AIBU to want to wear a mask again in my classroom

How could anyone be angry by someone wearing a mask?!

is this a thing?!

my mind is blown

Modern classrooms have windows that only open a crack due to Health and Safety

Rubbish - modern classroom, windows & door open so through draft, 30 kids and we hit between 550-600ppm.

Agree with this. In a modern classroom with lots of windows and only 20 pupils, the baseline is around 1300. It's farcical to suggest the school will invest in air filtration - we had a condemned boiler and just had to manage without heating at one point! County council was well aware.

Your argument is utterly ridiculous, because by far the greatest entrance route for an airborne virus is through the mouth and nose - and an FFP3 mask is more than 99% effective in stopping that. Other entrance routes are infinitesimally small by comparison.

By your logic, since seat belts are unlikely to offer much protection against a concrete lorry hitting you head on at 70mph it's pointless wearing them.

"I am fortunate to do most of all my teaching without a mask by standing near an open window. When I see the numbers creep up on my CO2 device, I open a second window, maybe put a mask on for 10 mins until they fall again."

Don't forget the earplugs and goggles - all perfectly sealed against the virus-laden air of course. Maybe granny knickers too. Because viruses enter the body through mucus membranes. Wearing a mask for 10 minutes in this context is a new level of crazy.

Are you sure they're not sat in a cupboard somewhere? Unfortunately messaging has been so poor I know some schools didn't even bother to unbox them. Unions have been constant in informing members how they should be used and access to HEPAS. You are entitled to be working in a safe environment that meets HSE regulations.

Your school would have been provided with CO2 monitors for every classroom and access to purchase HEPA filters if required.

Nope, didn't happen, and in the few schools that it happened in there were not enough C02 monitors for every classroom.

Hah, no one cared during an actual pandemic, they certainly won’t now.

You need to speak to your head in that case as they are breaching HSE ventilation rules and government school ventilation. Your school would have been provided with CO2 monitors for every classroom and access to purchase HEPA filters if required. Education staff are one of the highest professions along with medical staff suffering long covid. You should not have to risk your health to teach - and nor should the pupils.
www.gov.uk/guidance/using-co-monitors-and-air-cleaning-units-in-education-and-care-settings

their advice is put an FPP2/FPP3 mask on once numbers reach 800-1000, and get out of there if numbers get above about 1700

Blimey, I’d never do any teaching in that case. About 1700 is pretty much baseline for my classroom. I’ve come into it before and it has been 5000 because the previous teacher didn’t open the windows.

Oh dear. Another poster who knows nothing at all about infection control - but thinks she does.

It's possible someone has said this, but the thing I would add for the OP and others is that you can buy a CO2 monitor and this may help you. CO2 is a proxy for how much breathed-out air is in the air you are breathing, vs fresh air. This should firstly give you an idea of how decent the filtration system is in your school. If the CO2 is consistently high, talk to the Head about installing filters? Lots of diseases are airborne so this will help general sickness levels among all staff and students! If levels are usually beneath 800ppm then you may not need to wear a mask at all, apart from very close-contact moments when you can pop one on for a few minutes. I know a couple who are both scientists and work in virology and their advice is put an FPP2/FPP3 mask on once numbers reach 800-1000, and get out of there if numbers get above about 1700. It has worked for me.

I am fortunate to do most of all my teaching without a mask by standing near an open window. When I see the numbers creep up on my CO2 device, I open a second window, maybe put a mask on for 10 mins until they fall again. I've taught since the pandemic, and have done plenty of travelling by train, and am yet to catch Covid. I've caught a cold once since 2019 and it was very light (perhaps since Covid hasn't damaged my immune system - another thing the mainstream doesn't like to talk about). I know the OP said she couldn't open a window and this does make it a more tricky situation, but in terms of making a more general point that's what I was able to do.

It has been enlightening reading some of these responses through and realising how few people realise that Covid is airborne, or that an FPP2/3 mask protects the wearer, etc. I'm also heartened how many people do know things. It's tragic how the world was let down by the mainstream media in the pandemic. I only have the understanding I have thanks to following all the best scientists I could find on Twitter.

Wishing the OP all the best.

Masks don’t prevent you from getting sick, they just slightly lower the chance that you will spread your own sicknesses to others! A waste of time really.

It’s a very odd concept, isn’t it, being in any way angered, frightened or upset by someone wearing a mask to protect their health?

Some very peculiar people about - you have to wonder how they manage if confronted by a dentist or a surgeon!

Me too. a couple of people who work in my local supermarket, people wandering around going about their business.

I think you are well within your rights in these circumstances, and am pleased that the school are supporting you.

As you can see even on this thread, masks are very divisive. Many were angry that they had to wear them during covid, and many cannot bear to see their child disadvantaged in any way however minimal or justified.

I expect you are right that this parent simply cannot accept 'no' for an answer but they will have to. Stand your ground. We should stand up to unreasonable parents more often imo.

I still regularly see people wearing masks - a teacher at our school, a receptionist at the GP surgery, one of my hairdressers.

The OP has already said that the windows are sealed and air is recirculated mechanically, she has no control over it.

I do really understand your worries - I get severe chest infections with asthma and the germs in the classroom are unbelievable. I wouldn't wear a mask though - just make sure there's plenty of circulating air and lots of hand washing etc. I don't know how I'd feel in your situation. Parents send children in with lots of bugs because they need to work and they are harrassed by the council if attendance drops below 95%. Also generally healthy children do need to show some resilience or we'd all stay home all the time.

I hope you come to a solution that suits you.

Sorry, I forgot about Scotland 🤦

You never have to disclose your personal medical information to anyone in this context.
It is something for senior management if the family are still unhappy.

I do think you should see if you can get your flu etc vaccines brought forward as a mask + vaccines is much better protection than just a mask.

I would have assumed you’re recently vaccinated against covid though. I had mine in May but I believe it was rolled out around April 2024 in some areas @EmsHugs did you miss this one?

You really are making yourself look rather silly here. This is all about mitigation of risk, by far the greatest risk is inhalation, and an FFP3 mask will reduce that risk by more than 99%.

What is your problem with that?

I think you need to read up - all the science regardless of country or policy clearly states that the main route of transmission is by breathing it in because its airborne. Wearing a mask does not prevent you from taking normal hygiene practices.

My vaccinated, asthmatic, 9 year old caught whooping cough this year. It’s been 3 months of him coughing until he vomits. Watching him gasp for breath and cry each time is just awful.
If the school are happy (I know it can make the teaching of phonics tricky for example) then wear your mask. Your’s and your baby’s health is your priority x
Congratulations on your pregnancy, OP, sounds like you waited a long time for this little one xx

Well firstly those airborne particles enter the body through those orifices also.

Secondly and more importantly, we generally touch our faces just over once a minute. So give a thought to how many times that virus or other bacteria gets transferred from the aforementioned desk etc to your eyes, ears, nose or mouth.