Clarity needed over face masks in schools

Head teachers have complained about a lack of clarity over the rules on whether teachers or pupils can wear face masks in schools in England.

Geoff Barton, who heads the Association of School and College Leaders, said that the guidance is silent on what schools should do if staff or pupils want to wear face coverings and that headteachers want to know if they can override the official guidance which rejects the use of face coverings in school.

Face coverings will be used in corridors and shared areas in Scottish secondary schools, following new guidance from the World Health Organization.

However, it remains unclear whether schools in England could have flexibility to allow masks if they were requested as a safety measure by teachers or pupils' parents or where they might be seen as a ‘useful additional measure’.

Unison, which represents support staff in schools, said masks were worn in other workplaces and it was ‘vital’ that school staff should be allowed to wear them. However, the government's guidance, issued in early July, remains that Public Health England does not recommend using face coverings in school.

Downing Street has also previously said that masks could get in the way of communication between teachers and pupils.

The call for clarity follows a letter sent to Education Secretary Gavin Williamson, in which headteachers accuse the government of failing to listen during the coronavirus crisis, leaving them to ‘work in isolation’ from the government. Run by the Worth Less? lobbying group, the letter sats that ‘collaboration, consultation and partnership have felt in short supply’ as time, energy and resources have been wasted as schools respond to ‘shifting policy directives and myriad changes’.