School is like a prison, with more attention paid to regulations than to learning, says teacher

A TEACHER has hit out at continued strict Covid-19 regulations, saying her school is “like a prison” and more attention is being paid to lockdown rules than learning.

She said young people’s attainment and mental health are being impacted by restrictions on learning and socialising, but teachers fear speaking out.

All pupils were allowed to return full time for face-to-face teaching in schools in Wales from March 15. That was for the first time since Christmas for pupils aged eight and over.

Stricter school re-opening guidance since then means all secondary pupils, except those medically exempt, must wear masks at all times in school, including in the classroom. All those aged over 14 are also being asked to take twice-weekly rapid-result Covid tests.

Contact bubbles, one-way systems and staggered start and end times are continuing and staff, including those in primary schools, must wear masks, including when teaching, when they can’t socially distance.

The teacher, who does not want to be identified for fear it will affect her job, said the ‘no mixing between contact groups’ rule leaves children isolated. Wearing masks makes it harder for them to learn in what has already been a disrupted year.

“The whole ethos of school now is to be policed, it’s not about teaching, it’s about whether we are following coronavirus rules,” she said.

“We have more kids going for counselling sessions, and this is a school with solid families and not masses of social problems.

“I have taught for 20 years and I know that facial expression is important when teaching, but pupils and teachers are being told they must wear masks. I am worried about the

effect on teaching and learning.

“The kids are wearing cotton masks, not medical grade masks. They are wearing masks all day in hot classrooms. I really feel for them. England is finishing with masks in schools next month. We should be too.”

She said pupils were losing out on experiences like music, sport and drama events, and claimed staff who question continued strict mitigating regulations have been criticised and fear speaking out. She said she had been ostracised when she raised concerns with school leaders.

She believes that now community infection rates are so low and the summer is approaching the restrictions in schools, especially masks, should be relaxed.

And she warned the constant worry about Covid, drummed into them each day, was giving some children anxiety.

“They are being told to constantly clean and use hand sanitiser which is like paint-stripper,” she said.

“The carpet around the hand sanitiser is bleached where it has fallen on it. The whole school looks like a prison. The minute they arrive children are zapped with a thermometer to see if they can come in and then isolated in their bubbles.

“We are just telling kids all day they must obey the rules. We are teaching them to keep quiet about it and comply. No-one feels they can question anything publicly. We are teaching the next generation they must learn to comply and not question.”

She said the bubble contact system meant the youngest Year 7 children, who started secondary school last September, have “sat in the same classroom for months and not met anyone else”.

“There is less focus on what they are learning and more on everything about Covid, such as testing twice a week. I wish more teachers would speak out.”

The teacher said she did not deny Covid-19 exists but believes the response has been too extreme.