Headteachers have said that they are receiving “threatening letters” from some parents as they do not want their children to wear face coverings whilst at school.
Headteachers told the Tory MP, David Johnston for Wantage that parents are issuing “notice of liability” over the governments guidance of pupils wearing face coverings whilst at school.
Secondary school pupils are to wear face coverings where social distancing can’t be adhered too, which includes classrooms, but children do not have too, under the governments guidance.
Speaking to the education select committee, Johnston said, “When a headteacher decides that actually they do need them, based on the DfE (Department for Education) guidance, they’re getting quite challenging, some might say threatening, letters from certain parents who disagree with the stance, ordering them to desist.”
The Schools Minister Nick Gibb is urging parents to let their children wear face coverings to prevent the risk of infection in the “classroom.”
Gibb said, “I would say to parents: you should allow your child to wear a face mask in the classroom because it protects the other children in the classroom, and also actually may well prevent your child from having to self-isolate because somebody near them has tested positive for COVID.”
Tory MP Robert Halfon, chairman of the education select committee also added, “I’ve had the same situation in my own constituency with parents vigorously challenging the heads, saying that they don’t have to wear them and that guidance is guidance and it’s not a regulation or a law.”
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