Face masks for Secondary Pupils in classrooms

[FatPatty]

I can’t see this being reported anywhere but the Daily Fail are reporting masks to be worn in Secondary schools for first few weeks back.

www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-9287275/Secondary-school-pupils-wear-face-masks-lessons-weeks-school-return-March-8.html

another one coming on here to say that in my kids schools (2 different secondaries) they have worn masks in all communal areas since Sept. Kept years 7, 8, and 9 in small bubbles of just their own class, and many of the children chose to wear their masks in lessons.

They have very very few cases.

While I know that anecdotal evidence is not data, I really would love to see someone gather the data about the link between schools that insisted on masks in corridors, and allowed masks in class v. those that did not allow in class etc, and their incident of covid cases.

For what it is worth, dd2 wore hers from 7:45 when she got on the train to 4:00 when she got home, just removing it to eat. She didn't get hypoxia, wasn't bothered by it etc.
She even spent one night in hospital in Dec and had to wear her maks to sleep in! She was fine.

I have huge sympathy with those struggling with lip reading etc.
But at some point we do need to get back to something for the majority. I would like to see live streaming lessons where possible for example for kids who are clinically vulnerable and can't have the vaccine, and so on.
But we must get the 80+% back to some kind of schooling.
Maybe the government could now gte a group together to think about how we can support those who can't access mainstream education at the moment.

If your children's masks are dirty, you could maybe wash them? Just a thought. I am sure the fifth richest country in the world can figure out a solution, given 5-yr-olds in countries with no water and a temperature of 35 C are wearing them.

@mynameisnotmichaelcaine

I have much sympathy. My hearing is not good and I have struggled at times to hear students wearing masks in class (quite a few of mine do this voluntarily). Likewise, I have had students not be able to hear me through mine, too. All I do is get the kid to slip their mask off one ear (only touching the elastic), say what they want to say then put the mask back on. It’s not ideal but as they are all facing forwards and it’s only for a brief moment, it has worked for me. If a student can’t hear me (which rarely happens) I write my instruction on the board or do as outlined above and slip my mask off slightly and briefly to speak. But really, as long as I have a board pen I can convey exactly what I want to convey with no issues.

@Truelymadlydeeplysomeonesmum
Singing isn't banned in school (well, it might be this time around, I haven't seen any new guidance yet) but it is/was heavily restricted.
Individual and paired singing lessons were allowed as normal as long as paired children were from the same bubble, the teacher wore a visor and was 5m away. (Which practically meant for many schools they were cancelled as practice rooms too small and alternative rooming needed.)

Group singing was allowed from around Oct as long as all the children were from one bubble, they had 10 litre of air each (no idea how to measure that so we just spread them out in large rooms or outside) and there were no more than 15 singers. And teachers wore visors if singing, masks if not.

In productions, technically it would be the same rules but spacing was harder so we aren't with solo, duet and very small group singing only - lots of dividing songs up.

Wearing face masks in the communal areas has been adopted by most schools I believe from June last year, I am concerned about using them in the classroom. We are social animals, our expressions are part of communication. Given most people reuse, fail to wash their masks and children/teenagers are even less likely to follow the protocol I feel it is less useful. We have had almost year of disrupted schooling, we need for to get back to normality for this generation of children. There are risks nothing is totally safe. If children choose to wear a mask fair enough but I do not think they should be compulsory

@twelly children in other countries manage mask protocol. Are we naturally a selfish nation bearing in mind masks are to help other people too, to stop the spread to others.

God, FINALLY.

Can they please get them on the primary age kids as well? Almost every other country has managed this.

I appreciate that this makes things hard for kids with hearing issues, but there are ways round this (I have hearing issues and also have to do most everyday things in my non native language).

By the way, this is yet another reason, IMO, why it might be a good idea if English, Scottish and Welsh schools used textbooks that went home with the kids, as is common in many (most?) countries. It makes things far easier for those of us with hearing difficulties if we have a book covering the course we are studying, so that we can look ahead to see what the next lesson is about, and review the contents covered in the lesson we just did. Given the lack of textbooks in most UK schools, I can only suggest good whiteboard/powerpoint contents for each lesson, and printed handouts to send home with kids.

I am not convinced that the protocol for wearing masks is followed in other countries . Wearing masks is according to the research beneficial but with children that for the most part not going to be followed. It will become symbolic rather than serving the purpose of preventing transmission , given the benefits of facial communication I don’t believe wearing masks in the school setting should be mandatory

[quote Armi]@mynameisnotmichaelcaine

I have much sympathy. My hearing is not good and I have struggled at times to hear students wearing masks in class (quite a few of mine do this voluntarily). Likewise, I have had students not be able to hear me through mine, too. All I do is get the kid to slip their mask off one ear (only touching the elastic), say what they want to say then put the mask back on. It’s not ideal but as they are all facing forwards and it’s only for a brief moment, it has worked for me. If a student can’t hear me (which rarely happens) I write my instruction on the board or do as outlined above and slip my mask off slightly and briefly to speak. But really, as long as I have a board pen I can convey exactly what I want to convey with no issues.[/quote]
Thanks - that's really helpful.

@twelly - masks are wore all day in schools in France, Belgium, Spain, Italy, Singapore and many US states - from age six upwards.

