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

King at

Do you wear it at home too?
Why would you wear mask in the woods walking alone with your son?

No, because we live indoors 😁

Have answered second point above.

TaxTheRatFarms

Aah I see! The masks have to be dirty wink

It’s a bit strange how the shoutiest proponents of children’s welfare don’t seem to credit said children with any intelligence or common sense.

I know the teenagers I work with, we talk to them about how to use masks safely and correctly, and the vast majority listen, because they’re not dumb. We supply them with clean masks anytime they need them (whether that’s because they’ve lost theirs, or it’s damp, or their parents won’t give them one) and they know we won’t judge them.

Maybe try giving the young people in your life a bit more credit?“

👏👏👏

We’ve found them to be much more sensible and sanguine than their adults on the whole.

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.“

When teachers are vaccinated. I'm not a teacher but think they deserve protection like every other workplace employee.

@noblegiraffe Thank you that's useful. If the situation doesn't change I'll forward that on to our union rep.

I'm all for wearing them and hope our head sees sense. I can't understand why some people are so desperate to avoid them that they ignore recommendations that would help to protect their staff and students.

mynameisnotmichaelcaine

I don't have a diagnosed hearing impairment, but I do have MS which can have an impact on hearing. Either way though, I don't know why you think I'm lying?

I don’t think you’re lying and I apologise for offending you. I was thinking purely from the perspective of an A level College student, as is our youngest, where students generally don’t talk over the lecturing tutor.

It’s been pointed out to me more than once that a class of upwards of 30 younger students would be a whole lot more challenging.

@AllAroundTheWrekin

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.

This.

Loads of parents were calling for schools to be closed early at Christmas. Pretending it was for safety, but its apparent it was so they could hopefully maximise their chances of gatherings with family.

Now lots of parents are calling for schools to return. Yet they don't want to put any safety measures in place to try and keep them open, and minimise the risk to those in schools.

The me, me, me attitude is sickening.

@TaxTheRatFarms

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.)

Well, hay fever season is a bit different you know, as it prevents you from inhaling pollen, which are much larger than a virus. It protects the user.

That is different than the logic of healthy children wearing masks. I stand by what I said: only children who were sick wore masks! Forcing healthy children to wear masks is an entirely new dimension of mask wearing, and not one I’m entirely supportive of.

@AllAroundTheWrekin

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.“

When teachers are vaccinated. I'm not a teacher but think they deserve protection like every other workplace employee.

I agree. If DS has to wear a mask until July when hopefully all adults are vaccinated, or even till September, he jolly well will.

When teachers are vaccinated. I'm not a teacher but think they deserve protection like every other workplace employee.
Yet not every other workplace employee has protection, poilce officers , builders, etc will be all dealing with people not wearing a mask, granted they will wear one but the other person won't be
My dh has a job where he has to go in multiple houses , yes he wears a mask and glove to protect the householder , but they don't wear a mask to protect him.
He hasn't had a jab and is over 40 so sometime yet, he has had to continue throughout as his is a keyworker job.
So there are lots of jobs that are not as protected as you think.
I am happy for my ds to wear a mask going back because at least he is back
He doesn't overly want to as like he says they get wet , so we have discussed that I will send him in with 3!, so he can regularly change them.
His school and teachers tbf have been amazing, they have to use handgel on entry to every class, they have different areas for different years , they have invested in some outside shelters so if weather is bad they can remain dry, windows in classrooms have been open and the kids allowed to keep coats etc on.

only children who were sick wore masks!

And children with hay fever.

But usedup you’re continuing to misunderstand my point. Whether children are wearing them because they had a cold, or because they had hay fever, they don’t suffer from hypoxia or bacterial lung infections because of their masks. That is my point, in response to someone who was insisting that was the case.

I am in favour of personal choice so if children want to wear a mask fine. I have followed all government rules I am not an anti masker but I feel the time has come to move back to normality. I will follow the rules but I do agree with them and if it advised that is not mandatory

@Evvyjb

This feels like talking to a toddler (or y10 on a Friday) doesn't it?

"You have two choices. In school with a mask, or no school"
"But I want IN SCHOOL and NO MASK!!"
"That isn't an option. So the choices are...."
"But it's NOT FAIR! I DON'T WANT TO!"
"OK, let's try this again. In school and"
"Child abuse! Taken leave of your senses! Filthy masks in pockets! BACTERIAL LUNG INFECTIONS!!!"

