Unions call for return of masks to secondary classrooms in England

Face coverings and masks should be immediately reintroduced for students and staff in classrooms across England to curb the spread of the Delta variant, education and school unions have urged.

In a joint statement, the National Education Union, Unison, the GMB and Unite warned more pupils are “likely to be off self-isolating and missing out on face-to-face education” in the weeks to come.

It came as official school attendance figures showed a significant increase in Covid-related absence among pupils, particularly in areas in the north-west with high Covid-19 rates.

A total of  116,000 pupils in England were off school due to potential contact with a Covid case on 27 May, compared to 82,000 the previous week, according to the latest figures compiled by the Department for Education.

The figures also showed a 50 per cent increase in children self-isolating in the space of a week, from 60,000 to 90,000 between 20 and 27 May.

In the north-west, four per cent of pupils were absent from school for Covid-related reasons. In Bolton, 21 per cent of primary and 31 per cent of secondary pupils in Bolton did not attend school, while in Blackburn with Darwen 15 per cent of primary and 13 per cent of secondary pupils were absent.

In May, the government scrapped guidance telling secondary school pupils in England to wear face masks in classrooms – more than two months after the measure was first introduced.

But many schools in areas with high Covid-19 rates have already reintroduced mask-wearing this week.

Scientists have previously warned against scrapping face masks in classrooms, saying doing so would “have consequences for the health” of children, their parents and the wider community.

The statement released on Tuesday demands the immediate reintroduction of face coverings for students and staff in all areas of secondary schools.

The statement reads: “Education unions are deeply concerned that secondary school age students now have the highest rates of Covid-19 infection of all age groups, according to Public Health England (PHE) and the Office for National Statistics (ONS) data, and those rates are rising.

“At the weekend, the health secretary acknowledged that ‘a huge proportion of the latest cases are in children’, that they pass on the virus to the local community and face risks from long Covid. Action must be taken now to make face-to-face learning safer over the remainder of the school term.

“Outbreaks mean bubbles, classes or entire year groups must be sent home. The priority must be to avoid any further loss of education.”

The unions said they also wanted to see a rapid rollout of Covid vaccinations for pupils, after the Medicine and Healthcare Products Regulatory Agency (MHRA) said the Pfizer vaccine was safe for children aged 12 and over.

A government spokesperson said: “Attendance in schools remains high, and the data shows the steps we are taking to keep outbreaks of the Delta variant under control in schools are working.

“On top of robust measures in place across the country, such as increased ventilation in classrooms and keeping to small group bubbles, we have increased the availability of testing for staff and pupils in families in areas of high prevalence of the variant.”