If you’re not a teacher or a parent with school age kids, give this blog a miss.  I’m using it as a holding space for all the research I’m finding out about what the science, rather than the politicians say!

It seems to me, that whilst the unions do their bit, so can we.  We can each read the evidence and make decisions for ourselves.

The decisions we all make, staff and pupils, when we go back in September, not only effect our health now, but, if we catch it, in the medium term and we don’t have research yet about long term impact.

Our decision also affect every single person we come into contact with; our parents, friends, shop keepers, bus drivers, schools are central to their whole community.

There is social pressure to not wear masks in school.  The science simply does not support this.  Denial is in operation here; denial that the virus can and will come into school and then into the wider community, again, this is not what the research is saying.

Summary

The data attached shows:

  • Masks prevent transmission and reduce viral load – evidence is conclusive – we need to all wear masks and that mandate needs to come from the top so that it removes the social pressure which will prevent people from wearing them.  Masks will also remind people the virus is still around and so it will be harder to pretend/deny things are ‘usual’.  We also need to encourage young people to do the same and again make it ‘the norm’ to wear a mask so we are protecting our wider community
  • That teenagers may transmit the virus – data unclear – so surely we should be safe rather than sorry – hence masks
  • Primary school pupils don’t seem to catch or transmit the virus
  • HSE – we need to be safe in work…no meetings, no student teacher training in the same room, no adults in groups together inside – This needs to be for all meetings/ NPQ trainings/ Student teacher trainings/ assemblies/ school trips everything.  We have done it on line, we can do it on line, there is no reason we can not continue to do it that way…anything else is denial which leads into unnecessary risks.

Since collating the information below, the unions have started to come to the same conclusions:

https://www.theguardian.com/world/2020/jul/28/unions-call-for-teachers-in-england-to-be-able-to-wear-face-masks

https://www.independent.co.uk/news/education/face-masks-schools-latest-government-guidlines-reopening-nasuwt-gmb-a9640101.html

Health and safety executive

These are the people looking after employees, whatever their work place.

https://www.hse.gov.uk/coronavirus/working-safely/work-from-home.htm

The argument  that there shouldn’t be whole staff or even dept meetings

 

Government guidance for working in offices and public buildings

https://assets.publishing.service.gov.uk/media/5eb97e7686650c278d4496ea/working-safely-during-covid-19-offices-contact-centres-230720.pdf

United Nations Convention for the Rights of the child

https://downloads.unicef.org.uk/wp-content/uploads/2019/10/UNCRC_summary-1_1.pdf?_adal_sd=www.unicef.org.uk.1595789201832&_adal_ca=so%3DGoogle%26me%3Dorganic%26ca%3D(not%2520set)%26co%3D(not%2520set)%26ke%3D(not%2520set).1595789201832&_adal_cw=1595788289838.1595789201832&_adal_id=13613f88-70e9-45a2-8649-3eb0e8d84df9.1595788290.2.1595788290.1595788290.3ce2ec77-976c-4330-b93a-b537705195d1.1595789201832&_ga=2.117348613.285618142.1595788290-874050272.1595788289

Every child has the right to the following:

Medical evidence

Masks Video..especially from minute 30 https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Cio3rh6ta3w&feature=share&fbclid=IwAR1BK5YgmlBSPg5ABNXJAC-eXHO–GkZzQaFoB8iC86JC7OF_Ad4a537PX4

Re schools and different ages: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=yh9gmca6o_A&t=3568s

World health organisation: https://www.facebook.com/WHO/videos/287753389107882/?t=11

Articles on the need to wear masks:

https://www.researchgate.net/publication/342198360_Association_of_country-wide_coronavirus_mortality_with_demographics_testing_lockdowns_and_public_wearing_of_masks_Update_June_15_2020?fbclid=IwAR3FJgJcK300IMLCFzh2STRPR4HQqpH2v0csmevz_HE9m8hQ4nSJ7LjiFs0

https://time.com/5861295/masks-covid19-spread-fighting/?fbclid=IwAR2BL53ZtfTfIFyxaU6_pl05fyGRzYJgXZ1902h1czWiH1Y076U2BWCy1MU

https://www.ox.ac.uk/news/2020-07-08-oxford-covid-19-study-face-masks-and-coverings-work-act-now?fbclid=IwAR29_7sMaSa41r8zejqDhMSzyfIBXy1i3GePWxugiHp45psfgGl3cQM6x1A

https://phys.org/news/2020-06-mask-materials-droplets.html?fbclid=IwAR0yGD6E1vmcpMKJx0NWLHmsSm7d4kiCA_NpQYSmqFGs381HVbj_l5tm4d4

https://www.researchgate.net/publication/342198360_Association_of_country-wide_coronavirus_mortality_with_demographics_testing_lockdowns_and_public_wearing_of_masks_Update_June_15_2020/figures?fbclid=IwAR3FJgJcK300IMLCFzh2STRPR4HQqpH2v0csmevz_HE9m8hQ4nSJ7LjiFs0

https://www.bluezones.com/2020/06/covid-19-straight-answers-from-top-epidemiologist-who-predicted-the-pandemic/?fbclid=IwAR3O8goJeak9JrSbGq-xqdZBkc5KiRsDcYChbFPGo5n1OTk9e-jNSW-0RRA

