AIBU in agreeing with the NASUWT that masks should be worn in schools by over 11s?

[DomDoesWotHeWants]

www.theguardian.com/world/2020/jul/28/unions-call-for-teachers-in-england-to-be-able-to-wear-face-masks

Given that they have to be worn almost everywhere else indoors by over 11s it would be the right thing to do. Adults working in schools have as much right to be protected as bus drivers and shop workers.

So AIBU in agreeing with the NASUWT that masks should be worn in schools by over 11s?

FrippEnos

How about you climb down off your high horse. You seem to have some sort of superiority complex. Most of your posts have been pitiful, but if you saying that make you feel like you've taken me down a peg or two then crack on.

stop pretending that you are some sort of saint that has done nothing to compound the current situation on MN.

Apart from this thread, I don't think I've commented on a single thread about schools going back. What is the current situation on MN Exactly?

Iminaglasscaseofemotion

Oh dear, has it really come to that.
Feel free to make what you think are scathing remarks and I will feel free to pick you up on them and point out your hypocrisy.

My hypocrisy? Thats a laugh. You have nothing of any interest to say anymore. Have a good day.

Well you never did actually.

Iminaglasscaseofemotion
You have nothing of any interest to say anymore. Have a good day.

Excellent my day has just got better.

Well you never did actually.

That makes two of us.

No just you

You two 😂😂

Actually I am interested to know what it has come to? Considering everything I said to you was just me copying what you said to me.
Still not clear what the current situation on MN is though. Can you not explain it?

Well I still want to go back in September to secondary. I will be wearing a mask and I think the majority of students will be wearing masks as well. We have quite a few medics at the school and it was rather telling that they led the charge on mask wearing when Year 10 and Year 12 had lessons in July

Luckily at my school it is free choice on mask wearing

The comparisons between school staff and office workers are so frustrating, the argument just doesn't hold up!

For a start, the advice is still to WFH where possible and many office-based workers are doing this and will continue to do so for some time yet. Where people have returned to office-based jobs employers have been told they have a responsibility to make the environment 'covid secure'. This means that staff will be expected to SD. Many workplaces are allowing staff to WFH part time to limit the numbers of people on site on any given day, making SD easier. This approach doesn't apply to schools because 'us for them' and their ilk won't accept anything less than full time 'face to face' learning for their children.
Where office spaces are too small to allow for social distancing and WFH isn't possible at all, presumably this would mean relatively small staff teams. Very different to Teachers and TA's in a secondary school environment potentially interacting with hundreds of children per day and no ability to SD due to the size of most classrooms. If office based workers were told they had to work in an environment with no SD whatsoever mixing in bubbles of up to 300, with no extra handwashing facilities and poor ventilation, then I'm sure many of them would opt to wear masks!

What about school office staff, we have to go in and have done all the way through lockdown the offices are small and we aren’t allowed to wear masks.

Come September we aren’t allowed to wear masks

PablosHoney that's appalling. You should be free to wear masks if you choose. Staff in my school have been told it's up to us. What reason have SLT given for not allowing this?

I didn’t question it.

I might be being daft but given the quarantine situation and the increase in isolation from 7 to 10 days, I suspect that by September, masks will at least be allowed if not compulsory. It clearly is fast becoming a health and safety issue. My money, personally, is on us getting no further than half term before we are unable to keep the majority of schools open and that at best we will limp along until March when seasonally things improve.

We were told no masks and no visors in my school for staff and children. The reason given was the DfE guidance says we don’t need them. This is somewhat hypocritical given the need for mask wearing in shops and on public transport.

Yes I think that is the same reasoning @Cookiecrisps

Yes, but I don't think the government saying they're not essential is justification for school leadership teams banning them outright. If staff want to wear them why shouldn't they? Our school has said they're not required but its up to individual staff and students if they wish to wear them.

The rules on public transport and shops being different to DfE is why my Head is giving staff and students free choice on mask wearing.

SLT have used the guidance as justification which is bizarre considering they have been willing to spend money on other protective measures including cleaners doing an extra shift at lunchtime and buying decent hand sanitizer, pedal bins etc. I think it’s down to the head teacher’s preference which isn’t a good enough justification.

I say no to masks. I’m a secondary teacher. My hearing is not great and I didn’t realise how much I relied on facial expression.
I wore a mask today to go to the mall. I can’t speak properly in them and I can barely hear anything anyone says to me. I just don’t think I could teach effectively in them or with learners wearing them.

I say no to masks. I’m a secondary teacher
Same here. Would impede communication and learning outcomes. It would be unethical to experiment, but would be interesting to see the difference in outcomes between schools that force of on pupils and those that don't.

@lifeafter50 But what about clear visors? At least it’s some sort of barrier from droplets, coughs and sneezes when working next to children.

Well I'm allowed to wear one so will make my own mind up when back about where and when I will do so.
Corridors I think for definite.

For those schools saying no to masks (not giving people the choice) what is happening with 1:1 TAs? For those TAs who have to sit closer to a student for more than 15 minutes in our schools they have been told they have to wear masks.