May I add India to that list- secondary upwards.

Yes! Finally a sensible idea.

I have hearing loss and already struggle to hear students. But the suggestion to slip off the mask for a second is sensible.

TBH in my subject there is not a lot of classroom back and forth. I can make myself clearly heard through a mask and generally have all instructions on screen anyway. It shouldn’t be an issue.

Unless some people want to make it an issue. There are always a few who hate being told what to do.

Just got a message from DS school saying that masks will need to be worn, unless there is a good reason. I assume that means those with medical exemptions can ask not to wear them.

[quote Hcolhcsra]@Truelymadlydeeplysomeonesmum if you go to gov.uk you'll see it is not mandatory. The exact wording uses the word 'recommended', our head says this means kids don't have to wear them and she's already told staff they shouldn't as they're all 2m away from the kids (we aren't as it would involve standing in one spot with our backs against the far wall all lesson). Some kids will wear them and I'm sure one or two staff will insist but will be committing career suicide in doing so 😔[/quote]
You are right they have changed the wording to 'advised and recommend' since I first saw it. The first release definitely didn't say that.

Mumof3cherubs

What about lip reading students?

Won’t know what their friends are saying and won’t know what the teachers saying“

BBC Wales correspondent was wearing a transparent mask during his report yesterday. Looked a bit odd at first, after seeing the usual ones for months now, but his mouth was very clearly visible and it didn’t keep slipping down like they usually do when reporters talk, seemed to be really well fitted.

Do the masks have to be "school colours"? Or can they be any design? Just wondering because there are some amazing designs on places like Redbubble that my DC would love.

@TaxTheRatFarms

I can happily say that dh has been known to spend all day in the same mask as a kid, (he grew up in a country where masks are an everyday thing) and still to this day sleeps in a mask if he has a sore throat (because his gran said that would cure it) and still hasn’t succumbed to any kind of bacterial lung infection. I asked him if said bacterial lung infections due to masks was a problem in his country and he said “wtf no, is that some English joke?”

We’ll also note for the record: doctors, nurses, dentists - all somehow miraculously alive.

That is really unhygienic. In Japan, children only ever wore masks when they were sick, it was never used as a preventative measure.

That said, I taught a child whose face I never saw for years, I felt very sorry for her and wondered if her parents were hypochondriacs or even worse ....

I just don't understand some parents.

They don't want teachers to have vaccines and to be like every other workplace. Fine then. Every other workplace has mandatory mask wearing.

The only thing that worries me about this proposal is that people will try to get around it. Obviously a genuine medical reason is different & those pupils will be exempt anyway.

Why are your dc wearing masks outside for a woodland walk?

I think kids will really struggle to be in masks all day. I just about manage a trip round Tesco before I get hot and panicked. I'm sure it will impact their learning. Thankfully my dd is exempt.“

Because my husband is CEV, hasn’t had his jab yet (hopefully this week, waiting for the call🤞), our son has asthma himself. We have one stretch of woodland about a mile long, it’s full of dozens and dozens of people with their children and dogs (which is why we usually go at dusk, a bit quieter) and for the sake of wearing something that really doesn’t bother either of us at all it, to us, is a sensible precaution when the path narrows.

He has been working at home since mid-Feb but was able to go back for a few days face to face in September, before infections rose rapidly again here (NW) and College gave students permission to wfh if their family circumstances were difficult. For all of those 6 days, he worse his mask as did several of his classmates. He went to a nearby park to eat lunch and put a new one on when he went back.
In Sixth Form students generally don’t all sit chatting while they’re being addressed and their tutors seemed to have no difficulties with hearing them.

Appreciate though, that’s more difficult with younger age groups as has been pointed out.

It is a necessary “evil” (for those who feel that way) if children are to return on 8th.

Well, UsedupUsername he’s Japanese so what can I say? Granny logic is granny logic wherever you are in the world He suffered a lot with hay fever when he was a kid, so in spring he was in a mask pretty much all the time (not the same mask for the whole hay fever season I hope!!) He has assured me he changed them a bit more often if he was properly snotty. My point is though, no hypoxia, no bacterial lung infections, no matter how much he wore them.

And I taught in Japan for years, so I’m very used to seeing students in masks and seeing that it doesn’t need to affect their learning. (I really hope you raised your concerns about your student if you genuinely thought anything dodgy was afoot though.)

@SugarfreeBlitz

Do the masks have to be "school colours"? Or can they be any design? Just wondering because there are some amazing designs on places like Redbubble that my DC would love.

Whatever the rules were when they were wearing them in corridors, I expect.

@pinkhappy

Do we know that chikdren won’t have to wear masks at break time?

Not if they're outdoors.

As to whether it's mandated - the DfE says that they are recommended in classrooms but earlier in the document says that schools must always ensure face masks are worn in recommended circumstances.

So that sounds like a mandate.

“Mask lovers, oh defenders of the greater good, what month would you deem it suitable for children to not have to wear masks? April? June? September? Come on, lay your cards on the table.“

End of April, when top 9 groups have had first jab. Our youngest will continue with his mask in College until he has had both jabs, whenever that is. He has asthma but it’s controlled (because he takes daily meds, which seems to be overlooked 🙄) so not in priority group.

Certainly not mask lovers but with CEVs in family we are cautious.