Parenting

Primary schools telling kids as young as five to wear face masks


The Government has been called on to ‘urgently’ clarify its position on masks in class (Picture: AFP)

Primary schools have been telling pupils to wear face masks in the classroom, despite official guidance saying it isn’t necessary.

Charities and parents warn wearing coverings during lessons can affect children’s learning and have called on the Government to ‘urgently’ clarify its position on it.

As Boris Johnson laid out his roadmap out of lockdown on Monday, he said secondary school pupils would be required to wear face masks where social distancing is not possible.

Some primary school headteachers have also been writing to parents telling them their children must wear face coverings when they return on March 8, despite the Department for Education (DfE) saying it isn’t needed.

Selsdon Primary school in Croydon, South London, has told parents that children as young as five will be required to wear a face mask at all times, except for sports lessons or when eating or drinking, the Telegraph reports.

Executive headteacher Susan Papas wrote: ‘In order to be able to allow children to be able to play and socialise with the children in their bubble, we are asking that children from Year One to Year Six wear a face mask when in school.

‘They will be taught the safe way to wear face coverings and will be asked to remove them for PE lessons, when eating and when drinking.’

The Government says secondary pupils should wear face masks when social distancing is not possible, but not primary school pupils (Picture: PA)

A statement from the school said: ‘This decision was solely based on keeping our staff, pupils and their families safe in the current situation.’

Parents at Nascot Wood Junior School in Watford, Hertfordshire, were told children must wear a ‘well-fitted’ face mask in class if there is no space to socially distance.

Both schools added that the policy had already been in place for vulnerable pupils and children of key workers, who have been coming into class during lockdown.

Co-founder of the parent campaign group UsForThem Molly Kingsley said these kinds of measures should be ‘treated very cautiously’ and called on ministers to ‘urgently’ clarify their position.

Parents have raised concerns over how masks could impact primary pupils’ learning (Picture: AFP)

She added: ‘Already 72 hours in we are already seeing the worrying extension of this mandate into primary schools. We suspect these two schools won’t be isolated examples. Is this really what we want for children?’

Ms Kingsley also called on the Government to retract its policy on face masks in secondary school, calling them an ‘untested intervention’.

She said that many respected academics and doctors have raised concerns about the long-term impact the could have on pupils communication and educational progress.

A DfE spokesman said that under current guidance, masks ‘should be worn by staff and adult visitors in situations where social distancing between adults is not possible (for example, when moving around in corridors and communal areas)’.

The department adds that ‘children in primary school do not need to wear a face covering’.

It comes as Professor Calum Semple, a member of the Government’s Scientific Advisory Group for Emergencies (Sage), said opening windows and improving ventilation in schools was more effective than asking pupils to wear face masks.

He told BBC Radio 4’s Today Programme: ‘Primary school children are the lowest risk both to themselves and to society.

‘There is really good data coming out … that shows that children are half as likely to acquire the virus to a third as likely to acquire the virus.

‘When it comes to transmitting, they are probably half as likely to transmit it as adults.

‘That risk actually gets smaller as you go into younger age groups. So I am not a great fan of young children wearing face masks.’

Speaking to BBC Breakfast, Schools Minister Nick Gibbs said wearing masks in secondary school classrooms is ‘not mandatory’ but ‘highly recommended’.

He added: ‘We want to do everything we can to reduce the risk of transmission in the school. So there is twice-a-week testing of students, staff as well.


Palace sources say Prince Harry's interview with James Corden was 'unhelpful' CBS/Buckingham Palace

Palace aides say Prince Harry’s interview with James Corden was ‘unhelpful’

‘We have all those measures in place – hand hygiene, the cleaning of surfaces, the ventilation, staggered lunchbreaks and play times – all those measures designed to minimise the risk of infection and transmission within the school.

‘And this is one more measure just to help reduce that where you can’t have social distancing in a classroom.’

Department for Education guidance states that ‘no pupil should be denied education on the grounds that they are not wearing a face covering’.

It also says lateral flow testing is ‘voluntary’ and ‘schools will have discretion on how to test students over that week as they return to the classroom’.

Get in touch with our news team by emailing us at webnews@metro.co.uk.

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