https://rs-delve.github.io/reports/2020/05/04/face-masks-for-the-general-public.html?fbclid=IwAR0Y1CYn3-RtPzhZ5OqycjqXjm0-GyVRQvJRgjHj0j5Li90kz8aDN2v1QBc

https://www.fast.ai/2020/04/13/masks-summary/?fbclid=IwAR05qT9nnoG8qAmnv6FKNyqfNe9mR76aFawIkIWErflz2UWZR0sPA76AUOM

https://www.preprints.org/manuscript/202004.0203/v3

https://www.authorea.com/users/316109/articles/446320-masks-for-the-public-laying-straw-men-to-rest

https://www.bloomberg.com/amp/news/articles/2020-06-12/masks-can-reduce-covid-spread-by-40-german-study-suggests?fbclid=IwAR0Y1CYn3-RtPzhZ5OqycjqXjm0-GyVRQvJRgjHj0j5Li90kz8aDN2v1QBc

 

https://www.sciencetimes.com/articles/25410/20200421/austria-90-drop-coronavirus-cases-requiring-people-wear-face-masks.htm?fbclid=IwAR2EaeGcIBhlKCkFtmGqYC-bqs2i1cgzZukxqZGrvkXiMGI3XOXW_5eOeZ0

 

https://rs-delve.github.io/reports/2020/05/04/face-masks-for-the-general-public.html?fbclid=IwAR0gSB9dE-oliiU9Y-hXsdnE6XEUP6FkQIdckOlmjhGCxrwqqzFMyKUmt08

 

https://www.fast.ai/2020/04/13/masks-summary/?fbclid=IwAR1H5tF49F4ODxfsWS76HSNKLG1K904KTxaz92_SpUDHRromc7n6qUIG2zA

https://neu.org.uk/media/11476/view?link_id=0&can_id=1e1df3296983d3cfafc5cb79bc8a584e&source=email-fyi-form_value-default-checklist-for-a-safe-september-reopening-2&email_referrer=email_856110&email_subject=fyi-form_value-default-checklist-for-a-safe-september-reopening&fbclid=IwAR0GJYkxeLxQLNSHLM-vQsL9AH4UHe0w6vW1YDVB07o6ymZYjAlKDphpJtc

 

https://www.theguardian.com/world/2020/jul/05/who-underplaying-risk-of-airborne-spread-of-covid-19-say-scientists?fbclid=IwAR0yjmOkrb5aUhOmk9pR_leKVwLRVq_MKd59ORGFRwLOAutkVyqKWKtQokQ

https://eu.usatoday.com/story/opinion/2020/07/14/how-czech-republic-beat-covid-require-everyone-wear-face-masks-column/5426602002/?fbclid=IwAR3PcW44qXGNK_GGl3CjYDKq-0d5ZftKG5q5my34pLGPLl9R_bI3NmjZpzQ

Young people can transmit it

https://thehill.com/changing-america/well-being/prevention-cures/507442-almost-one-third-of-florida-children-tested-are?amp&__twitter_impression=true&fbclid=IwAR3TRvCvi5PLeg75kc_sAYjxQ0o2rBXoe35_t8HnAz4VHlnsoki1T-0WX-8

 

https://www.sciencemag.org/news/2020/07/school-openings-across-globe-suggest-ways-keep-coronavirus-bay-despite-outbreaks?fbclid=IwAR0WZPvthTKr7dHmcA4tpRAUtdKSnq70cMkv-7FqMrJMsIkj2CF6u3WvIk8

https://www.who.int/emergencies/diseases/novel-coronavirus-2019/question-and-answers-hub/q-a-detail/q-a-coronaviruses

So although they can’t get as ill, they can transmit to staff, parents, grandparents, wider community.

https://www.unfpa.org/sites/default/files/resource-pdf/COVID-19_Preparedness_and_Response_-_UNFPA_Interim_Technical_Briefs_Adolescents_and_Young_People_23_March_2020.pdf

https://wwwnc.cdc.gov/eid/article/26/10/20-2403_article

https://fullfact.org/health/covid-19-in-children/

So the research at the moment is not conclusive…which for me means we need to wear masks until there is a conclusion…based on ‘better safe than sorry’.  Also, I’m not sure how they are defining ‘children’ here.

https://www.rcpch.ac.uk/resources/covid-19-research-evidence-summaries

https://www.rcpch.ac.uk/resources/covid-19-research-evidence-summaries

How are we going to look after BAME staff and students?

https://www.medrxiv.org/content/10.1101/2020.05.20.20108126v1

https://www.medrxiv.org/content/10.1101/2020.04.27.20076778v1

https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC7324116/

https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S2666675820300011

Why testing won’t work because it doesn’t pick up on pre/asymptoms

https://coronavirusexplained.ukri.org/en/article/und0006/

If you enjoyed reading this please share it with friends. You might also be interested in talking to me about coaching , or maybe try some of my online courses (some are free), or treat yourself to a climate protecting pamper with vegan friendly, organic Tropic which supports the planting of forests and education in deprived areas.
Thanks for being here.
Julie