By flinching at responsibility we are being infantilised in this pandemic

sir – There is no better example of the way in which this pandemic has undermined professional responsibility and infantilised our society than Labour’s criticism that giving head teachers the final say on face coverings (outside coronavirus “hot spots”) is “passing the buck”.

Informed decisions with reference to the local situation, shape and size of school and to recent experience will mean the right choice will and should vary from place to place.

The Government’s previous position forbidding masks in all schools was no more sensible than Labour’s now in insisting on them.

As a head it is right that I am accountable for the decisions I make, but to be accountable I have to be responsible too. If that means passing the buck then pass it on.

Mark Waldron Ryde, Isle of Wight

sir – There is a national spirit of trying to get the country operating again after the lockdown. Companies have striven to make the workplace Covid-safe. Shops, cafes, restaurants and gyms have used initiative to make their premises safe for customers. Unions have co-operated, with the interests of their members to the fore, in getting them back to work again.

Sadly this does not seem to apply to education. Teachers’ unions and a few hesitant schools should take some positive action towards the recovery of our country.

Peter Amey Hoveton, Norfolk

sir – Anyone with an ounce of common sense will see that making children wear masks in parts of their school is a sop to those parents still frightened of any sort of risk, however small. It is an encouragement to them to get their children back to where they should be.

Bill Todd Whitton, Middlesex

continue to work partly at home. Surely it is imperative that employers encourage staff to return to work in the office. However well staff may have worked at home, productivity must be better in a fully equipped office. Any company that does not have the spin-off of people meeting daily will also surely suffer from a lack of entrepreneurial new ideas.

Without encouragement and training from seniors, young people too can easily get lost in companies that they have newly joined.

Adrian Platt West Horsley, Surrey

sir – James Stone (Letters, August 26) suggests that “working from home will end when autumn heating bills arrive”. I also forecast that cycling, electric scooters and walking to the office will drastically decline after the summer.

However, I wait to see what happens to “temporary” and proposed cycle lanes and traffic control.

Leslie Hayward Thames Ditton, Surrey