NDCS ‘delighted’ as face masks will no longer be required in classrooms from Thursday

Face coverings will no longer be required in classrooms from tomorrow, the Prime Minister has announced, in news which has been welcomed by the National Deaf Children’s Society (NDCS).

Boris Johnson made the statement in the Commons on Wednesday, when he confirmed the end of coronavirus restrictions unveiled under the Government’s ‘Plan B’ response.

He told MPs: “From now, the government is no longer asking people to work from home and people should now speak to their employers about arrangements for returning to the office.

“And having looked at the data carefully, the Cabinet concluded that once regulations lapse, the government will no longer mandate the wearing of face masks anywhere.

“Mr Speaker, from tomorrow, we will no longer require face masks in classrooms, and the Department for Education will shortly remove national guidance on their use in communal areas.”

Face coverings returned to school communal areas in November, as the UK Government introduced new recommendations to tackle a rise in the number of coronavirus cases concerning the omicron variant.

At the start of the year, the guidance was extended to school classrooms for students in Year 7 or above, with Education Secretary Nadhim Zahawi MP saying the measures were to “maximise the number of children in school and college for the maximum amount of time”.

“The advice is short-term only to support pupils and teachers as they return to schools this term and builds on the existing proportionate guidance that recommends face coverings for all adults in communal areas of all settings.

“The advice on face coverings in classrooms will be in place until the 26 January, when Plan B regulations are currently scheduled to expire, at which point it will be reviewed,” he said.

Following Wednesday’s announcement, NDCS – who previously said face coverings in education settings would “fill deaf students with dread” – said was “delighted” by the news.

Mike Hobday, the charity’s Director of Campaigns, said: “[This] will be a huge relief to England’s 45,000 deaf children who tell us that face masks have left them struggling to learn and left out of conversations with their friends.

“We now need to get on with the job of making sure that deaf children are given extra help to catch-up and recover from the isolation they have been experiencing.”

Mr Hobday’s comments come just 24 hours after NDCS called for the Government to introduce “mitigation funding” to finance extra support and equipment for deaf students impacted by the use of face masks.

“The Government needs to take the urgent actions we’ve set out […] to stop deaf children being failed,” he added.

By Liam O’Dell. Liam is an award-winning Deaf freelance journalist and campaigner from Bedfordshire. He can be found talking about disability, theatre, politics and more on Twitter and on his website.