Interesting that it is being reported as mandatory but the published document uses the term ‘recommended’. Page 33 if you don’t want to read the whole document.

assets.publishing.service.gov.uk/government/uploads/system/uploads/attachment_data/file/963491/COVID-19_Response_-_Spring_2021.pdf#page55

I think it is of interest that the document finally includes some analysis of the costs and benefits of removing restrictions, but annoying that the media still haven’t grasped the difference between legislation and guidance.

@Parker231

Funny how it’s only the U.K. who raise objections to children wearing masks. Other countries, with higher educational results, have children from age five plus successfully wearing a mask during the school day. They haven’t had months of remote schooling.

Exactly. And the government should have made it mandatory, exemptions excepted, not recommended.

Page 7, worldgonecrazy

It says that schools must always ensure that face coverings are used in recommended circumstances.

I can't see the issue of older children ( exemptions for geniune reasons) wearing a mask for potentially a few weeks .
They will remove at break, lunch , pe sessions etc .
Is it ideal , no but the world we are living in at the moment isn't ideal.
Im not even one who is 100% convinced how much masks do, but if they stop a little transmission even and help people feel safer and it helps get schools back , whilst we continue vaccinating people then I don't see the issue
They have a few weeks of mask wearing , then its easter then we may be looking at less restrictions who knows but worst case it continues to july , I would rather than and my kids in school

@TaxTheRatFarms

only children who were sick wore masks!

And children with hay fever.

But usedup you’re continuing to misunderstand my point. Whether children are wearing them because they had a cold, or because they had hay fever, they don’t suffer from hypoxia or bacterial lung infections because of their masks. That is my point, in response to someone who was insisting that was the case.

My honest opinion is that we just don’t know the side effects. Forcing healthy kids to wear masks has never been done, not even in Japan.

Some kids wore them a lot during hay fever season, yes, but that doesn’t actually last very long.

If ill kids wear masks without side effects, why would there be any side effects for healthy kids?

This mask mandate only lasts till Easter when it is up for review.

Some kids wore them a lot during hay fever season, yes, but that doesn’t actually last very long.“”

With our youngest who had multi, pretty nasty pollen allergies it’s April-September (sometimes earlier starting with blossom) and going through various tree and grass pollens.

Usedup I can’t see how you can have spent time in Japan, seen how widespread mask use is (and it’s been widespread for longer than dh has been alive!) and still worry about side effects.

And if they don’t have side effects when your nose is full of mucus and your throat full of phlegm (hence breathing is more difficult) then how would they cause issues when your nose and throat are clear and it’s easier to breathe?

I know I’m banging on about it, but it’s sad to see people so worried and scared about something that is normal, and known to be safe, but is just “new and different” and therefore “scary and wrong” to some.

@noblegiraffe

If ill kids wear masks without side effects, why would there be any side effects for healthy kids?

This mask mandate only lasts till Easter when it is up for review.

They do not wear them for days on end. They would have to change them regularly, as there would be snot and whatnot inside (gross, but Japanese don’t blow their nose in public).

So I’m saying it’s just never been done. Healthy kids were not pulling dirty masks in and out of their pockets and adjusting them all day for months on end.

The Department for Education said that the return would involve: "Protective measures across education strengthened, with students in Year 7 and above to wear face coverings indoors, including classrooms, where social distancing cannot be maintained."

Staff in secondary schools and colleges are also "being advised to wear face coverings in all areas, including classrooms, where social distancing cannot be maintained, as a temporary extra measure".

The DfE said the rule on the use of face coverings in classrooms would be in place until Easter, and "as with all measures, the government will keep it under review".

Is it possible that the slight confusion with wording is because they have made it compulsory for children but advised for teachers? That is how I am reading this

So I’m saying it’s just never been done. Healthy kids were not pulling dirty masks in and out of their pockets and adjusting them all day for months on end.

Then don't allow your kid to pull a dirty mask from their pocket and wear it, take some responsibility as a parent to ensure they are using them correctly.

Healthy kids were not pulling dirty masks in and out of their pockets

Well they’ve been doing that in schools since at least last November, and I don’t think we had any outbreaks of plague?

(gross, but Japanese don’t blow their nose in public)

Japanese people think you bowing your nose into a tissue (and your germs into the air around you) and walking around with a snotty tissue in your fingers and potentially snot on your fingers, spreading it to everything you touch is pretty gross too.

And if you’re worried about your kids pulling dirty masks out of their pocket - give them 2 or 3 to take to school, in a washable bag to keep them clean and a different bag for the dirty ones to bring home to be washed. It’s not hard! My 11 year old has been managing that since last September!

Also wondering how you taught in a Japanese school and didn’t notice all the adorable mask cases for keeping your clean masks in? I love them.