The Guardian reports, in its usual fashion:

'All pupils in secondary schools in England should return to wearing masks in classrooms, ministers said last night, as fears grew that the new term could trigger a huge spike in cases of the Omicron variant.

The new advice came amid mounting criticism of the government for failing to ensure availability of Covid testing kits in time for the return to schools and workplaces following the Christmas holidays.

The Department for Education said the advice was “short-term only to support pupils and teachers as they return to schools this term” and would remain in place until 26 January, when it would be reviewed.' https://www.theguardian.com/world/2022/jan/01/schools-in-england-told-wear-masks-in-class-as-fears-mount-of-omicron-surge

This is not law but advice which can be acted upon or ignored.

Members of ODT are well-used to debating masks: https://ourdecisiontoo.com/Issue/the-tyranny-of-masks/225; https://ourdecisiontoo.com/Issue/compulsory-facemasks-for-children-sensible-health-protection-or-child-abuse/149. We are also aware that there is still no evidence that these masks protect anyone, and considerable evidence of various kinds that they are harmful, for example to deaf students, to those who suffer from anxiety and alienation, to those with breathing problems, and to those young people who suffer with acne, among others.

It is possible that the experience of the last two years will have life-long negative effects on many young people - a tragedy that could have been avoided were schools and those who run them to show the insight and maturity they are supposedly encouraging in their pupils: https://dailysceptic.org/2022/01/03/the-road-to-lockdown-how-unions-drove-covid-policy/; https://dailysceptic.org/2022/01/02/letter-from-a-teacher-to-the-conservative-party-about-mask-mandates-in-classrooms/

A precious opportunity?

Given that this latest policy is not law - and indeed that enforcing it on those young people who object is itself unlawful - this seems to constitute an excellent opportunity for schools to encourage open debate and free thinking among both staff and students, perhaps beginning with questions about the evidence and the impacts. Not to debate these matters, and just to go along with the advice, is arguably an abrogation of a fundamental duty of education.

This written evidence to the government's Public Administration and Constitutiona Affairs Committe might be a productive start: https://committees.parliament.uk/writtenevidence/13847/pdf/ and could even provide a platform for a continuing initiative.

This extract might be a basis for debate across all years and all schools:

'We believe that the statistics provided to and by the Government during the COVID-19 crisis have been inadequate and have been too easily used by influencers and decision-makers to fit particular narratives that have exaggerated the scale of the crisis.' DISCUSS