Coronavirus: Boris Johnson U-turns on advice against face masks in schools

Boris Johnson has dropped advice against the use of face coverings in English schools, in an 11th-hour U-turn after he came under pressure from unions, opposition parties and schools.

From 1 September, staff and pupils in secondary schools in local lockdown areas like Manchester and Birmingham will be required to wear face coverings when moving around the building and in communal areas where social distancing is difficult to maintain. Masks will not be mandated in the classroom.

Elsewhere in the country, masks will not be obligatory but school leaders will have the discretion to require face coverings in communal areas if they believe that is "right in their particular circumstances". The new rules will also apply to sixth-form colleges

The last-minute changes came after the Scottish government ordered the use of face coverings in communal areas of secondary schools and all school transport north of the border and Wales announced it was reviewing the policy.

They were welcomed by the Association of School and College Leaders, which had been pressing Mr Johnson for a rethink. But Labour’s shadow education secretary Kate Green dismissed the change as “half-baked” and said Mr Johnson was trying to “pass the buck” to headteachers.

“Parents and schools needed clarity and leadership, but instead the government have just passed the buck back to them,” said Ms Green.

“Face coverings should be compulsory in communal areas in schools. Instead of this half baked U-turn the government should have given clear guidance and a plan to deliver it.”

Schools in England and Wales are set to resume lessons for all students on Tuesday, after five months away from the classroom for most.

But despite World Health Organisation advice issued on 21 August that over-12s should cover their faces in situations where they cannot maintain social distancing, the UK government stuck to its guidance that masks were not necessary.

Downing Street said on Monday that there were "no plans" to review the guidance. And as late as Tuesday morning, business secretary Alok Sharma insisted that "Public Health England do not recommend the wearing of face masks in schools ... there is no current plan to review that particular guidance."

But by lunchtime, Mr Johnson was signalling that a U-turn was on its way, as he came under growing criticism from unions, rival politicians and scientists. While continuing to insist that schools were safe under existing guidance, he told reporters during a visit to Devon: “If we need to change the advice then of course we will.”

Hours later, Gavin Williamson's Department for Education confirmed the switch, which it said was taken in response to the revised WHO advice.

Mr Williamson said: “Our priority is to get children back to school safely. At each stage we have listened to the latest medical and scientific advice. We have therefore decided to follow the World Health Organisation’s new advice.

"In local lockdown areas children in year 7 and above should wear face coverings in communal spaces. Outside of local lockdown areas face coverings won’t be required in schools, though schools will have the flexibility to introduce measures if they believe it is right in their specific circumstances. I hope these steps will provide parents, pupils and teachers with further reassurance.”

His change of heart was likely to spark a backlash from Tories who had urged the PM to resist calls for students to cover up. Prominent backbencher Huw Merriman said masks would "further downgrade the learning environment", while Marcus Fysh denounced calls for them to be obligatory as "scientifically illiterate guff".

ASCL general secretary Geoff Barton welcomed the shift in policy.

“It was inevitable that the policy on face coverings would change following guidance from the World Health Organisation, and we recognise that the government in Westminster has responded to our call for a quick direction on this matter with the reopening of schools imminent," said Mr Barton.

“The new policy is discretionary, other than in places where coronavirus restrictions apply, and secondary school and college leaders will welcome the flexibility this affords them to decide what best suits their circumstances. We look forward to seeing the full guidance as early as possible.”

The return of schools is being seen as a crucial test of the government’s handling of the restoration of more normal conditions after months of restrictions, with ministers hoping it will trigger a widespread return to Covid-secure workplaces by parents. But the escalating row over masks saw Mr Johnson risk losing control of the process as some schools indicated they would ignore the official guidance.

The Oasis Academy chain announced that staff and pupils in its 52 schools will be wearing masks as part of their uniform when doors reopen and the chair of the Commons Education Committee, Robert Halfon said the prime minister had just 24 hours to provide clarity to headteachers.

Oasis founder Steve Chalke welcomed the new advice, telling the BBC: “The problem is when government doesn’t work alongside the unions and school leaders and we end up doing all sorts of acrobatics and topsy-turvy U-turns. What we need to do is work together.”

The developing debate saw the Westminster government once again follow in the wake of Scotland, where Nicola Sturgeon’s administration confirmed new rules on face masks early in the day.

Scotland’s education secretary John Swinney said there was “increasing evidence” that face coverings can provide protection for the wearer and those near to them, adding: “We want to continue to protect what we have achieved in suppressing the virus and re-opening schools, and to do the best for children in schools.”

Welsh health secretary Vaughan Gething later announced a review of guidance by the Cardiff executive’s scientific advisory group.

And London mayor Sadiq Khan - who was at the forefront of calls for mandatory face-coverings on public transport - indicated that he was considering advising headteachers in the capital to tell teenage pupils to wear masks where social distancing was not possible.

The early start to autumn term in Scotland almost two weeks ago was followed by a coronavirus outbreak in a Dundee school which has been linked to 27 infections.

The chair of the British Medical Association’s medical academic staff committee, Dr David Strain, said this flare-up and the new WHO advice strengthened the case for masks in school corridors.

“In the absence of clarity, given the known detrimental impact of school closures, we must err on the side of caution in order to ensure that when schools re-open they remain open," said Dr Strain, from Exeter University Medical School.

“In order to minimise the need to re-implement lockdown measures, any step – no matter how small – would be of benefit to ensure children and young adults are enabled to resume their education.”