Posted on Wednesday 12th May 2021
Face masks will no longer be required in secondary school classrooms in England after 17 May, the Prime Minister Boris Johnson has confirmed.
Face coverings have been recommended since the return to school in March - but that will end as part of the phasing out of lockdown measures.
There have been concerns that masks obstruct communicating and learning.
But head teachers warned the decision to remove masks was "hard to reconcile" with the evidence on safety.
The prime minister's briefing also confirmed the return of students to university campuses in England from 17 May - although surveys suggest that in practice most students have already returned to their term-time addresses.
About half of students have been studying online since January - and they will be able to return to face-to-face teaching, although some courses might already have effectively stopped teaching by this stage of the university year.
Can't find what you are looking for?
Don't worry, please call us anyway to discuss your ideal job.
Latest News
24/03/25Ex-Ofsted boss says education secretary wants 'to please unions'
The former head of Ofsted, Amanda Spielman, has criticised the education secretary and accused her of giving "a great deal of time and attention" to the teaching unions. Speaking to the Daily Telegraph, Ms Spielman claims "effective reforms are being reversed" - referring to potential changes to academy schools' powers.
20/03/25Childcare costs fall for the first time in 15 years – but nurseries are worried
Annual nursery costs for a child under two in England have fallen for the first time in 15 years, according to the children's charity Coram. It comes as the government continues to roll out its funded childcare scheme, which will provide all eligible working parents of pre-school children, not only three and four-year-olds as currently, with 30 hours of childcare per week from September. However, some nurseries and childminders say they may have to drop out of the scheme as government funding struggles to meet rising costs, including National Insurance increases from April.
17/03/25Poorest children missing more school and further behind after Covid
The poorest children are missing more school and falling further behind classmates, research shared with the BBC suggests. According to new analysis by the Education Policy Institute (EPI) - which looked at pupil performance after the Covid-19 pandemic - children from the lowest income families are now up to 19 months behind peers by the time they are 16 years old.
13/03/25The government faces a "now or never moment" to hit its target of recruiting 6,500 new teachers in England
The government faces a "now or never moment" to hit its target of recruiting 6,500 new teachers in England by the end of its term, a new report has suggested. Analysis by the National Foundation of Educational Research (NFER) says unfilled vacancies are at a record high and recruitment into teacher training remains "persistently low." All but five secondary subjects missed this year's recruitment targets for new trainee teachers, which are set by the Department for Education (DfE).
06/03/25Medway children offered secondary school places as the number who got their first choice revealed
A total of 96% of children were offered places at a secondary school of their choice in Medway
News Archive