Masks in classrooms secondary

[Hummmmming]

www.theguardian.com/world/2022/jan/01/schools-in-england-told-wear-masks-in-class-as-fears-mount-of-omicron-surge?CMP=Share_AndroidApp_Other

Until the 26th of January

What's the process for an exemption?

Surely it depends on each school? My dc's school said on the letter that they already know who are exempt so they don't need to do anything. But if you weren't and now you are, you need to let the school know?

@echt

I agree that the government always likes to appear to have done something, albeit not enough and too late. That's why masks are the go-to: they cost the government nothing, though they have have challenged their efficacy in schools up to now.

Gits.

😷

Agree

@rainrainraincamedowndowndown yeah i'll email and and I'll give her a letter as well she can show individual teachers should she need to remove her mask. Which reminds me I've not let the school know how much she has struggling (she carries her inhaler herself now ) so should probably do that .

@blameitonthecaffeine

Well, I'm very keen for schools to stay open, so I think this is a good thing. Anything that helps tbh

If it did help, I'd agree with you. I don't think it does though.

They wore them in Scottish secondaries last term and they had just a bad a time as we did.
Most kids don't wear them properly and don't wear them all day. They are together all day so there's no point wearing a mask for 5 hours then spending an hour sitting together at lunch, breathing over each other. They'll catch it at that point and the damage is done.
Omicron is so infectious that 'even a breath of infected air' (BBC) can pass it on. A fabric mask isn't going to prevent that. If they're all going to catch it anyway, why make the experience even more miserable with a mask.

Well said. If they worked that's one thing but when it has been shown to make no difference at all it's just cruel. To all those saying it's fine I wonder how many hours you've spent masked up in a room full of people. Students balance them on the end of their nose so they can breath better. Many have rashes caused by masks. Almost none of them as far as I can tell wash the things.

If the adult population are expected to wear maaks indoors then makes sense that children do took. Virus transmission isn't age related.

@WeAreTheHeroes

Kids at niece's secondary school are being made to take LFTs at school, i.e. overseen by the school, not just results accepted on trust, before the start of this term.

The testing is optional (as it was before)

What’s also interesting in these news reports is the buried line that the Ed Sec has told schools they can delay opening for up to a week to allow for testing. Mine’s due back on Wed 4 but it could be the 11th before they actually go in for lessons!

Weird they aren't asking people to wear masks I hospitality though (when not at the table obviously)

@Loudestcat14 that was already the case before Christmas. Our school already sent out the testing schedule and the new start dates before term ended

[quote DonGray]@Loudestcat14 that was already the case before Christmas. Our school already sent out the testing schedule and the new start dates before term ended[/quote]
We’ve previously known in advance but it was just a day’s delay. The prospect of up to another week off is a surprise and, again, typical of the Govt to decide it at the last min.

Email came out from DFE at 7am this morning,

Looks like there's going to be an announcement on school contingency plans

"Other potential guidance that could be issued in a worst-case scenario includes grouping multiple classes together in sports and assembly halls. The department is also looking at "flexible staff models" should absences hit 10, 15 or 25 per cent, but insiders say schools are likely to "tip over" at 30 per cent"

"officials in the Department for Education (DfE) have begun discussing proposals that could see heads asked to prioritise primary, GCSE and A-level pupils for face-to-face teaching should schools be hit by widespread staff absences, with others taught remotely"

If that's true, then I hope they will be looking at having GCSE and A levels at least partly by TAG. Because even if those year groups are technically open, there will be a lot of pupils off (7 - 10 days each, on a rolling basis as infection goes round, with need for hybrid teaching, possibly by a cover teacher - could last 3 or more weeks) plus in some there simply might not be enough staff to stay open at all.

So if we want any hope of a fair system for this year's exams, they can't be exam only. After all, if your DC was at a school that had to shut for 10 days, and had disrupted teaching for 2 weeks either side, would you think it fair when the other school in town had no closure and could afford (and find) supply teachers?

Particularly for A level, as they will be competing for University places with those who had entirely assessed grades and who chose, or in some cases were offered incentives by the universities to defer a year. A step down (hybrid exam/TAG system) rather than full change might be a better way of levelling the playing field for a year group which is already facing the consequences if the unlevel amount of disruption in the previous 4 terms

In Scotland, secondary school pupils have never stopped wearing face masks full time, even during the summer months. It's just awful.

Horse.. stable door.. bolted.

It's probably too late now. Omicron was allowed to spread unchecked and now has the upper hand.

Those who went to night clubs and pantos made their choice and it wasn't to prioritise schools and education.

I don't think they'll be a national school closure but many individual schools, year groups and classes will close.

@Aurea

In Scotland, secondary school pupils have never stopped wearing face masks full time, even during the summer months. It's just awful.

Yes and it hasn’t made a difference to keeping it out our schools . Scottish secondary kids never stopped having to wear them . Still schools closed due to outbreaks . It’s not the magic cure people on here seem to think it will be in England .

While I'm not convinced masks make a huge difference, largely because a lot of kids fiddle with them/don't wear them properly/don't wear them at all, I'd rather that than teach remotely.

To be fair, at the school I work in, the kids were generally really good when we wore masks everywhere. Last term, wearing them in corridors was less good but I think it's because they were forgetting.

That said, it's no better in shops! I was in my local tesco yesterday- massive store. I'd say 40% of people (staff and customers) were wearing masks. I know some will be exempt but there were whole families not wearing them- surely, they aren't all exempt?!

Absences - both staff and pupil - will be the biggest problem for us.

Will not stop it spreading in families with primary aged dc, who will catch it and pass it on when they go home.

I don’t imagine the government expects mask wearing to make any difference. It’s just their drip drip policy so people don’t get too angry about the disruption to education that is coming.

@noblegiraffe

They can't cancel exams if they haven't at least made some attempt at mitigation measures.

This leaves that door open for them.

Jeez, they must be really worried about what's coming.

They are really worried as they've gambled again

All ministers are prepping for possible 25% staff absences across all sectors?

Two years down the line and the penny has finally dropped that air viltration is essential in our school buildings! The government thought they could ignore this fact and that spending money on schools did not make business sense. How short sighted and depressing is the thought of how little they value our state school education. Scrabbling about in the peak of a pandemic to patch together these systems when we had all of last Summer to prepare. Even without covid, having well ventilated buildings is a benefit to learning.

"officials in the Department for Education (DfE) have begun discussing proposals that could see heads asked to prioritise primary, GCSE and A-level pupils for face-to-face teaching should schools be hit by widespread staff absences, with others taught remotely"

I don't really get the last bit of this sentence. If you have run out of teaching staff to teach in person due to them being ill you can't just magic up people to teach remotely. When I had COVID I was too ill to watch TV I definitely couldn't have done any teaching...

"Will not stop it spreading in families with primary aged dc,"

Likely won't stop spread in secondary either!

@echt

I agree that the government always likes to appear to have done something, albeit not enough and too late. That's why masks are the go-to: they cost the government nothing, though they have have challenged their efficacy in schools up to now.

Gits.

😷

Agree

But the clubs and pubs are packed full of maskless revellers.

I am fucking furious.

Our children are yet again being muzzled, stunting their communication skills, their ability to express themselves, causing breathing issues for those with anxiety, creating an atmosphere of silence in the class room (according to both of my children) affecting speech and friendships.

I am livid.

Good. Both my dc's secondaries have been doing this since mid December.
Anything that reduces transmission and keeps them at school is a good thing.