Masks all day at secondary

[Notstrongandstable]

Just had an email from DS secondary school requesting all staff and students to wear masks while inside, all day. They have been wearing them moving between classes up until now.

Just wondering if other schools have requested this, or if our school is blazing it's own trail, so to speak!

Government guidance issued yesterday is all the time except in the classroom, so if its all day everywhere, that is beyond the government's guidance.

No, we have had one saying about in communal areas from the MAT, but they have been doing that a while anyway

Are you in Scotland?

We are in G Manchester and have had a mask requirement since half term... Even in classrooms... With short 'no mask' breaks..

Yes DD has had to wear a mask whenever indoors since half term. But maybe it's the same school and it is a trailblazer! Are you in the W Midlands?

No I'm in the South East..relatively low case numbers, although it is a large city school

Our school has had to wear one all day, inside and out including in class since September. Very very low number area in Tier 1. The school have had no confirmed cases at all...

Ugh, looks like this will be a thing. This is going to make life v tiresome with all the whinging about it! For clarity I am not an anti masker but this is a big ask for kids

So far ours haven’t had to wear one at school at all. I warned my ds, Yr 7, he’d probably have to wear one today ( he always has one in his bag just in case) but he just said they didn’t & that hardly anyone wore one apart from V1 formers.

The school hasn’t had any confirmed cases yet. Not that that should affect anything.

My DCs' secondary school did this for the first two weeks of the autumn term.... it was a hugely unpopular decision at the time, and parents took to the press in their droves to complain, but up until half-term there had only been two confirmed cases in the school (which has 2000 pupils) so I'd say it was a good call. The kids didn't love it but they got used to it pretty quickly. They were allowed regular "mask breaks" and were encouraged to be outside as much as possible.

SE too.

Nope, just in corridors & a few specific classes/situations, but definitely not once at desks in most classes.

They have tried to have small bubbles though.

Day students at largely boarding school

I wouldn't object if it was all day though, neither would the DC.

Just to add obviously I'm keen to help protect teachers, but DS is going to make a huge song and dance out of this!

We still aren't wearing masks anywhere nor is the intention to start anytime soon.

@Notstrongandstable

Ugh, looks like this will be a thing. This is going to make life v tiresome with all the whinging about it! For clarity I am not an anti masker but this is a big ask for kids

Can you not say to them that you know it's not very nice, but they will get used to it & you realky don't want a lot of whinging about it because it's not you making the school rules & it's not something you can do anything about EXCEPT get them the ones that are the most comfortable (but effective!!)

We have various preferences here & I have bought masks accordingly.

@Gright

We still aren't wearing masks anywhere nor is the intention to start anytime soon.

Why not?

Is there a reason you're being so bloody selfish?

Unless you have a reasonable reason to be exempt, you're behaving disgracefully.

In my school and DDs school it has been masks everywhere except in classrooms pretty much since we went back. Two cases in my school and one in DDs and we are in London.

Oddly enough my autistic 12yo has chosen to wear his mask all day since the first day back in September. He says he just feels safer that way. I know that his mask protects others not him, but anything that helps him cope is a good thing so I haven't disabused him of the notion!

They will get used to it really quickly. And interestingly he hasn't had a single sniffle cold wise yet whereas his brother who only has to wear it in communal areas had had two colds already 🤷🏻‍♀️

Would love kids to wear them but head has decided it's only guidance (should not must) and he'd rather they didn't :(

Mine wear them all day at school except when they eat. No complaints at all (I’m actually surprised).

Would love kids to wear them but head has decided it's only guidance (should not must) and he'd rather they didn't

Ha, see our head said that not wearing them back in September was only guidance and so the students have had to wear them in communal areas since the autumn term began! In fairness we've only had one confirmed case so far so it seems to working.

It's so strange how schools have done their own thing.

'be' working.

Been working in a secondary who has just introduced mask wearing in communal areas indoors. Didn’t see a single child without one outdoors. All just getting on as normal. Quite surprised how easily it seems to have been

Kids all wearing them at my school. No quibbles. No problems.

Just to clarify..they already wear them between classes and have done since September. This new change is to wear them all day in lessons too. So they can only take them off at lunch times when outside

It's not that big an ask really.
Even just for a few weeks to get us through winter, keep teachers safe etc would be be helpful.

We have become so spoilt and flabby haven't we. Children in Africa walk miles barefoot to get to basic prefab classrooms with few resources and they seem very grateful.

Wearing a mask for those with no issues, is a very small ask to make such a big difference as we head into a winter where this virus thrives.