Children forced back into masks in lessons

Zahawi insists lessons will be ‘face to face’ as he announces plans to keep schools open

SECONDARY school pupils will be asked to wear face masks in the classroom again as ministers draw up contingency plans to keep schools open amid fears of widespread teacher absences.

Nadhim Zahawi, the Education Secretary, insisted the policy – announced on the weekend before pupils return from the Christmas holidays – was designed to help “maximise the number of children in school” and would remain only as long as “they are needed”.

The decision to reimpose masks in classrooms for the first time since May last year brings England in line with Wales and Scotland. Mask-wearing was already in force for staff and pupils in corridors and communal areas.

It came as England recorded another 162,572 Covid cases yesterday, the highest figure since the pandemic began, with 154 deaths, and NHS leaders said hospitals were likely to cancel operations next week if there were significant rises in admissions.

Suspected outbreaks in care homes have almost doubled in a week.

Writing for The Sunday Telegraph about the return to school after Christmas, Mr Zahawi says that “face-to-face teaching” will be the “expected norm” heading into the new term, and confirmed that all exams in January will “go ahead as planned”.

“The Prime Minister could not be clearer: education is our number one priority and we will do everything in our power as a government to minimise the disruption to schools,” he adds.

However, officials in the Department for Education have begun discussing proposals that could ask heads to prioritise primary, GCSE and A-level pupils for face-to-face teaching – with others taught remotely – should they be hit with widespread staff absences.

Other proposals if the situation calls for them include teaching multiple classes in school halls.

The department is also looking at “flexible staff models” should absences hit 10, 15 or 25 per cent, although insiders say that at 30 per cent schools are likely to “tip over”.

The teacher absence rate in state schools in mid-December stood at 8 per cent as the omicron variant took hold and is expected to be higher when schools reopen this week.

Last night government sources stressed that the full range of contingency plans had not been passed to ministers for consideration. They added that they formed part of wider Whitehall contingency planning in response to record levels of Covid infections.

With as many as one in 25 people infected with Covid-19 in the run-up to Christmas, the Government has asked business groups and public sector leaders to prepare for a worst-case scenario in which one in four staff is off work.

Both Mr Zahawi and Downing Street hope that the reimposition of masks in the classroom will only be required until Jan 26, when Plan B regulations are scheduled to expire.

But the move risks causing another Tory backbench rebellion when Parliament returns on Wednesday, with senior MPs last night accusing the Government of caving into the teaching unions.

Robert Halfon, the chairman of the education committee, said enforced mask-wearing would have a “significant impact on children’s wellbeing”.

He also pointed out that Will Quince, the children’s minister, had told MPs last month that there was “very limited evidence as to the efficacy of masks in educational settings”. Mr Halfon added: “The Government needs to supply the evidence. If masks are not required in offices or restaurants, why are we getting young kids to put them on?”

It also poses another headache for Boris Johnson, who could be forced to decide as soon as this week if restrictions on household mixing and large events are needed to curb record infections and surging hospital admissions.

While Downing Street believes it is still too early to say whether further measures will be required, several Cabinet ministers have said they do not believe the current levels of infections

and hospital admissions warrant them.

Another minister also suggested that further restrictions would be a “futile gesture”, as any pressure on the NHS for the next fortnight would be “baked in” from record infections.

Secondary pupils are due to undergo on-site testing on the first day of term, with Mr Zahawi insisting that schools have enough lateral flow devices to ensure they can reopen safely.

To reduce pressure on schools further, Ofsted inspectors who work as teachers will also be temporarily released from their duties, with the inspectorate also postponing inspections of secondary schools during the first week of term while pupils undergo mass-testing.

An additional 7,000 air-cleaning units will also be provided to schools, colleges and early-years settings to improve ventilation in teaching spaces, the Department for Education said.

Yesterday health chiefs insisted that they have no plans to cut the isolation period for those who test positive for Covid, despite the United States reducing it to five days.