Unions have called for teachers and support staff to be allowed to wear face masks in schools in England in order to protect them and help limit the spread of coronavirus.
The government does not currently recommend the use of face coverings in schools, as it says staff and pupils are kept in consistent groups, meaning risk is limited, and misuse could increase the risk of transmission. There are also concerns that masks could affect communication in classes.
However, with face coverings now mandatory in most enclosed public spaces across England, including inside shops and on public transport, unions say the current policy in schools is out of step with wider public health policy, and they want teachers and school staff to have the same protection as other workers.
With masks also compulsory for children over the age of 11 in these public spaces, the NASUWT teaching union believes there is now a strong case for wearing them to be made compulsory for older children when they return to school in September.
“The government’s wider public health advice confirms that whilst children aged under 11 are not required to wear face masks, they are mandatory for children aged over 11 when they visit a range of other facilities,” said the NASUWT’s general secretary, Dr Patrick Roach. “So there is a strong argument that face masks should also be made compulsory for children when they return to secondary schools in September.”
Some schools are already taking the matter into their own hands. Neil Strowger, the chief executive officer of the Bohunt education trust, which has seven schools in the south-east of England, said: “We are encouraging our community to wear masks inside, as there is evidence to support their use, but we are clear that students and staff are not required to wear them.”
Dr David Strain, a senior clinical lecturer at the University of Exeter Medical School and the co-chair of the medical academic staff committee of the British Medical Association (BMA), did not advocate face masks in primary schools but agreed that masks for teenagers in secondary school – in situations where they could not keep their distance – were a sensible precaution.
The BMA, which is one of the top representative bodies for doctors, has said that wherever 2-metre social distancing cannot be observed, including in schools, masks should be worn as a way of limiting transmission.
“When it comes to teenagers in secondary school, they are very unlikely to be badly affected by Covid, but there is some evidence that they can be carriers and spread it on,” said Strain. “Therefore the idea of them wearing masks to stop spread around the school – enabling them to potentially take it home to older relatives and also risking teachers – is a sensible precaution.”
Julie McCulloch, the director of policy at the Association of School and College Leaders, said masks were already in use in schools in some other countries. “We expect that most schools will follow the existing guidance, although some may decide to use face coverings as an extra level of assurance.”
Karen Leonard, a national officer at the GMB union, added: “GMB’s position is to allow school staff to wear masks if they want to. Staff who may be vulnerable or at increased risk should not be prevented from wearing them.”
Avis Gilmore, the deputy general secretary of the National Education Union, said: “It remains our view that no member of staff or pupil should be prevented from wearing a face mask if they wish to do so and we anticipate that the majority of schools and colleges will respect this.”
A Department for Education spokesperson said: “We have set out the controls schools should use, including cleaning and hygiene measures, to substantially reduce the risk of transmission of the virus when they open to all children from September.
“This does not include the wearing of face coverings as we believe the system of controls laid out adequately reduced the risk of transmission to both staff and students.”