Scottish Schools - Face masks now "obligatory"

[WeAllHaveWings]

Regardless of whether anyone agrees or not these are now "obligatory" on buses, in corridors, and communal areas (not sure exactly what that means, some classrooms, but guess school will clarify?)

So ds(16) will need a mask for:

Bus/entering school to well-being/registration class
Going to periods 1 - 7
Goingwil to break/lunch
Bus home

So does he use the same mask all day, taking it on/off 11 times, or should he have several masks for the day and a dirty mask bag?

What will you be doing?

I am thinking maybe 2-3 masks per day......one for before morning break, after morning break and after lunch.....as I doubt ds would take/use 11 masks totally hygienically!

We were told there is no need to wash uniform any more than usual.

Our guidance said no blazers or ties, clothes washed daily. They're being pretty relaxed on what they wear. I'm going to find it hard to get stuff dry in winter though so probably need to get more clothes as DD seems to be rotating two black hoodies.

The school is being stricter than before about uniform - have to wear a blazer.

I was pleasantly surprised as ours can be funny about uniform. With all the new routines to get used to and worries over testing (still waiting to hear about a classmate) I feel there are far more important things to deal with than insisting on blazers. And ties are increasingly old fashioned in a lot of workplaces anyway.

What about the belt in lieu of the skirt? Is that still a popular choice? :D

This is all such a crock of shit.

WHO recommends masks in schools where prevalence is high. Prevalence in Scotland is very low.

There is just no evidence to support this - and contrary evidence that in fact kids repeatedly taking masks on and off can help spread bugs about.

Nobody gives a shit about mental health and socialisation any more. Just protecting kids from the miniscule "risk" of Covid.

Just awful.

@SockYarn, the issue is now that policy is being driven by pressure groups and the governmentS try to please one and then another, but in the end they please no-one.

I get that. But it's just such a shit show and the ones who suffer are the kids.

But they don't have a vote, so don't matter.

Education as a whole doesn't matter as it doesn't shift votes, so, in the end, nobody really cares.
If it did, things would happen pdq.

They aren't just protecting kids though, they are protecting the adults who come into contact with those kids.
There is no other situation you would be in in society just now that is as crowded as a secondary school corridor at changeover time.

At Kingspark school, 27 have covid. That's ONE school. The teachers who wore masks didn't catch covid, those who didn't have. Transmission of Covid is so easy if masks are not worn. I've not seen any children say they're uncomfortable in masks and these are young ones.

"No one gives a shit about mental health" - well the SG has explicitly advised that Numeracy, Literacy and Health and Wellbeing should drive the curriculum at the moment.

@SockYarn

This is all such a crock of shit.

WHO recommends masks in schools where prevalence is high. Prevalence in Scotland is very low.

There is just no evidence to support this - and contrary evidence that in fact kids repeatedly taking masks on and off can help spread bugs about.

Nobody gives a shit about mental health and socialisation any more. Just protecting kids from the miniscule "risk" of Covid.

Just awful.

Exactly this. Absolutely no need for mask wearing now. When we see a rise in cases come winter, fair enough that we should all be protecting other people in our communities. Also think the teachers should have the option to choose whether they wear a face shield or mask in corridors at the moment etc. The rest of it is nonsense just now. Kids are more likely to end up with impetigo or get inflamed acne, rather than covid, just from wearing the face masks. Wash your hands, use sanitiser, try not to lick fellow pupils (this being the hardest thing to ask a teenager😳) and all will be well whilst there’s such low or no cases in parts of Scotland.

If it's face covering rather than a mask, I'm going to go with a clean buff every day. DS loses everything (lol at the pp whose kid lost their shoelaces which actually beats his previous record of 3 shoes in one week - one pair, one single...) That way he can just pull it up and down and sanitise hands inbetween. I HAVE to assume there's no Covid in the school or I would absolutely drive myself mad with worry, so fitting in with that belief means I don't think there's much chance of infection touching the same buff all the time.

Secondary teacher here, it was our first day back today with half the pupils. It was scary in the corridors. Classrooms were fine - no concerns. But I could not move from one class to the next without getting very close to lots of students.
When the full school is in next week it will be worse.
The students need to wear face coverings in corridors - it’s a matter of life for some.
I’m an extremely clinically vulnerable teacher, who has no choice but to return to work.

Exactly this. Absolutely no need for mask wearing now. When we see a rise in cases come winter, fair enough that we should all be protecting other people in our communities.

You seem to be forgetting how fast cases can rise, and have risen, without distancing or PPE.
It only takes a few asymptomatic individuals, which young people tend to be.
Now is the time to wear masks. Later you might need another lockdown.

