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Face covers are to be worn in the common areas of high schools and universities in England in an extension of the rules that will be enforced through the new lockdown.
Schools will have another week to enforce the restrictions, which do not apply to classrooms. The teachers ‘unions criticized the government for posting the guide on principals’ desks less than 24 hours before the start of the national shutdown.
The move, an extension in England of previously existing rules for Level 3 areas, came on a day when the prime minister told MPs that there was a “moral duty” for schools to remain open.
The Association of School and University Leaders welcomed the clarification that clinically extremely vulnerable students and staff should not go to school or university, but cautioned that that would mean more staff were lacking in the workplace in addition to those who they were self-isolating.
Amid reports of schools having to spend £ 6,000 a week on supply coverage, ASCL said it was imperative that the government reimburse schools and universities for the cost of contracting supply coverage for absent staff.
Geoff Barton, ASCL Secretary General, said: “It is frustrating that there is still no information on what circumstances would trigger the government’s own contingency plan for rotation systems in secondary schools.
“We appreciate that this is not the intention during the national shutdown, but since the situation is clearly precarious, clarity would be helpful.”
The vast majority of parents supported the existing cover art policies, but the union was aware that schools were receiving objections from some parents.
Paul Whiteman, the general secretary of the school leaders union NAHT, said it is “not believed” that schools would have to wait four days after the announcement of the new closure measures in England to find out how they affected them.
“The fact that the government is giving schools one more week to implement the use of face masks shows that they know that this guide is ridiculously last minute. That is another week of confusion and anxiety for children, families and staff that could have been avoided with more timely government action, ”he said.
The Scottish government announced last month that pupils in senior schools should wear face covers in classrooms in areas of Scotland that are at levels 3 and 4.
There were no changes to the existing position in England for primary schools and teaching settings for sixth grade and below. But they have the discretion to recommend the use of face covers for adults in the place where social distancing between them is not possible.
