Why not masks for all in secondary schools ?

[countryroses]

Why not ?

I know several people who agree with me that it is admitting that there is a risk in schools, so bad PR for Boris and his cronies. Not all of them are teachers either, but most of them are!

I would be happier with them as a secondary teacher and as the parent of 2 teens myself.

Because you can’t force teenagers to be uncomfortable at best all day long in a place that they are legally required to be, when the risk to them is so small.

schools haven't got the funding to provide them to each student every day.
Some parents cant/won't provide them with one for various reasons
Some children will give the "i forgot my mask sir" "I left it on the bus miss" excuse to try and get out of lesson
Some children can't wear masks for medical reasons

Not an exclusive list and they won't all apply to every child in every school but certainly some of barriers that could arise.

I think there should definitely be a choice to wear one though and I think a lot probably would wear them, teenagers are very much follow the crowd attitude it would probably become the latest fashion accessory.

Because they are uncomfortable and will detract from learning!

Because at some point idiots have to realise that the virus isn't the one and only important thing in the whole world and that you absolutely have to, at some point, get the fuck on with living, and that expecting teenagers to sit all day with their faces covered, trying to hear and understand someone at the top of the room who also has their face covered is fucking bonkers nonsense that only panic-ridden fools would suggest.

Bless em, mustn’t be uncomfortable. What resilient giants the kids in China, South Korea, France, Belgium, Canada etc etc must be.
It’s a pandemic. Unprecedented global health crisis. Kids are not unaffected. Transmission does not stop at the school gate. Come on, we can be smarter than this - why not implement more outside time for regular mask free breaks throughout the day? There’s so much we could do to try & cut community transmission before winter hits.

Because children would be wearing masks for a very long time every day. My DD is 11 and goes in by bus. She would need to wear a mask for 7.5 hours every day. She, like most people, gets hot, uncomfortable, irritable and distracted when wearing one around a shop for 30 mins let alone 7.5 hours. Learning would be hampered hugely as would meeting and getting to know new faces in a new large secondary school esp when she hasn’t been in school since March (not allowed back)
As PP said, kids will forget them, some parents won’t provide them and schools don’t have the resources to provide them everyday

I think a compromise should be made where secondary children wear masks when walking around the school premises and in rooms which cannot be ventilated (no opening windows.) I think it is hypocritical to mandate that they wear them in shops, on public transport and all other indoor spaces but not schools at all.

School staff should also be allowed to wear clear visors particularly when working alongside a child in close proximity and extremely clinically vulnerable school staff should be allowed to wear a mask and a visor in primary and secondary if they choose along with extremely clinically vulnerable children.

when the risk to them is so small. but it's OK if the teachers get it suffer and worst case scenario die...

Wish someone frome outside the sector would create a petition for this. You'd get >100,000 sigs in a week. Us and teachers can't because we'd get bullied out of our school if they ever found out.

Can you imagine? What are you going to do with the kids who refuse, or don't have one or don't wear it properly?

Not worn and handled properly they could even increase the risk of transmission.

Are you going to have regulation masks or will students be allowed to be individual with them? So the people who don't have the "right" kind of mask......? Which will have nothing to do with how safe they are.

I give it less than 24 hours before there's a viral prank doing the rounds involving some sort of torment involving masks. Dirty masks being used to "tease" others etc

Plus all the stuff like not being able to hear each other, whether a mask is actually of any benefit if you wear the same one all day, how you're going to supply all these masks, even the environmental impact of doing so.

If period poverty is a recognised thing that prevents girls going to school, our most deprived students will miss out on education because they don't have masks.

52 million masks which are "not the right type" for healthcare purposes are currently taking up space in hospi stockrooms.

Hospital not hospi

If they were made compulsory then there would be a constant battle with the kids who constantly push against it because it is a rule to push against. If they are wanted it is better being allowed or encouraged. As pp said teenagers largely follow the crowd and when the in crowd wear them most of the others will follow. Please not school uniform masks/colours as that really won't work.

@TopCherry agreed. Parents and carers need adults in school to be well to keep the school staffed adequately and therefore prevent closures. It will also be really disruptive to the children’s learning if the teacher contracts Covid and has long term symptoms (e.g. 8 weeks+) like many posters on here have reported such as breathing difficulties and extreme bouts of fatigue. In this situation I wouldn’t expect the teacher to be rushing back to school before they are properly well (which is what usually happens in the school I work in) as such little consideration has been made for their safety in the first place.

Yes they should.

My eldests secondary is encouraging teacher and pupils to wear masks. I have emailed the school in support. DS is more can happy to wear a mask.

Whereas my youngests secondary requires a permission letter from parents and only plain masks to be worn. So now I have to get a friend to custom make a pile of plain colour masks. The whole school will crumble if they have patterns or polka dots on them apparently .

@TopCherry

52 million masks which are "not the right type" for healthcare purposes are currently taking up space in hospi stockrooms.

Lovely, that's about 2 weeks' supply

It'd be no different to the usual uniform battle. Tbh it in my opinion as a teacher may possibly be easier assistance the majority wouldn't flout a H&S rule. Yes you get your little dickhead who'd kick up a fuss but there would be serious repercussions that it wouldn't be often. You just need a head teacher with a strong back bone.

@megletthesecond

Yes they should.

My eldests secondary is encouraging teacher and pupils to wear masks. I have emailed the school in support. DS is more can happy to wear a mask.

Whereas my youngests secondary requires a permission letter from parents and only plain masks to be worn. So now I have to get a friend to custom make a pile of plain colour masks. The whole school will crumble if they have patterns or polka dots on them apparently .

So is the school just encouraging mask wearing or making it compulsory because there's a mask difference between them?

The written permission in your youngest school, is that permission to wear a mask or permission to be exempt from wearing a mask?

*massive not mask 🙈

www.google.com/amp/s/www.bbc.co.uk/news/amp/uk-scotland-53863136

It's being considered in scotland now.

Because teenagers in general love to moan and complain and rebel against rules.. yes I know its a sweeping generalisation and I know everyone on here has kids who do what they are told but in the real world..

Teenagers will take the mask off as often as they can get away with it
The teacher will spend a lot of time saying where is your mask put your mask on please. No wearing it on your arm is not funny

They will take them off at break and lunch they will then drop them , lose them etc and someone else has to pick them up

What are schools going to do if they dont wear a mask..put them in detention?? no point they are then there longer with no mask.. send them home?? how many teens will just say cool and miss school.

Seriously? So you agree with kids, some as young as 11, having to wear masks all day whilst they are trying to concentrate on learning? Do you even realise how difficult that would be for them.

There is no good reason why not. They manage in other countries and it should happen here.

But there is a demented fringe group determined that it shouldn't happen. They really hate teachers.

I see so many problems being raised to something other countries have managed. We can find solutions that work. Don’t let the perfect be the enemy of the good. Not all children can wear masks. Some will mess around. But we just need most to do it & transmission risks come right down so we can keep schools open for longer & reduce risks to our families & wider community.
Surely this isn’t beyond us?