School staff not allowed to wear masks

I thought Westminster might have learnt about using Scotland as a guinea pig after the poll tax fiasco

And I though that schools in Scotland always had different summer holidays than those in England ? So they are hardly being used as a guinea pig . Just returning on the dates expected .

My own observations have been that when an individual needed union support they were indeed wimpish and ineffective. However, in the case of large numbers of teachers needing support it was different. I’m guessing that if teachers were made to sign a declaration not to wear a mask, which would be completely wrong, the unions would take strong action. Difficult situation though I just don’t see how anyone can teach effectively wearing a mask as teaching is all about good communication.

Possibly teach without the mask but I’m thinking back to the faculty office where you prepared lessons did admin did photocopying etc etc we were pretty cheek by jowl with age range at any given time of 25 to 65 ! With no mask ?

Also, many schools are very large these days, with very many adults working there, teachers, support staff, site maintenance, cleaners, kitchen staff, visiting music teachers ... . So, there is that potential for virus-spreading. Teachers in our school no longer have a 'base' and will now be the ones moving from class to class, while children stay in their bubbles. As we go into the autumn/winter, we have to brace ourselves for some more difficult times I fear, especially those who already have those underlying health conditions.

Parsley3

My granddaughter goes back to primary school tomorrow. I will let you know what is in place and how it is going. Schools in England will have the example of what works and what doesn’t work in Scotland before you go back in September. Here we are taking a leap of faith.

Good luck! I hope it works out well. I thought Westminster might have learnt about using Scotland as a guinea pig after the poll tax fiasco.

Gwyneth

As a retired teacher I would say that it’s pretty impossible to teach wearing a mask. I certainly haven’t heard that this is happening in UK schools anyway. For one thing teacher unions are so strong and militant they wouldn’t allow it.

I'm not sure what unions wouldn't allow.

You must have had a different experience of teaching unions from me because I always found them a bit wimpish.

Two reports suggest that younger pupils are just as capable as transmitting virus as anybody else, despite often being asymptomatic and/or only suffering a mild form of the disease.

www.forbes.com/sites/williamhaseltine/2020/07/31/new-evidence-suggests-young-children-spread-covid-19-more-efficiently-than-adults/#411d5fa219fd

That's dangerous because nobody will know they're infected if they're asymptomatic and not tested. The government is currently ruling out routine testing for pupils, despite advice from scientists.

As a retired teacher I would say that it’s pretty impossible to teach wearing a mask. I certainly haven’t heard that this is happening in UK schools anyway. For one thing teacher unions are so strong and militant they wouldn’t allow it.

My granddaughter goes back to primary school tomorrow. I will let you know what is in place and how it is going. Schools in England will have the example of what works and what doesn’t work in Scotland before you go back in September. Here we are taking a leap of faith.

I think OP is mainly talking about the reaction in the States. Obviously in UK no one can make you sign anything. And in the UK there has been no announcements yet in what is worn, when and where. Remember this is not the States and our teaching unions are very powerful. FYI I think schools should go back as I think the impact on kids especially teenagers will be worse than the possibility of getting CV19.

Yes, a union would be a good point of contact. Can you imagine a teacher being asked to remove their mask! And if you didn't sign, they couldn't sack you. The science in this country has been responsible for the delay in lockdown and the delay in mask wearing, and who knows what other mistakes. Of course teachers, and especially teaching assistants, should be allowed to wear masks. It protects other people and makes you feel somehow protected too and therefore more confident in carrying out your duties. See-through masks are available for lip reading purposes. I am returning to work in Sept as a TA in a secondary school. Today I hear that teenagers are effectively young adults, and just as 'good' at carrying and passing on the virus. Feeling slightly nervous as the job of a TA naturally involves getting close to those SEN and struggling children. Found it almost impossible to socially distance from KW and vulnerable children during lockdown in school. We're on the front line unlike those who make the rules.

mbody

There is not one case of children infecting teachers worldwide. It’s about time these overpaid “professionals” got on with what they are paid for.

I was never overpaid, things must have changed in the last two years!

