No more masks in classrooms - hurray!

[TeddingtonTrashbag]

Hurray!
I am a secondary teacher and just hope it really happens.

www.telegraph.co.uk/politics/2021/05/06/exclusive-end-masks-classroom-boris-johnson-defies-unions/

I would prefer if people/ students are given a choice whether to wear mask or not. Why can't they just respect each other's choice and schools usually just put a blanket policy.

If the Science says ‘no masks’ then it should be ‘no masks everywhere’.

@motherrunner

If the Science says ‘no masks’ then it should be ‘no masks everywhere’.

This was the exact response from both my teens when they heard the announcement.

It surprises me people think no masks in schools should mean no masks anywhere.

There are some places where wearing a mask will literally make no difference - maybe a minor bit of inconvenience (like Apple Pay if you have Face ID on your phone, that sort of thing.)

There are other places where masks will obviously have a negative impact. So it’s a balancing act of possible risks and possible harm.

What surprises me is the people who do not see the problem with saying no masks in schools but keep them elsewhere as they do not have a negative impact. We are talking about a huge section of our unvaccinated population and it goes against the scientific advice of indoor transmission.

@WildWaterSwimmer

Our school has made the decision to carry on with wearing masks in the classroom and in public areas.

I would really prefer our school did this. At least our Head is giving those who want to carry on wearing masks the option to do so.

I wouldn't be burning any masks yet as they might well be needed again.

@WildWaterSwimmer

Our school has made the decision to carry on with wearing masks in the classroom and in public areas.

Ours has mad the decision that the pupils and staff can choose to wear them if they/we wish.

I will be wearing them for two reasons

1/ IMO it is stupid to remove them in an enclosed area where so few are vaccinated.
2/ I want those pupils that want to carry on wearing masks that it is ok to do so.

I am not sure a school can impose masks though - that is the key issue given the state has said teenagers should have freedom of choice from 17 May.

@Xenia

Well luckily ours is.

Schools never could, it was guidance

Some schools pushed the guidance we can't force them side, some went quieter on that and made it seem like they had too.

Our school are not continuing with masks and I am so pleased. If cases rise within the school they will re-enforce masks like they did last time

I hope they catch any cases in school quickly then Remmy as I’ve seen how fast Covid can spread through a school. If a school has a high uptake of lateral flow tests then that’s one line of defence.

@Cookiecrisps

I hope they catch any cases in school quickly then Remmy as I’ve seen how fast Covid can spread through a school. If a school has a high uptake of lateral flow tests then that’s one line of defence.

Incredibly fast if my school is anything to go by. Within a 6 week period 75% of staff caught it, along with several parents and some children (the children are infant school age and mostly not tested due to different symptoms so no true number for them.)

That is really alarming Alaxan

Yes, it is unfair that some schools are better protected, just due to personal views of the head.

@picturesandpickles

Yes, it is unfair that some schools are better protected, just due to personal views of the head.

To be fair, those schools where the heads view it as necessary to keep masks are likely to be those hit hardest in previous waves (viewing the minor inconvenience of masks as tiny in comparison to the huge upheaval of the Covid hokey cokey of repeated isolations). As it does look like the current hotspot areas are only too familiar from previous waves, the ;'better protection' from these rightly more cautious heads has to be offset against the higher likelihood of infection simply through being in a particular area.

My area was not badly hit @cantkeepawayforever, and we have a range of mask policies across the council area - the heads are taking personal views.

That’s where it’s probably best left to the teacher to decide, and the children too.

Yes, FrippEnos - my concern is that pupils who choose to carry on wearing masks will be made to feel like oddities.

I’m going to keep wearing my mask, as are a lot of my pupils.

We’ve been told mandatory in communal areas but optional in classrooms. I teach in some rooms that don’t even have a window so my mask will be hear to stay until I’m fully vaccinated.

As I said upthread, a lot of my students are still planning on wearing masks as they feel safer in them. My school was badly hit Autumn term - rolling isolations, fully closed on two occasions - since masks were introduced we have one bubble isolate.

Choice is fine but I don't think children or teachers should be compelled to wear them given the new rules from Monday

our school has been forced- due to council - to keep masks in class and corridors until june 21st
Fuckin joke

8 cases per 100,000

However, Watapalava, Lancashire does have a hotspot (Blackburn with Darwen), neighbours another (Bolton) AND has a very large college closed due to a Covid outbreak, which included several cases of the new variant:

Runshaw College

If yours is a local area of Lancashire that is currently not affected, prevention probably remains better than cure, given we know how quickly cases can 'leak' out of an initial area. I don't know how far afield students come to Runshaw from, but given its size I suspect that it serves quite a large area?

@cantkeepawayforever it does. I went to Runshaw and lived in Bolton

Runshaw only had 2 indian variants detected and its a huge college taking from massive area (1 hour + radius all way round)

More importantly how many are ill? The current outbreaks are largely in the under 50 groups so i expect most are perfectly fine given hospital admissions and attendances haven't risen in ANY of the lancashire hospitals

We are protecting NHS i thought so all these restrictions are unnecessary