mocking of the preppers ensued.

Then all the threads about going on holidays in March/April.

Then the denial about the need for a lockdown.

And now this.

Masks are going to become mainstream. You better get used to them.