NDCS hails school face masks change as potential “new dawn for deaf children”

The National Deaf Children’s Society (NDCS) has welcomed the UK Government’s announcement that face masks will no longer be advised for school pupils in England from Monday, in what the charity describes as a possible “new dawn for deaf children”.

The policy is included in stage three of the Government’s so-called ‘roadmap’, which is the planned route out of coronavirus restrictions.

Commenting on the news, Ian Noon, head of policy at NDCS, said the announcement will mean “thousands” of deaf children and young people are able to breathe “a huge sigh of relief”.

“For more than a year, they’ve struggled against isolation, loneliness and inaccessible online lessons, only to be hit with a whole new set of challenges caused by face masks when they returned to school.

“Public health must always be the priority, but deaf young people have repeatedly told us that face masks left them seriously struggling to socialise, understand their teacher and maintain their mental health during what was an extremely challenging period of their lives.

“Taking face masks out of classrooms and highlighting the benefits of transparent ones are both signs of real progress. Hopefully this heralds a new dawn for deaf children and young people, where they can be confident that their needs will now be considered whenever major decisions are made,” he said.

In a press release published on Monday, the Government said the latest data reveals that the infection rates are continuing to fall, with deaths and hospitalisations “at their lowest level since July”.

This data, along with the rollout of coronavirus vaccines continuing “at pace”, has prompted the Government to announce that face coverings will no longer be required in classrooms and communal areas within schools and colleges – something the Department for Education says will “improve interaction between teachers and students” with the “clearest possible communication” available.

Gavin Williamson MP, the education secretary, said: “Step three of the roadmap allows people to mix indoors once again and in line with the latest data, we no longer need to recommend that face coverings are worn in the classroom.

“Over the past year we have always put the wellbeing of pupils and staff first, and this step is now the right one, as vaccinations protect the most vulnerable in society and we turn our attention to building back better from the pandemic.

“Testing in schools and colleges continues to be important, so I urge all students, families and teachers to keep testing themselves twice weekly, to help reduce the risk of transmission.”

By Liam O’Dell. Liam is a mildly deaf freelance journalist and campaigner from Bedfordshire. He wears bilateral hearing aids and can be found talking about disability, theatre, politics and more on Twitter and on his website.