Masks banned for children at dc's primary school - teachers, can the head do this?

[PCatwalk]

She says no masks for children at all without a medical reason and a doctor's note

She says the Dfe are v clear about masks in primary - but I think it's an arbitrary rule based on age, not physiology . My Y6 dd is as tall as me and so are a couple of her friends!

Why would your 10 year old need a mask?

Good. Sounds sensible to me.

I hope she can

If heads can say masks are compulsory surely they can say banned and for primary kids I would definitely say that is the sensible option.

When proper masks are worn properly there is a slight protection.

When masks are worn wrongly and fiddled with all the time they are dangerous.

For kids they are more dangerous than protecting and kids are not at risk from CV.

Not sure if its allowed but it's certainly sensible.

Surely the medical reason would be ....erm... Covid, perhaps?

I've read of teachers on here saying their Heads won't allow masks/PPE and I've always wondered how that would stand up in court, if it came to it.
Surely they can't "ban" them??? Regardless of one's personal feelings about them, imagine if someone caught the virus, and it transpired that they/those around them had been prevented from taking what many consider to be a viable precaution.

Remember why we are wearing masks - to protect others. Wearing a mask will not protect your dd and might actually cause her to spread the virus more if she doestn remove it properly, touches or messes with in school.

The major difference between Primary and Secondary is the group size. At Secondary they are mixing with 150 or so other people. At Primary it's 30.

At Primary it's 30.
Not necessarily - large primaries with 2 or 3 form entry are counting whole year groups as bubbles.

@Aroundtheworldin80moves

The major difference between Primary and Secondary is the group size. At Secondary they are mixing with 150 or so other people. At Primary it's 30.

No, and in fact that’s probably unusual. All the primary schools round here are doing year group bubbles. That’s 90 in my school, 120 in DC’s school and 150 in the school nearer town which is 5-form entry.

kids are not at risk from CV.

This is factually incorrect.

Kids are at low risk from Covid.

Our Secondary school is asking for ours to wear masks all the time- wish they did not have too

Ours are banned in primary school too. Presumably a y6 would be ok to manage one, but further down the school could they actually be worse than not having one? I'm thinking if they end up fiddling with them or dropping them or accidentally picking up someone else's.

Good, as others have pointed out they have no place in a primary (or secondary imo).

Our primary has asked students to not wear them however if individuals want to they have to demonstrate that they can use them properly i.e not fiddling with them

@latticechaos

kids are not at risk from CV.

This is factually incorrect.

Kids are at low risk from Covid.

Your autocorrect replaced minuscule/non-existent with low

edition.cnn.com/2020/08/28/health/kids-covid-19-nose-throat-wellness/index.html

Surely they can't "ban" them

Yes, they can.

The current regulations do not require primary school children to wear masks and the current guidance is that they are only required in secondary schools. The law gives head teachers wide powers to set and enforce disciplinary rules.

Where is the specific law that allows head to ban the wearing of face masks - if a child comes in wearing a face mask and does not take it off when asked then what next?

I have a friend who is instructing her children to wear masks at all time's

@phonez

Where is the specific law that allows head to ban the wearing of face masks - if a child comes in wearing a face mask and does not take it off when asked then what next?

I have a friend who is instructing her children to wear masks at all time's

It will be as simple as "Lisa, face coverings are not part of the uniform policy. Remove that from your face, please." Just as any other clothing/accessory that isn't in the uniform policy.

Current guidance is that face coverings are not needed unless you are in a high density Covid area. Headteachers have the discretion to require face coverings, but that does not mean that parents can demand it. Some schools will be more flexible than others.

There’s nothing in the guidance that says people shouldn’t wear them in schools if they wish to. Think this Head’s on dodgy ground here.

@CallmeAngelina

I've read of teachers on here saying their Heads won't allow masks/PPE and I've always wondered how that would stand up in court, if it came to it. Surely they can't "ban" them??? Regardless of one's personal feelings about them, imagine if someone caught the virus, and it transpired that they/those around them had been prevented from taking what many consider to be a viable precaution.

Exactly.

Heads are free to dictate what children wear in school, that includes masks.

Primary children shouldn't need to wear them. They are much more likely to drop them, touch them constantly and then touch everything around them. I would be happy if my school made this decision.

Where is the specific law that allows head to ban the wearing of face masks

The specific law is section 61 of the School Standards and Framework Act 1998. This gives head teachers sweeping powers to impose and enforce any rules they want. If there was a specific law or regulations requiring primary school children to wear masks that would override this law. However, as the government has not made mask wearing compulsory for this age group, head teachers are free to ban masks.