Are masks here to stay in secondary schools?

[Tonylepony]

My dc hate them but wear them without question. DS wears glasses which can be annoying as he does get issues with them steaming up but he rarely complains. I’m a little concerned about the summer when it gets hot as DD is prone to fainting. I remember Boris saying dc would be required to wear masks until Easter and it would then be reviewed, but I’ve not heard anything since. Anyone had an update?

Really hope not. Also a secondary teacher. Most kids are wearing them half heartedly, under the noses, fiddling constantly etc. I honestly doubt they make the slightest difference in that context and the lowering of cases is due to an overall lowering and the twice weekly testing. I can't teach on a mask.. The constant talking through it gave me a blinding headache after two days. Fortunately my classes are small so I keep the front row free and windows open. It's crap and increasingly unnecessary.

@motherrunner

No update as yet but as a teacher I feel safer at work with everyone in masks.

I agree. No one likes wearing masks but until staff are vaccinated, it is the safest option for those who work in schools. @Buzzinwithbez I get that you feel sorry for the children (and good to see a child articulate their point of view) but adults are needed to actually teach children and our need to be safe trumps their discomfort. It is why school staff should have been vaccinated as a priority group if they felt they needed this option - and some younger teachers wouldn’t have felt the need. The alternative to masks and priority vaccines is to have us all working from home and no one liked that very much, apparently.

Roll on with the vaccinations!

I really hope not! I don’t believe they are making very much difference. For my DD who already wears glasses and hearing aids they are a nightmare. She can’t lipread, which she does rely on and also having something else behind her ears is making them really red and inflamed. She’s so miserable about school because she’s missing much of what is going on verbally, her glasses steam up and she feels uncomfortable

As a teacher my teaching and student engagement is far worse with masks on than off. It’s extremely difficult staying stuck to the front. Discussion tasks abs anything remotely engaging is super hard to do. Can’t wait to be rid of them.

www.gov.uk/government/news/face-coverings-in-schools-and-colleges-to-remain-in-place?fbclid=IwAR3R3Qlc3XUE_aGWDH0jD7yYtYQGnsD-V6ZmRCTOrfLCmpMPvs9BaonfACQ

Latest press release states they are to be used at start of summer term and probably until stage 3 of the roadmap

they are to be used at start of summer term and probably until stage 3 of the roadmap

Ridiculous - if only there were a decent opposition to this government of wusses.

Guess you always can quit your job, Quidditch

That was the advice given to those who wanted safety measures when we didn't have them.

@Shieldingending

Isn’t she exempt from wearing a mask?

@roguetomato

Our school had masks on since Sept. There were only one case of isolation since then, in other year group from my dc's. Nothing so far this term. Added bonus of not catching cold either. So obviously mask do work.

Anecdotal nonsense. Nephews school has had masks since Christmas and he has isolated 4 times since then!! Never isolated before masks. So in my experience they categorically do not work. For every person who thinks theyve helped in their childs school there will be someone else who disagrees.

@roguetomato

Our school had masks on since Sept. There were only one case of isolation since then, in other year group from my dc's. Nothing so far this term. Added bonus of not catching cold either. So obviously mask do work.

Anecdotal nonsense. Nephews school has had masks since Christmas and he has isolated 4 times since then!! Never isolated before masks. So in my experience they categorically do not work. For every person who thinks theyve helped in their childs school there will be someone else who disagrees.

Infection rates in primary school kids (no masks, no testing of pupils) have risen by more than infection rates in secondary kids since schools returned. It’s only been a few weeks but it was the other way around in September, so this is encouraging.

@noblegiraffe

Infection rates in primary school kids (no masks, no testing of pupils) have risen by more than infection rates in secondary kids since schools returned. It’s only been a few weeks but it was the other way around in September, so this is encouraging.

Let’s hope they extend it to Primary them if it’s working whilst teachers and parents remain unvaccinated in the main.

There would be massive pushback to implementing masks in primary (it was bad enough in secondary) so I can’t see this being a viable option.

Primaries could look into moving classes outdoors more often as the weather improves. I know some do not have any space for this though.

My secondary school dd has done 6 tests already. The whole school is being tested twice a week. One positive in that whole time. If we have testing then I don’t see why masks are needed.

Because the tests are really, really, really unreliable and the masks are the only thing that are keeping me (a teacher in my late 40s) slightly more safe.

Because LF testing misses a significant proportion of positive cases, enough to mean that other measures are needed.

A negative LF test result doesn't mean that you don't have covid.

That’s not true. They are very reliable. They are also very easy to do. Families doing them at home is less reliable as some might not do them or enter a wrong result so I think doing them weekly in school would be better. But the tests are as reliable as pregnancy tests.

@Newgirls

My secondary school dd has done 6 tests already. The whole school is being tested twice a week. One positive in that whole time. If we have testing then I don’t see why masks are needed.

My son is Y11 and his school is tested twice weekly, there's not been one single positive test since they returned in March. In fact, there are currently only 10 cases in the whole town (population 65,000)

The school did say they would review after Easter but lets see what the Govt stance is

Gov have said stick with masks until mid may. It would be easier and kinder to vaccinate the teachers but that would involve massive back tracking by gov so they won’t do that of course

You're just wrong there, New.

I’m no fan of tests but to say six tests per kid is not reliable is rubbish.

I expect they'll be here until May half term at the earliest

I can't wait until they don't have to wear them any more. They've made the kids I teach a lot quieter, not in a good way!

@Newgirls

That’s not true. They are very reliable. They are also very easy to do. Families doing them at home is less reliable as some might not do them or enter a wrong result so I think doing them weekly in school would be better. But the tests are as reliable as pregnancy tests.

Please can you provide links for these assertions?

HPTs are usually held to be around 99%

LFTs come out much, much lower according to sources such as this

www.bmj.com/content/372/bmj.n823

(report of a Cochrane review) and BMJ has also published a peer reviewed piece showing how much less reliable the test is when carried out by trained members of the public, compared to trained research staff (the best) and HCPs (the middle group)

In school by trained people is better, yes, as I said above. Nothing to stop parents entering a fake result at home.

To say the tests are very very unreliable is wrong.

Sounds like poor secondary kids are stuck wearing masks anyway.

@Newgirls

LFT aren’t accurate, they pick up about 58% of positive tests, about 78% when done by a health professional.

A friend had covid confirmed by a PCR test and as a test did a LFT every day she was positive and they said negative each day.