Face masks set to become part of school uniform – but not in class

Children in schools may be asked to wear face coverings in corridors and around school buildings as the Scottish Government look set to change their guidance for pupils.

Nicola Sturgeon said the government was consulting teachers and unions on the potential move to mandatory face coverings but said it was unlikely the decision would extend to classrooms.

It follows a change in global advice from the World Health Organisation who said that children over the age of 12 should wear a face covering in areas where social distancing is not possible.

The First Minister said that the education secretary John Swinney is in the “final stages” of consultation with teachers and local authorities on a move to make face coverings mandatory when pupils are moving around the school estate and are in communal areas.

She added the decision was made due to the higher likelihood of transmission due to mixing between different groups and the likelihood of crowding and close contact in corridors which could cause shouting and “greater potential transmission”.

Ms Sturgeon said: “This is a position that would reflect and actually go slightly beyond current WHO guidance.

“We’re not currently consulting on any proposals for pupils to wear face coverings in classrooms and that is because there is greater scope for physical distancing in the classroom and face coverings are more likely to interfere with teaching and learning.

“I would emphasis, however, that where there are outbreaks, it does remain an option for incident management teams to recommend more extensive use of face coverings.”

Asked whether schools would have a supply of masks for those pupils who attend without one and what enforcement action might be taken, the First Minister said both were issues the consultation was focusing on.

Jo Bisset, an organiser for the campaign group Us for Them Scotland which called for a full opening of schools, said the the decision could be “hugely damaging” to children with autism, hearing impairments and asthma.

Ms Bisse said: “Everyone appreciates the health and safety of pupils and teachers has to be a priority.

“We also have to consider those children from unstable households who simply won’t be sent to school with any mask.

“Forced wearing of masks in the classroom, or when moving about the building, would not achieve any sense of normality for children who’ve endured quite enough in recent months.”

The move won the support of Scottish Liberal Democrat leader Willie Rennie who said it was the “right thing to do”.

However, while the Scottish Greens welcomed the move, the party’s education spokesman Ross Greer said he was “confused” as to why the First Minister didn’t see the value of masks in classrooms.

He said :“There is clear evidence that face coverings significantly reduce transmission of the virus, so it is disappointing that it’s taken the government so long to hear teachers’ concerns.

“I am confused as to why the First Minister thinks masks should be worn in corridors but not classrooms though. She can’t have spent much time in high schools recently if she thinks social distancing is going on in classes of 20 to 30 teenagers when the classrooms are no bigger than they were in March.”

Larry Flanagan, general secretary of the Educational Institute of Scotland, welcomed the consultation, adding: “The EIS continues to believe that effective physical distancing is the best means of reducing the risk of Covid-19 spread in schools. We are continuing to press the Scottish Government for more staff and smaller classes to achieve this.”