London Daily

Focus on the big picture.
Thursday, Oct 30, 2025

Unions warn ministers against rush to ditch masks in English schools

Unions warn ministers against rush to ditch masks in English schools

Policy is helping to curb spread of Covid and should not be scrapped, Gavin Williamson is told

Ministers should not “rush into” a decision to ditch face masks in schools in England because the existing policy is helping prevent the spread of Covid, the leaders of five major unions say.

The Department for Education (DfE) and Public Health England (PHE) have been conducting a rapid review of guidance that recommends that children and teachers should wear face coverings to prevent the spread of Covid-19, with the possibility that masks should not be worn when the summer term starts after Easter.

That would be a mistake, according to a joint letter to Gavin Williamson, the education secretary, from the leaders of GMB, Unison, NASUWT, the National Association of Head Teachers and the National Education Union.

The unions, which represent teachers, heads and other school staff, say masks may be helping suppress Covid transmission in schools and are not causing disruption to learning.


“None of us wants to see pupils or staff wearing face coverings for longer than is necessary,” the letter states.

“However, it is our shared view that the government should not rush into changing this policy at short notice without careful consideration of the scientific evidence surrounding the wearing of face coverings in schools.”

The unions say there is “a strong scientific consensus” that masks “can and should” be part of anti-Covid measures.

“The research suggests that they cut down the chances of both transmitting and catching the coronavirus,” the leaders say. “We have also seen the emergence of more recent studies that suggest that they can help to reduce transmission of the virus within schools.”

A study of more than 500,000 parents in the US by researchers at Johns Hopkins University showed that people living with children educated in schools had a raised risk of catching Covid, but that measures to prevent transmission, including face masks, helped reduce the risk.

The latest government data shows that the number of Covid cases has been falling less steeply in the last few weeks and the R number of how cases are spreading is broadly flat or shrinking by up to 4% a day.


But while cases for most of the population are falling, there has been a rise among those aged 10-19 for the last four weeks, according to the latest PHE Covid surveillance report.

“While the DfE’s own data has shown a recent increase in the number of pupils absent for Covid-19 related reasons, it is not unreasonable to assume that the wearing of face coverings could actually be restraining this increase,” the union leaders say.

“The feedback we have received so far from members is that, for the most part, the face coverings policy is being well adhered to and not causing any significant disruption in schools.

“We have also received feedback to suggest that a significant number of pupils, parents and staff have reported feeling safer as a result of wearing face coverings in schools.”

Groups such as Parents United UK have stressed concerns that children who become infected with Covid may pass on the disease to their parents, who are more vulnerable to becoming seriously ill.

But masks have been opposed by some groups including UsforThem, which has said it will take legal action against Williamson if he does not withdraw the guidance on masks.

The group is politically influential – it is advised by a Conservative lobbyist and has the backing of Tory MPs such as Steve Baker, who formed the Covid Recovery Group last November to argue that lockdown restrictions were unnecessary, when the death toll was less than 50,000.

