Childs School insisting on face masks in lessons

[GrapefruitsAreNotTheOnlyFruit]

My son's school are now insisting face masks are worn at all times indoors except when eating. It's secondary age group. I think this is going to impact on learning but I don't know what if anything I can do about it. I don't know how effective it will be either. If they are supposed to wear them for hours I think they will be fiddling with them, taking them on and off etc. What do people think?

@NC4NW123

Oh these comments make me despair 😩 can’t these poor children be allowed some sort of normality.

This x 1000

They are not poor children - they are happy back at school enjoying learning and see their friends and teachers. The six year old next door neighbours likes his masks with dinosaurs on and tells me he wears it to keep other people safe. Nothing poor about children- they are only scared if adults make them.

Yes. I'm afraid what we're seeing a lot of on here is parents projecting their own issues onto their kids.

I hate masks, I have asthma and anxiety and quickly feel really flustered overheated and short of breath in them. I'm assured by friends and even my elderly parents that for them they're no trouble at all. For the vast majority of kids they're no trouble at all and as with adults exceptions can be made for genuine reasons.

It's hard to understand what the problem is.

I wish DD went to a school that mandated masks. She'd love to wear one - is worried about bringing the infection home.

IIRC there are lots of studies where an infectious person has infected other people but not those masked and ALSO masks reduce severity of disease.

There's loads of WHO videos to help teach how to do properly - it's no more difficult than proper handwashing.

Secondary school children should be wearing them. My kids ( primary age) wear masks when out in public places and that is by their choice as they see other people wearing them so wanted to wear them too.

Teacher with hearing difficulties here. Honestly I have to ask some students to pull their mask down because I literally have no ideas what they are saying.

Also foreign language lessons benefit from seeing the mouth, the facial expression etc.

Kids including teens would fiddle with the masks, take them off to blow their noses, then spread the germs via hands etc. Plus they get moist and unpleasant after an hour or so.

I'm not a fan personally.

I find it really hard to hear students wearing a mask (bearing in mind they're 1 in 30 or less currently so the volume level hasn't adjusted accordingly) and I hate wearing a mask myself. However, if that is what it takes to keeps schools open and staff and students safe then we will adjust. I wear a microphone around my neck for a significantly deaf student I teach and make sure (despite him having a personal ta) that I sit him at the front with a clear visual on me so he has both sound and lip movement/facial expression etc and I can take responsibility for his learning rather than just delegate it to a TA. It's worth it because I have found he achieves way more that way than when delegated to desk by the door for the ta to have easy access but essentially not being part of my lesson.

I'm not sure how hearing impaired teachers work round this - a lot of use of mini whiteboards, lots of independent tasks....? I don't know but again if that's what it takes to keep us open and safe we'll have to find ways. It may be that to get through covid we have to have far more independent learning and detailed marking or we have to be less creative and varied and rely on textbooks more.

I'm sure some posters on mn assume I want schools closed. From a purely selfish perspective I don't. It's actually easier for me to go into my 5 minute walk away school and teach in person part time than to try to navigate online learning again and have my success for the year reliant on whether kids (and parents) at home bother to engage with the learning. Plus I have a 13yo I'd rather was at school and learning in class.

We do have to be realistic and honest about what is needed to achieve that though. I'm one of the only teachers I know (both on here and from friends all round the county and country) whose school hasn't had a positive student case of covid yet and we've only had one member of staff whose tested positive. Realistically it's obviously in our school (it is in all the other schools around us and our numbers per 100,000 are pretty high and at times saw us in the top 6 areas of concern) but thus far no one has had a serious enough case to merit testing and get a positive result (bar one teacher and we have no idea if they spread it as no testing took place to find that out and no one was made to isolate because 'he'd tried to stay 2m away from people where possible').

Currently the guidance on masks here is that it is advisable that students and staff should wear masks in corridors etc but not in classrooms. The head is keen to make us all badger the kids to put masks on but the reality is that it's not compulsory or enforceable and frankly after being in crowded classrooms without a mask for an hour plus it seems a bit meaningless and facile to put a mask on for the few minutes in a corridor where you fleetingly pass people.

I'm not (currently and for my school at least) in the everyone should wear masks always camp but I'm totally open to the fact that it may come to that or it may already be appropriate in some schools.

If we genuinely want schools to stay open then we have to be open to change and mitigations to make that happen.

I'm not a fan. But if it ends up being necessary to keep schools open then there will be no complaints from me.

