Masks back in Classrooms in secondary schools.

[storminabuttercup]

Our LEA have reintroduced masks in secondary schools, it's out first experience of this as DC us year 7. I'm absolutely not anti mask, DC willing wear one in shops etc and when moving about in school but is upset this morning about having to wear one all day, I'm guessing they will get used to it soon enough but I feel so sad about the whole situation, these kids have been through so much. It also makes me wonder if this is now the step before back to home learning.
I know we need to control the virus I'm not even complaining I'm just venting that this bloody thing is still here.

Hopefully bringing in some mitigations even at a localised level will help.
You're absolutely right- young people have quietly done as they've been told and have been let down (as has everyone) by this shit show of a govt and it's non policies.
If it's any consolation- I'm not in the UK and although our numbers are currently very low, the mask mandate in schools is still in force. The kids are used to it, and (at least the ones I teach, and come across through dd) are "happy" to do it as they know it means it lessens the risk of going back online.

Children have been wearing them in Spain from the age of 6, younger in some other countries, with no exceptions. He'll cope better if you don't make big thing out of it. It's an unfortunate necessity.

Scotland here - ours have been wearing them all day since they went back in August. No it's not nice but better than going back to home learning. Just make sure they are comfortable.

Agree with the comfort thing- don't use cloth/handmade ones- the papery surgical ones we've found the best after lots of trial and error. You can now get them in different colours (I've noticed most of our teens wear black ones) and as he's y7 he might still find the children's size a better fit.

I don't think it's the step before lockdown. I'm in Scotland where they have been wearing masks in school all along.

Our local schools are in a desperate situation at the moment. So many staff off with covid despite being double vaxxed means the next step if any more go down is closing year groups or classes.

It’s unbelievable that we still don’t have proper mitigations in schools this far into the pandemic. I’m happy masks are back and I wish (not for the first time) we’d acted earlier.

My DC school had to close a year group 3 days before half term due to staff shortages. They get used to wearing them v quickly and compliance in local secondaries has been extremely high. I’m proud of the way our teens have cracked on with it to be honest. I’m sure they’ll be back in most secondaries by the end of this month.

Oh yeah agree with you all. I haven't made a big deal about it at all, just said it's now a thing, reminded them some kids won't be wearing one as exempt etc etc
It's just all a really shit situation.

I don't think masks in classrooms are a good mitigation concept.
It impedes communication and learning.
A teacher told me she finds she has to go far closer to children to hear them, so not able to social distance.
If I was in charge I would:

• bring back household isolation for positive cases, so as sibings aren't bringing covid into school

• have a mask mandate (like in Spain) for indoor public spaces. No exemptions.

• have test and trace working properly, we haven't been contacted when we should have been, repeatedly.

• compulsory pcr (or 10 day isolation if don't want to test) for positive cases

Much more effective than making 11 year olds wear masks in lessons.

have test and trace working properly, we haven't been contacted when we should have been, repeatedly.

Now, most people don’t need to isolate even if they are contacted. It isn’t compulsory to isolate until you get a negative pcr (which isn’t compulsory itself) and even if you do get a negative pcr as a contact, it doesn’t stop you developing Covid four days later.

Sorry, pressed post by accident.

I agree with your lost and it think it has to be all of these measures not just some of them to make it work properly.

But we should have been contacted by test and trace to check we were double vaxed and to tell us to get a PCR.
Otherwise what is the point of test and trace?

@trumpisagit

But we should have been contacted by test and trace to check we were double vaxed and to tell us to get a PCR. Otherwise what is the point of test and trace?

There is really no point of test and trace checking people are double vaxxed if they’re not going to isolate. We can still catch and spread Covid (albeit at a lower level). The pcr you take as a contact often seems to be too soon after being exposed for it to be meaningful.

Yes, possibly there IS no point in test and trace, but they are collecting all these contact details and not following through.

I think it's too easy to let children and their education take the fall.

My son (2 whole secondary year groups) had to go back to home learning before half term. Meanwhile adults could attend busy indoor spaces without masks. That makes me angry.

But it’s not adults in busy indoor spaces who are mainly spreading it. Infection rates in other age groups are much lower.

I'm abroad and secondary school pupils have worn them all the way through. Plus hand sanitizing when entering a room and set desks. Everything seemed to be going very well until about 3 weeks ago when the numbers started dramatically increasing again. You can see that the demographic is school kids and then the 30 - 45 age group which I suppose is their parents. 20 - 29 yos have a much lower rate of infection.

Complete tokenism. If they were that effective why did we lockdown again last year?

A useless mitigation.

We didn't have them in classrooms before we locked down in Jan last year. They were only introduced in March after lockdown, and then binned in May.

@noblegiraffe yes, but there are lots of places for covid to spread apart from schools.

Three of DS's friends all appear to have caught it at a party in an indoor public space (although they will never know for sure, the dates and timings add up). DS also at party (and school) didn't.

Also education should be a priority and it certainly doesn't feel like that at the moment.

there are lots of places for covid to spread apart from schools

Indeed, but when you look at the graphs, it seems that schools are a massive factor, particularly now that there are no isolations for close contacts or household contacts. It's spreading through schools like wildfire, you can see kids go down with it in sequence in classrooms. 10 of one of my classes had it the week before half term, mostly in a row and column of seats. They didn't catch it outside of school.

@Ruffledcardigan

Complete tokenism. If they were that effective why did we lockdown again last year?

A useless mitigation.

Too many people claiming to be exempt, too many people using a pair of gran's old bloomers and calling it a "face covering". Too many people calling them "face nappies" and "muzzles"

And that's just a certain group of people on MN.

Places where children have been wearing masks in school have still seen an increase in cases.

@bumbleymummy

Places where children have been wearing masks in school have still seen an increase in cases.

Yes. Because the non mask wearing plus the non vaccination is the perfect storm, isn't it?

Yes, very different picture in sixth form with hardly any students off despite being in the same covidy conditions as the rest of the school. Because they are vaccinated.

I think the picture would have been very different if the lower school had been vaccinated as scheduled (it was cancelled due to lack of staff). I feel really sorry for my Y11s who are missing so much teaching time as it goes round.

I can understand why you feel like that op

We are still doing masks in communal areas but I’m glad they don’t in classrooms