Students in England will once again be told to wear masks in classrooms as fears mount over the all-time high number of Covid cases.
The measures will be brought in for secondary schools from the start of the term until January 26.
It comes as 162,572 new cases were recorded in the UK over the last 24 hours – after no restrictions were imposed on social gatherings over Christmas.
The Department for Education said the move will ‘maximise the number of children in school’ for the ‘maximum amount of time’.
Face coverings are already advised in communal areas for schoolchildren in year 7 and above, and many teachers have already welcomed the move.
Ministers confirmed the recommendation for both schools and colleges will remain in place only for three weeks, after which the Plan B regulations are due to expire.
Geoff Barton, general secretary of the Association of School and College Leaders (ASCL), stressed it is ‘absolutely essential that everything possible’ is done to reduce the transmission in classrooms.
He said: ‘While there are obvious drawbacks to the use of face coverings in classrooms, it is clear that the Omicron variant poses a very significant additional risk to education with the potential for further widespread disruption of schools, colleges, and young people.
‘It is absolutely essential that everything possible is done to reduce transmission and ensure that children remain in school, and we therefore support the reintroduction of face coverings in classrooms for students in year 7 and above.
‘Pupils are accustomed to their use and we are sure the reintroduction of face coverings in classrooms is something that schools and colleges will take in their stride.’
However, a wave of Covid-related absences among staff could mean some pupils are forced to learn from home in the new year.
At the end of last term, over 236,000 pupils were also off because of the virus.
Mr Barton said this is the ‘biggest problem’ schools now face, adding: ‘All of this is a recognition by the government that the spring term will be extremely challenging for schools and colleges.
‘While schools and colleges will do their very best to minimise the impact on pupils, as they always do, there is a possibility that this will mean that some classes and year groups have to be sent home for short periods of time to learn remotely.’
Schools significantly impacted by staff sickness have already been advised to request their Ofsted inspections be postponed.
But Dr Maru Bousted, joint general secretary of the NEU teaching union, also called on the watchdog to suspend all inspections other than those sparked by safeguarding fears.
‘It is hard to see how Ofsted will function without the services of serving headteachers,’ she said.
‘Rather than limping along, Ofsted should suspend all inspections other than safeguarding concerns.’
Alongside the return of face masks, 7,000 air cleaning units will also be provided to schools, colleges and early years settings to improve ventilation.
But Dr Bousted said this did not go far enough, calling the move ‘completely inadequate’.
She said: ‘Seven thousand more air purifiers is something, but it is completely inadequate for what should be a basic human right, the provision of clean air in every classroom in every educational setting.
‘The fact that the Government have provided the extra purifiers shows that it recognises the problem but with over 300,000 classrooms in England they have failed to provide an effective solution.’
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