We're not allowed textbooks or mini whiteboards according to our risk assessment.

I deliver lessons without a mask. Then put one on to circulate. I know they really need to see my mouth to hear properly.

My work round is getting them to uncover their mask to speak to me. Or work in silence so I can hear them!

I do empathise herc. As far as I know I don't have a hearing impairment (last time I had a test my hearing was above average but that was many years ago) but I really struggle to hear what colleagues are saying when masked. I'm supporting a student teacher currently and had her repeat her name 5 times before I gave up because I just could not hear her from behind a mask and shield.

We are allowed those things (though it's hard to have textbooks when in zones so I only get to use them with year ten who are on the floor we're normally based on) given they're in a year group bubble anyway and can sanitise etc.

As I say I don't know how teachers with proper hearing issues would manage - I don't know how I will manage BUT if it's that or closing schools I presume masks will be chosen and we'll have to find ways.

I think you need to try a variety of masks to get one that suits you best. Some shapes are easier than others. I wear a mask to walk round the room and speak (quickly!) to pupils but they don't return the favour. This is increasingly annoying (I know they have the masks as they wear them in the corridor)

Ask to see their risk assessment and reasoning behind the implementation.

No need, we can tell you.

Risk; catching covid in the classroom - high
Mitigation; wearing a mask.

Risk; mask isn't as effective as hoped.
Mitigation; none, because that's not a risk.

Risk; side effects of wearing a mask hinder learning and development of skills/mental health - Low/medium.
Mitigation; monitor. Adapt as necessary.

Children are adaptable. They've been wearing masks for months now. This is a sensible move.

Oh these comments make me despaircan’t these poor children be allowed some sort of normality.

I'm so sorry that the pandemic isn't to your taste. Me neither.

Excellent. I worry about the standard of education in schools not enforcing (which is most).

I agree masks will be chosen. They're being increasingly worn where I am. The kids are mostly fine with it apart from a few repeat offenders.

Don't underestimate the amount of lip reading even non hearing impaired people do. Masks really do impact on communication. Hence why I deliver without one on.

This is a difficult one. I am very pro-masks in indoor settings BUT children are low risk and do not seem to be catching covid at the rate of young adults, especially the 2 years to 10 years old bracket. I have one DD, the only other children she plays with are her friends at school. If all the children at school were to wear masks all day, the only contact my child would have would be in a mask. She's 7 years old, I can't help but feel that would be really sad...and for the tiny risk that covid poses to her it doesn't seem worth it. BUT II do worry about transmission risk to our vulnerable family members. I just hope that when the government says children don't transmit as much as adults that that is true

@FieldsAndSun

This is a difficult one. I am very pro-masks in indoor settings BUT children are low risk and do not seem to be catching covid at the rate of young adults, especially the 2 years to 10 years old bracket. I have one DD, the only other children she plays with are her friends at school. If all the children at school were to wear masks all day, the only contact my child would have would be in a mask. She's 7 years old, I can't help but feel that would be really sad...and for the tiny risk that covid poses to her it doesn't seem worth it. BUT II do worry about transmission risk to our vulnerable family members. I just hope that when the government says children don't transmit as much as adults that that is true

Children at low risk? You should listen to this.

allneveradullmoment99 Thanks for sharing, the MIS-C iS what worries me most, its interesting to see that he thinks there is a link between having multiple viruses at the same time as Covid and getting MIS-C, I've always put DD in school when she 'just has a cold' but now I won't, I'm talking about sneezing, congestion etc type cold, I just won't put her in if it means she is more at risk for MIS-C

@WhereverIGoddamnLike

I wish people in the UK would stop being so blooyd delicate. Countless other countries managed full lockdowns; not even allowed out for walks, they manage to wear masks at all time including kids in school, they manage to keep their distance and not flood beaches and hill walking locations.

We honestly look like absolute idiots going on about feeling sad, how it's unfair, and now poor kids need to wear a mask. Get a grip

God this. Here we had a lockdown where we had to have a permit to leave the house for food and medical care - otherwise you stayed home. No walks. Nothing. So much for the stoic Brits - we look like a nation of whingers.

I agree with the above totally.

Thailand a much poorer country than us cracked Covid maybe we could learn a lesson or to from them.

www.unicef.org/thailand/stories/school-reopening-how-teachers-and-students-are-adjusting-new-normal-thailand

Id be de registering mine if they pull this shit. Fucking ridiculous.