FACE coverings should be worn by secondary pupils and staff in local lockdown areas of England, and at the discretion of post-primary schools across the country, the Government announced in another policy U-turn.

In an announcement at 10pm yesterday the Department for Education (DfE) advised that in areas under local restrictions, face coverings should be worn when moving around corridors and communal areas.

The new guidance came after pressure from teaching unions and followed Scotland’s announcement that secondary pupils there will be required to wear face coverings in between lessons.

As The Press reported yesterday, York mum Helen Meadows' twin 16-year-olds, Martha and Reuben, who will be starting at All Saints RC Sixth Form in September and have been shielding since lockdown started due to health reasons, want to wear masks when they return to school. 

Helen has welcomed the U Turn but says it needs to go further.

Face coverings will not be recommended in English schools more widely, the Government said, but secondaries will have the discretion to require them to be worn by staff and children in Year 7 and above in communal areas.

Face coverings will not need to be worn in classrooms, because other protective measures will already be in place and they might affect learning, the DfE said.

The change follows World Health Organisation (WHO) advice that children aged over 12 should wear masks, the Government said.

Just this week Education Secretary Gavin Williamson insisted measures being adopted by schools to limit the spread of coronavirus meant masks were not required, and a Number 10 spokesman had said there were no plans to review the guidance.

But announcing the change in advice on Tuesday, Mr Williamson said: “Our priority is to get children back to school safely. At each stage we have listened to the latest medical and scientific advice.

“We have therefore decided to follow the World Health Organisation’s new advice. In local lockdown areas children in year 7 and above should wear face coverings in communal spaces.

“Outside of local lockdown areas face coverings won’t be required in schools, though schools will have the flexibility to introduce measures if they believe it is right in their specific circumstances.

“I hope these steps will provide parents, pupils and teachers with further reassurance.”

Full guidance has not yet been published, but is expected “shortly” the department said, and will come into effect from September 1.

In a warning that advice could change again, the DfE said stricter guidance could be issued for schools nationally if the rate of transmission increases across the country.

The advice will also apply to further education colleges and will be reflected in guidance to universities, the department said.