What’s the point of masks at school anymore?!?

[VaccineSticker]

Before anyone shoots me down, I have worn an ffp2 mask right from the beginning and never stopped, and wont be stopping, but it’s obvious now that the plan is that there’s no plan and they are letting the virus spread, so why are they asking kids to mask up?
Asking kids to mask up is like trying to build a sea defence wall to protect ourselves from a tsunami. 🤣
The horse has bolted.
Night clubs are open, packed pubs and restaurants are open, people going into poorly ventilated offices and the list goes on, all maskless especially after all the NYE parties.
But oh no, kids now need to be masked?
Do they think we are stupid?
Do they want us to believe that they are doing something to fight omicron?
Why don’t just be honest and say we are going to let it rip?
The plan is to take it on the chin people. 🙄

OP mentioning it doesn't make it true.

What? What isn’t true? That the topic is schools? That’s true.

[quote OnceuponaRainbow18]@onoyine

Maybe it’s all those germs/bugs we are around all day long in confined unventilated rooms…![/quote]
Yeah, same as most workers.

@onoyine

...because teachers go off sick at the drop of a hat. They average nearly 2 weeks per year on top of all their holidays.

Quickly googling, the average here in England is about 4 days per teacher (pre covid).

schoolleaders.thekeysupport.com/staff/employment-wellbeing/staff-leave-and-absence/staff-sickness-absence-statistics/

Mind you, it will be higher in the past 2 years because, you know, high exposure occupation and teachers getting sick with covid.

It's a tough one. My 17 year old caught Covid at the end of last term, was wearing masks in lessons and had his second vaccination a month before. As did many of his year so I'm not sure masks were that effective (particularly given the cloth ones lots of the kids wear aren't as effective as others). His teachers largely oppose mask wearing in classrooms on the grounds of stifling discussion and questions over effectiveness.

That said, it's his last term of A level teaching so I'll support anything that keeps them in school. The teachers feel the sixth formers are academically behind where they should be, after the third academic year of disruption.

fintintytint
Yes, the government definitely ask teachers about government policy!!
Hilarious!

What's the point of starting a thread like this? If you don't want your children to wear a mask, then ask for exemption, or keep them off school.
I really rather the spread is slowed than become uncontrollable in class/year group/whole school, ending up in too many staff off and school closing.

Surely better to wear masks than have the kids keep needing time off with Covid? Even if it's quite mild it can still make you feel rough.

I also disagree with the notion that teachers take lots of time off. I'm a teacher (primary) and know that the vast majority of us struggle in unless we are at death's door because it's so much hassle arranging cover work. Personally I haven't had a day off sick for 14 years and only about 4 days in my entire teaching career and most teachers I know are similar, unless they have something long-term.

To signal Something Is Being Done despite the fact that teenagers wearing a snot rag makes no difference to anything whatsoever.

schoolleaders.thekeysupport.com/staff/employment-wellbeing/staff-leave-and-absence/staff-sickness-absence-statistics/#:~:text=National%20sickness%20absence%20statistics%20%20%20%20Teacher,%20%20284%2C186%20%201%20more%20rows%20
it's more than that - and bear in mind the # of teachers who are part time - ie 3 days off is a week for many of them...

@onoyine

schoolleaders.thekeysupport.com/staff/employment-wellbeing/staff-leave-and-absence/staff-sickness-absence-statistics/#:~:text=National%20sickness%20absence%20statistics%20%20%20%20Teacher,%20%20284%2C186%20%201%20more%20rows%20 it's more than that - and bear in mind the # of teachers who are part time - ie 3 days off is a week for many of them...

That didn't paste properly @onoyine neither did your point

@twomumsonebump

One time a child sneezed in my face and I felt a drop of snot land in my eye. I woke up the next day with an eye infection.

With cases rising so quickly, it's really not a bad idea to keep everyone protected!

😂 on two occasions, since becoming a teacher, I have bent down to tie a child's shoelace and have them sneeze on my face. On both occasions I got sick too. I wouldn't expect or want my primary students to wear masks but I am in support of secondary children/teenagers wearing them to prevent schools having to closed due to staff shortages. There is a shortage of supply teachers in my area anything to keep teachers well and at school is a good thing.

