Face Coverings

Your child will need to wear a face covering at school:

• In the event our school is in a local lockdown area. We’ll let you know by email if this does become the case. We’d recommend reading this factsheet and securing a face covering for your child so you’re prepared.
• As a result of a change of policy by the school having reviewed its risk assessment.
• In the event that the Secretary of State for Education makes the wearing of face coverings mandatory in all school settings.

• They’ll need to wear it when they move through shared indoor areas of the school where it’s difficult to stick to social distancing. This includes corridors and other communal areas
• They won’t need to wear it outside the school building.
• They won’t need to wear it in their classrooms because a system of controls we have created to provide additional mitigating measures.

In order to be prepared for future changes we suggest that you have the following:

• A face covering. We’d recommend a reusable one so that they can use it more than once, as they’ll need to take it on and off several times during the school day. If this isn’t an option, they will need to bring in several single-use face coverings each day. Their face covering should be secured to your child’s head using ear loops only
• A sealable plastic bag to keep their face covering in when they’re not using it so that it doesn’t contaminate (or get contaminated by) other surfaces in school
• Hand sanitizer. To facilitate the safe removal of face coverings we require all students to have access to hand sanitizer.

• Reusable and single-use face coverings are available to buy in shops or online
• We’ve attached instructions from the government on how to make a cloth face covering
• Supervise your child if they’ll be making it themselves

• Watch this video from the World Health Organisation with your child so they know how to wear their face covering safely. We’ll watch this at school too
• Their face covering needs to cover their nose and mouth when they’re wearing it
• They shouldn’t touch the front of the face covering or the part that’s touched their mouth or nose
• They should wash their hands before and after touching the face covering, including to take it off or put it on. They should store it in an individual, sealable plastic bag between uses
• If it becomes damp, they shouldn’t wear it, and they should replace it carefully
• Single-use face coverings should be disposed of after use (not in a recycling bin)

• Reusable face coverings will need to be washed at the end of each day, ready for your child to wear the next day
• If your child has taken a spare reusable mask from school, this will also need to be washed before they use it again
• You can wash and dry reusable face coverings with normal laundry – follow the washing instructions for the fabric and use normal detergent

• They won’t need to wear one in school
• Please let us know by contacting the school office if your child is exempt so that we don’t ask them to wear a face covering

• Suitable control measures have been put in place to provide all pupils with a safe return to school, however should your child choose to wear a face covering this is permitted provided is it worn correctly and safely
• If you child chooses to wear a face covering in a classroom this must be in the form of a visor so as not to disrupt learning

• We’ll have a small supply of spares available at school
• To be safe in the knowledge that everyone has one, please make sure your child has their own so that we can keep our supply of spares for emergencies