Kingspark school is a SEN school. It caters for children whose autistic spectrum and other difficulties are severe enough that they need a specialist school rather than mainstream. These are children who have high needs, who probably have 1 to 1 help in many cases.

It is not a standard state secondary like the one my kids go to, where kids all sit facing the front with the teacher at the front.

Totally bogus comparison.

@Lweji,
^You seem to be forgetting how fast cases can rise, and have risen, without distancing or PPE.
It only takes a few asymptomatic individuals, which young people tend to be.
Now is the time to wear masks. Later you might need another lockdown.^

Absolutely, but then the logical conclusion is that masks will NEVER come off and within a generation humanity will cease to exist because you are not allowed to forge new relationships.

Masks can be fine, but the way they were introduced into the population was disgraceful: out of the blue, without a clear explanation and, most of all, without an exit strategy.

@Mistressiggi, we have been told over and over again that a contact to "count" has to be within 1m and for 15 minutes.
Now instead it seems that if you come within 1m of a stranger for 1 ms you get zombified.

Absolutely, but then the logical conclusion is that masks will NEVER come off and within a generation humanity will cease to exist because you are not allowed to forge new relationships.

We are literally 8 months into a pandemic.

There are vaccines in development and the latest research suggests most people can develop fairly lasting immunity.
Trying to be kind, I'll just say that your scenario is OTT and unreasonable.

Masks can be fine, but the way they were introduced into the population was disgraceful: out of the blue, without a clear explanation and, most of all, without an exit strategy.

Did you actually miss all the debates and discussions in the news and here about the use of masks?
And the government guidelines?

How do you expect to have an exit strategy when we know very little, and how does that preclude the use of masks?
It's not quite the same as invading a country.

I'll believe the vaccine when I see it, and I see it works.
Currently the levels are VERY low indeed and even with the vaccine they can hardly be lower, so it will be difficult to justify the removal of masks.
Then masks can be reintroduced the next flu season, after all that's with us EVERY year (despite the vaccine).
My scenario is not that far fetched. Say the vaccine does NOT come this year (which it won't) but the one after or the one after that it the following one, what do we do?
In any case, I could ALMOST buy into that argument, but then the governmentS should explain that we use masks because X and Y and no sooner does Z happen than we will take them off. Instead... zilch on that front.

[quote Arkadia]@Mistressiggi, we have been told over and over again that a contact to "count" has to be within 1m and for 15 minutes.
Now instead it seems that if you come within 1m of a stranger for 1 ms you get zombified.[/quote]
Again...

Many people in close proximity indoors make for a cloud of viruses.
Even if only one person is infected, their friends will be close for more than 15 min during the day and at less than 1m.
Then it becomes 2-3 people in a few days, and so on. Until the first person with symptoms emerges, by which time there may be quite a few family clusters from the school.

This is not two random people crossing each other on the street.

@Lweji, there was no debate in this. The SG felt it needed to be seen doing something, and it did. Remember, at the height of the pandemic there was no need for masks. The "Science" has not changed, nor have the masks.
As I said up-thread, health policies are driven solely by pressure groups and public frenzy, and that is NEVER a good idea.

[quote Arkadia]@Mistressiggi, we have been told over and over again that a contact to "count" has to be within 1m and for 15 minutes.
Now instead it seems that if you come within 1m of a stranger for 1 ms you get zombified.[/quote]
this is why the advice makes no sense.

I go to Asda to do my shopping on a quiet morning, and walk past people in the aisles. I need to wear a mask. I need a mask for walking through Braehead/Silverburn.

Children sit unmasked in classrooms for 50 minutes at a stretch. They then need to put on a mask for the 2 minute walk to their next class.

I get why we need to wear them on planes, on trains. Places where you just can't socially distance and are spending >15 minutes with other people. But if the absolute biggest risk for catching covid is 15 minutes with someone (and i'm not disputing that's the case at all) then why on god's green earth do I have to cover my face for the 10 seconds it takes to walk past someone in a large, empty supermarket? And why does my child not need a mask to sit in class for 50 minutes , but has to wear one to sit next to the same child on a bus for 10 minutes?

It's clear that the Scot Gov are making it up as they go along. Like I said, total crock of shit.

I'll believe the vaccine when I see it, and I see it works.
You don't have to believe any vaccines. They haven't been deployed yet. Except two that haven't been through proper testing.
But when they are deployed, I don't think you'll need to see the vial to believe they exist.

Currently the levels are VERY low indeed and even with the vaccine they can hardly be lower, so it will be difficult to justify the removal of masks.

Currently numbers have been rising. In many places. From very low numbers. Does that tell you nothing?
Or are you just blindly stubborn that masks are bad and numbers won't rise before flu season?

Check wordometer, ECDC, and the WHO sites to see what's happening now in countries that had almost no cases.