London Daily

Focus on the big picture.
Tuesday, Oct 07, 2025

Face masks U-turn for England’s secondary schools

Face masks U-turn for England’s secondary schools

Secondary pupils in England will have to wear masks in school corridors in local lockdown areas of England, after the government reversed its guidance.

Head teachers in any secondary school will also have the "flexibility" to introduce masks in their schools.

Education Secretary Gavin Williamson says it follows updated advice from the World Health Organization.

"At each stage we have listened to the latest medical and scientific advice," said Mr Williamson.

The Department for Education says that, for most areas of England, it is keeping its recommendation against using face coverings - but that schools will be able to make their own decision whether to ask pupils and staff to wear them.




This will be in "communal areas" of schools such as corridors, where it is difficult to have social distancing, and when schools "believe that is right in their particular circumstances".

But in parts of the country with high levels of coronavirus transmission, such as those with local lockdown measures, the wearing of masks will be compulsory in such communal areas for adults and pupils.

But it will still not be necessary to wear face coverings in the classroom, where "protective measures already mean the risks are lower, and where they can inhibit learning".

The new guidelines, which apply from 1 September, also warn that "stricter guidance" on face coverings could apply to all schools "if the rate of transmission increases across the whole country".

The government had been under pressure over face masks in England's schools - with secondary schools in Scotland to use them in corridors or shared areas from next week.

* Northern Ireland is also now advising masks for secondary school corridors.
* And in Wales, a decision on updating the guidance is due on Wednesday.

Prime Minister Boris Johnson had earlier said: "We'll look at the changing medical evidence as we go on, if we need to change the advice then of course we will."

The ASCL head teachers' union had warned of confusion about the rules over face coverings - and said there was a lack of clarity over how schools should respond if teachers or pupils wanted to wear masks.

After the government's change of policy, the union's leader, Geoff Barton, said school leaders would "welcome the flexibility" of being able to "decide what best suits their circumstances".

Despite the official guidance against face coverings, some schools had already been preparing to use them.



The government was under significant pressure to clarify its guidance on face masks, but has stopped short of recommending their use in all secondary schools.

The outraged responses of some Conservative MPs to reports that England would follow Scotland's choice may have played on ministers' minds as they weighed up this decision.

But so, too, will the concerns of parents, teachers and students who need reassurance that sending children back to school will be safe.

But how the new policy is received and whether it evolves will be crucial if the government is to achieve its aim of getting all children back to school in September.

The Oasis academy trust, with more than 50 schools in England, is to provide visors for its teachers - and secondary pupils were already going to have to wear masks in corridors.

Steve Chalke, chief executive of the trust, said there was a responsibility to make schools "as safe as we possibly can" - and that meant using masks and visors.

Like wearing a school uniform, he said wearing masks would become "part of what we do" and would be part of a wider safety plan, including hand washing and keeping pupils apart in separate "bubbles".

Mr Chalke said masks, which would be provided, would be required in secondary school corridors and shared areas where pupils could not be kept apart.


A teacher in Northern Ireland wearing a visor as pupils return to school


It would be another safety measure for teachers, he said, including those who might have underlying health conditions or be in a more vulnerable age group.

He added that masks might increase the confidence of parents "nervous" about sending their children back to school.

Labour's Shadow Education Secretary Kate Green accused the government of "passing the buck" on decisions back to schools.

"Face coverings should be compulsory in communal areas in schools. Instead of this half baked U-turn, the government should have given clear guidance and a plan to deliver it," she said.

Education Secretary Gavin Williamson said the changes announced would "provide parents, pupils and teachers with further reassurance" and that the "priority is to get children back to school safely".