For those posters assuming that mask wearing has any kind of measurable outcome in regard to Covid; yes there is some small evidence that wearing medical grade (not disposable) masks that are only used once and are sterile when applied, and are put on and removed correctly, for a minimal period of time before replacing with a new one - do provide some small benefit with regard to Covid transmission. Flimsy disposable masks crumpled up at the bottom of a teenagers bag, covered in crisp crumbs, worn for days at a time - you'd have to be insane to assume this confers some type of provable medical benefit. This is beside the fact that no healthy teenager is at risk of any serious effect from covid anyway.

I am really happy with this decision. I take it that those of you complaining about masks wanted schools to close again, which seems very odd if you are parents and you care about education. I wanted schools to remain open for the children but as a teacher, I also want to keep as safe as other workers so I don’t need to take time off work through ill health (or suffer because I am ill). Again, something you should support if you feel teachers already take too much time of work, surely?

It will be for a very short time as this government is not a supporter of mask wearing; however, children in other countries have managed since the start of the pandemic and don’t seem too traumatised.

Good luck to any kids trying to get any kind of decent learning done between now and spring. Schools are going to be an absolute shambolic mess.

@onoyine

Is the other 400+ post thread on masks in schools not enough for you OP?
I'll be really helpful and pop a link to the teacher (and teenager) bashing on this one over there.
You're welcome.

It’s nothing to do with the unions. It is a cheap mitigation by the Government to show they are doing everything for schools, whereas they are doing nothing. They have also asked for retired teachers to come and help as staff numbers were so low last term. Funnily enough not many have responded to the call

@JovialNickname

For those posters assuming that mask wearing has any kind of measurable outcome in regard to Covid; yes there is some small evidence that wearing medical grade (not disposable) masks that are only used once and are sterile when applied, and are put on and removed correctly, for a minimal period of time before replacing with a new one - do provide some small benefit with regard to Covid transmission. Flimsy disposable masks crumpled up at the bottom of a teenagers bag, covered in crisp crumbs, worn for days at a time - you'd have to be insane to assume this confers some type of provable medical benefit. This is beside the fact that no healthy teenager is at risk of any serious effect from covid anyway.

Absolutely agree.

Btw masks in classrooms is a good thing and need to stay long term because as well all know- schools are breeding grounds for Covid.

Omicron in schools is going to be wild.

@JovialNickname

To signal Something Is Being Done despite the fact that teenagers wearing a snot rag makes no difference to anything whatsoever.

If you and your child are wearing "snot rags" then you're a big part of the problem tbf.

@onoyine

...because teachers go off sick at the drop of a hat. They average nearly 2 weeks per year on top of all their holidays.

Isn’t that terrible that teaching staff are exposed to so much infection as a matter of course? If only we could sit in a nice safe office, surrounded by people who know how to use a handkerchief, who have been vaccinated fully against a lot of transmissible diseases, and are at their own desks a fair distance away and not in our faces. Grow up.

Yes school staff are more exposed to the virus than other professions bar people in the medical field, however the point I’m trying to put across and that no one seems to get it that the masks at school are not going to do much without other mitigations both at schools and bringing back restrictions.
It’s just a patch on a broken leg.
The poor teachers should be given at least ffp2 grade masks or higher.
Oh shall we talk about the forgotten age group in primary schools. No mitigations for that group- are they immune by nature too🤣 it seems? No mitigations for them.
The kids have been thrown under the bus, along with all the school staff.
If they were serious about kids’ and teachers health and slowing down the spread they should have done a lot more than this.

They have given up on controlling the virus.

Now where’s that sellotape to batch the broken knee?

@PAFMO

Is the other 400+ post thread on masks in schools not enough for you OP? I'll be really helpful and pop a link to the teacher (and teenager) bashing on this one over there. You're welcome.

Read my posts properly before you post accusations. No need to be nasty.

Funnily enough not many have responded to the call

Funny that. Not sure why?

Not seen many volunteers either.

@Thewiseoneincognito

Btw masks in classrooms is a good thing and need to stay long term because as well all know- schools are breeding grounds for Covid.

Omicron in schools is going to be wild.

Long term? Please tell me you're joking? I'm a teacher and have seen the negative impact it has on communication and learning firsthand. They should never be used other than as an absolute last resort and even then I fail to see how a grubby bit of cloth is going to make a great deal of difference, particularly when you look at how the rates in Scotland soared with masks in place. Far better to improve ventilation and install proper air filters surely?