Newsletter

Related Articles

0:00
0:00
Close
UK and Vietnam Sign Landmark Migration Deal to Fast-Track Returns of Irregular Arrivals
UK Drug-Pricing Overhaul Essential for Life-Sciences Ambition, Says GSK Chief
Princesses Beatrice and Eugenie Temporarily Leave the UK Amid Their Parents’ Royal Fallout
UK Weighs Early End to Oil and Gas Windfall Tax as Reeves Seeks Investment Commitments
UK Retail Inflation Slows as Shop Prices Fall for First Time Since Spring
Next Raises Full-Year Profit Guidance After Strong Third-Quarter Performance
Reform UK’s Lee Anderson Admits to 'Gaming' Benefits System While Advocating Crackdown
United States and South Korea Conclude Major Trade Accord Worth $350 Billion
Hurricane Melissa Strikes Cuba After Devastating Jamaica With Record Winds
Vice President Vance to Headline Turning Point USA Campus Event at Ole Miss
U.S. Targets Maritime Narco-Routes While Border Pressure to Mexico Remains Limited
Bill Gates at 70: “I Have a Real Fear of Artificial Intelligence – and Also Regret”
Elon Musk Unveils Grokipedia: An AI-Driven Alternative to Wikipedia
Saudi Arabia Unveils Vision for First-Ever "Sky Stadium" Suspended Over Desert Floor
Amazon Announces 14 000 Corporate Job Cuts as AI Investment Accelerates
UK Shop Prices Fall for First Time Since March, Food Leads the Decline
London Stock Exchange Group ADR (LNSTY) Earns Zacks Rank #1 Upgrade on Rising Earnings Outlook
Soap legend Tony Adams, long-time star of Crossroads, dies at 84
Rachel Reeves Signals Tax Increases Ahead of November Budget Amid £20-50 Billion Fiscal Gap
NatWest Past Gains of 314% Spotlight Opportunity — But Some Key Risks Remain
UK Launches ‘Golden Age’ of Nuclear with £38 Billion Sizewell C Approval
UK Announces £1.08 Billion Budget for Offshore Wind Auction to Boost 2030 Capacity
UK Seeks Steel Alliance with EU and US to Counter China’s Over-Capacity
UK Struggles to Balance China as Both Strategic Threat and Valued Trading Partner
Argentina’s Markets Surge as Milei’s Party Secures Major Win
British Journalist Sami Hamdi Detained by U.S. Authorities After Visa Revocation Amid Israel-Gaza Commentary
King Charles Unveils UK’s First LGBT+ Armed Forces Memorial at National Memorial Arboretum
At ninety-two and re-elected: Paul Biya secures eighth term in Cameroon amid unrest
Racist Incidents Against UK Nurses Surge by 55%
UK Chancellor Rachel Reeves Cites Shared Concerns With Trump Administration as Foundation for Early US-UK Trade Deal
Essentra plc: A Closer Look at a UK ‘Penny Stock’ Opportunity Amid Market Weakness
U.S. and China Near Deal to Avert Rare-Earth Export Controls Ahead of Trump-Xi Summit
Justin time: Justin Herbert Shields Madison Beer with Impressive Reflex at Lakers Game
Russia’s President Putin Declares Burevestnik Nuclear Cruise Missile Ready for Deployment
Giuffre’s Memoir Alleges Maxwell Claimed Sexual Act with Clooney
House Republicans Move to Strip NYC Mayoral Front-Runner Zohran Mamdani of U.S. Citizenship
Record-High Spoiled Ballots Signal Voter Discontent in Ireland’s 2025 Presidential Election
Philippines’ Taal Volcano Erupts Overnight with 2.4 km Ash Plume
Albania’s Virtual AI 'Minister' Diella Set to 'Birth' Eighty-Three Digital Assistants for MPs
Tesla Unveils Vision for Optimus V3 as ‘Biggest Product of All Time’, Including Surgical Capabilities
Francis Ford Coppola Auctions Luxury Watches After Self-Financed Film Flop
Convicted Sex Offender Mistakenly Freed by UK Prison Service Arrested in London
United States and China Begin Constructive Trade Negotiations Ahead of Trump–Xi Summit
U.S. Treasury Sanctions Colombia’s President Gustavo Petro over Drug-Trafficking Allegations
Miss USA Crowns Nebraska’s Audrey Eckert Amid Leadership Overhaul
‘I Am Not Done’: Kamala Harris Signals Possible 2028 White House Run
NBA Faces Integrity Crisis After Mass Arrests in Gambling Scandal
Swift Heist at the Louvre Sees Eight French Crown Jewels Stolen in Under Seven Minutes
U.S. Halts Trade Talks with Canada After Ontario Ad Using Reagan Voice Triggers Diplomatic Fallout
Microsoft AI CEO: ‘We’re making an AI that you can trust your kids to use’ — but can Microsoft rebuild its own trust before fixing the industry’s?
×