Greater risk is not being at school
BORIS Johnson said yesterday that the greatest risk to children would be not returning to school for the start of the new term.
The Prime Minister also defended his Government’s latest change in advice on tackling the spread of coronavirus.
He said youngsters in parts of the country hit by Covid-19 surges should wear masks in school corridors but not in classrooms.
On a visit to a school in the East Midlands, the PM said: “The greatest risk you face now is of continuing to be out of school.”
Mr Johnson spoke out following criticism of the Government’s sudden decision on Tuesday to make face coverings compulsory in secondary schools in areas under local lockdown, after previously rejecting their use in schools.
He said: “On the issue of face coverings, what you’ve got is the World Health Organisation saying face coverings should be used by over-12s.
Sensible
“What we’re saying is if you’re in a school where there is a hotspot, then it probably does make sense in confined areas outside the classroom to use a face covering, in the corridor and elsewhere.”
He admitted the Government had decided to follow Nicola Sturgeon’s administration in Scotland in recommending face coverings in schools in some circumstances.
He added: “As they discovered in Scotland, where they’ve had the kids in for at least a couple of weeks now, what they found was that it was raining outside, people were coming in and they were congregating in the corridors and the move to face coverings they thought was sensible.
“What we are doing, following what the WHO have said, is we are saying if you are in a hotspot area where there is a higher risk of transmission then face coverings in those types of areas outside the
classroom. But not in the classrooms because that is clearly nonsensical – you can’t teach with face coverings, you can’t expect people to learn with face coverings.”
During his visit to Castle Rock School in Coalville, Leicestershire, the PM blamed a “mutant algorithm” for the recent exam grading fiasco.
Speaking to a group of youngsters in the school’s library, he said: “I’m afraid your grades were almost derailed by a mutant algorithm.
“I know how stressful that must have been for pupils up and down the country.
“I’m very glad that it has finally been sorted out.”
He also sought to encourage enthusiasm for the reopening of schools by promising pupils they will “experience things with an intensity and clarity that is seldom repeated in your lives”.
Some Tory MPs criticised the U-turn over face coverings in schools yesterday.
Backbencher Huw Merriman said: “I don’t think it’s the right decision because we need to send the message out that schools are safe with the measures that they’ve been taking and will be taking.
“My concern is that we just keep making this up as we go along. We need to send a message out that schools are a safe setting.” Pupils over the age of 11 in Wales will be recommended to wear face coverings in school communal areas where social distancing cannot be maintained, the Welsh government announced yesterday.