PLEASE. Teachers WANT. To go back to school . All that is asked is CLARITY (Particularly in regard to secondary schools) About RULES plus adequate FUNDING to cover adaptations that need to be made.

Thank goodness! At last someone (NemosMum) talking sense! Children need to be in school, parents need to get back to work, we all need a sense of proportion! Children generally do not get or pass on the virus. Results from a study by Public Health England are expected next week to confirm that there is very little evidence that the virus is transmitted in schools.
Mask wearing is injurious to everyone's health, restricts oxygen intake, creates a damp atmosphere inside the mask for germs to proliferate, can induce headaches, obviously stifles speech, and does not prevent the virus being transmitted. Bad for children and definitely not good for adults.

I think schools should reopen but I think teachers should be able to choose whether or not to wear a mask.
The latest science says masks do offer some protection to the wearer, as MaizieD
says up thread, the viral load is reduced when a mask is worn. Some scientists recently claimed up to 65% protection for the wearer of a mask.
I must be a bear of very little brain, but I fail to see how other people are protected by the mask wearer not breathing out into the atmosphere, but somehow the atmosphere viral load can be breathed in by the mask wearer. So the virus doesn’t pass through, oh no, it does pass through
Does the virus know it’s only allowed to go one way

Well said NemosMum. I can't understand who is frightening teachers to death, literally in the case of the OP, or why are they so concerned for their own safety? I always thought teaching was one of those professions, along g with nursing, where you didn't show your own fears or paranoia because it would rub off on the parents and children.

I am not sure it is any more difficult to teach through a mask than it is to nurse through a mask. We just have to be mindful of our communication skills, emphathise eye contact, eye expressions etc. and repeat if necessary. If there is someone who needs to lip read then it is the wearers discretion to remove the mask - and maintain distance

Neither lucca nor GagaJi said all UK schools were imposing this rule.

Both referred to a school they knew. Therefore after searching for something to verify this, I assumed it was the Head’s decision not a government decision.

Very well said NemosMum. Wish more people thought like you.

Thank you Growstuff: excellent! There is no confirmed case anywhere of a child transmitting the virus to an adult. Teachers (yes, and before you say it, I'm a trained teacher) are being frightened by politically-motivated unions! Perhaps you would overcome that if you were not on gardening leave and 100% pay! Time to get back to work (without masks which DO interfere with learning). You are in no danger from the children. Furthermore, even if there are a few spikes in positive tests in some areas, the admissions to hospital and deaths are tiny and heading down all the time. Go back to work - you'll feel much better when you're doing something genuinely useful for our young people, who have been massively disadvantaged by this virus.

mbody

There is not one case of children infecting teachers worldwide. It’s about time these overpaid “professionals” got on with what they are paid for.

That hasn't been proved.

There are plenty of cases of outbreaks in schools, including at least one in France, where 33% of the teachers and over 50% of the teaching assistants were infected.

Given the guidance for the general public, who is going to tell the virus it's not in the rules to transmit in schools?

What you seem to have forgotten is that very few schools anywhere in the world have had whole classes full-time. There have nearly always been mitigations. I suggest you read the DELVE Report.

There is not one case of children infecting teachers worldwide. It’s about time these overpaid “professionals” got on with what they are paid for.

Ireland appears to have seen the light!

www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-northern-ireland-53733657

Firecracker123

Are we not allowed to criticise teachers on this site or express an opinion. Teachers are not above criticism they are no different than other workers. All this fuss about whether they should wear masks or not just do the job you are paid for like millions of other workers have been during the covid crisis.

You're obviously in full wind-up mode. Have a good day!

B9exchange: have you ever spent time in school lavatories, checked pupils' hands after 'washing', seen where they put their hands during the day in their bodies, in the classroom and in the playground?
You'd get it!

Firecracker123

Are we not allowed to criticise teachers on this site or express an opinion. Teachers are not above criticism they are no different than other workers. All this fuss about whether they should wear masks or not just do the job you are paid for like millions of other workers have been during the covid crisis.

Wearing a mask should be acceptable in any job.

Of course you can criticise teachers Firecracker, but you said teachers hadn't been working, which was completely incorrect.