Newsletter

Related Articles

0:00
0:00
Close
France: Less Than a Month After His Appointment, the New French Prime Minister Resigns
Hungarian Prime Minister Viktor Orbán stated that Hungary will not adopt the euro because the European Union is falling apart.
Sarah Mullally Becomes First Woman Appointed Archbishop of Canterbury
Mayor in western Germany in intensive care after stabbing
Australian government pays Deloitte nearly half a million dollars for a report built on fabricated quotes, fake citations, and AI-generated nonsense.
US Prosecutors Gained Legal Approval to Hack Telegram Servers
Macron Faces Intensifying Pressure to Resign or Trigger New Elections Amid France’s Political Turmoil
Standard Chartered Names Roberto Hoornweg as Sole Head of Corporate & Investment Banking
UK Asylum Housing Firm Faces Backlash Over £187 Million Profits and Poor Living Conditions
UK Police Crack Major Gang in Smuggling of up to 40,000 Stolen Phones to China
BYD’s UK Sales Soar Nearly Nine-Fold, Making Britain Its Biggest Market Outside China
Trump Proposes Farm Bailout from Tariff Revenues Amid Backlash from Other Industries
FIFA Accuses Malaysia of Forging Citizenship Documents, Suspends Seven Footballers
Latvia to Bar Tourist and Occasional Buses to Russia and Belarus Until 2026
A Dollar Coin Featuring Trump’s Portrait Expected to Be Issued Next Year
Australia Orders X to Block Murder Videos, Citing Online Safety and Public Exposure
Three Scientists Awarded Nobel Prize in Medicine for Discovery of Immune Self-Tolerance Mechanism
OpenAI and AMD Forge Landmark AI-Chip Alliance with Equity Option
Munich Airport Reopens After Second Drone Shutdown
France Names New Government Amid Political Crisis
Trump Stands Firm in Shutdown Showdown and Declares War on Drug Cartels — Turning Crisis into Opportunity
Surge of U.S. Billionaires Transforms London’s Peninsula Apartments into Ultra-Luxury Stronghold
Pro Europe and Anti-War Babiš Poised to Return to Power After Czech Parliamentary Vote
Jeff Bezos Calls AI Surge a ‘Good’ Bubble, Urges Focus on Lasting Innovation
Japan’s Ruling Party Chooses Sanae Takaichi, Clearing Path to First Female Prime Minister
Sean ‘Diddy’ Combs Sentenced to Fifty Months in Prison Following Prostitution Conviction
Taylor Swift’s ‘Showgirl’ Launch Extends Billion-Dollar Empire
Trump Administration Launches “TrumpRx” Plan to Enable Direct Drug Sales at Deep Discounts
Trump Announces Intention to Impose 100 Percent Tariff on Foreign-Made Films
Altman Says GPT-5 Already Outpaces Him, Warns AI Could Automate 40% of Work
Singapore and Hong Kong Vie to Dominate Asia’s Rising Gold Trade
Trump Organization Teams with Saudi Developer on $1 Billion Trump Plaza in Jeddah
Manhattan Sees Surge in Office-to-Housing Conversions, Highest Since 2008
Switzerland and U.S. Issue Joint Assurance Against Currency Manipulation
Electronic Arts to Be Taken Private in Historic $55 Billion Buyout
Thomas Jacob Sanford Named as Suspect in Deadly Michigan Church Shooting and Arson
Russian Research Vessel 'Yantar' Tracked Mapping Europe’s Subsea Cables, Raising Security Alarms
New York Man Arrested After On-Air Confession to 2017 Parents’ Murders
U.S. Defense Chief Orders Sudden Summit of Hundreds of Generals and Admirals
Global Cruise Industry Posts Dramatic Comeback with 34.6 Million Passengers in 2024
Trump Claims FBI Planted 274 Agents at Capitol Riot, Citing Unverified Reports
India: Internet Suspended in Bareilly Amid Communal Clashes Between Muslims and Hindus
Supreme Court Extends Freeze on Nearly $5 Billion in U.S. Foreign Aid at Trump’s Request
Archaeologists Recover Statues and Temples from 2,000-Year-Old Sunken City off Alexandria
China Deploys 2,000 Workers to Spain to Build Major EV Battery Factory, Raising European Dependence
Speed Takes Over: How Drive-Through Coffee Chains Are Rewriting U.S. Coffee Culture
U.S. Demands Brussels Scrutinize Digital Rules to Prevent Bias Against American Tech
Ringo Starr Champions Enduring Beatles Legacy While Debuting Las Vegas Art Show
Private Equity’s Fundraising Surge Triggers Concern of European Market Shake-Out
Colombian President Petro Vows to Mobilize Volunteers for Gaza and Joins List of Fighters
×