Face masks are to be worn in classrooms in England's secondary schools to reduce the spread of the Omicron variant, the government has announced.
The temporary reintroduction of face coverings aims to address concerns about schools remaining open for face-to-face learning this coming term.
Meanwhile, six school staff unions have issued a demand for urgent action to limit the spread of the virus.
They warned national exams would be put at risk without further measures.
They also called for air-cleaning units, financial support for absence cover, help with on-site testing and a relaxation of the Ofsted inspection regime.
Schools across the UK are re-opening after the Christmas break over the next week, with pupils being asked to take part in onsite Covid testing.
Until now, England was the only one of the four UK nations where face masks were not recommended for pupils in classrooms. Teachers will not have to wear them under the new guidelines.
Some individual schools and local authorities in England had already required masks in classrooms.
'Herculean effort'
Announcing the change - just a few days before schools reopen - Education Secretary Nadhim Zahawi said face coverings would be required until 26 January.
This is when the current national Plan B Covid measures run out, although they will be reviewed on or close to 4 January.
He said: "There is no doubt that the Omicron variant presents challenges but the entire education sector has responded with a Herculean effort, and for that I thank each and every one of you.
"The prime minister and I have been clear that education is our number one priority. These measures will bolster our support to schools as we do everything in our power to minimise disruption."
The government also announced it would be making 7,000 air cleaning units available to early years settings, schools and colleges.
There are more than 24,400 schools in England, according to the latest government figures.
Staff absences and rising Covid rates at the end of last term - caused by the rapid spread of the Omicron variant - have led to fears of further disruption to education.
Staff absences
The four main teaching unions covering England, Wales and Northern Ireland - ASCL, NAHT, NEU and NASUWT - plus the GMB and Unison, have issued a joint statement calling for urgent steps to help schools.
"We need the minimum amount of educational disruption this term in order to avoid a third successive year where GCSEs, A-levels and other exams have to be cancelled, and thereby removing the uncertainty and additional workload for students and teachers," it says.
Geoff Barton, general secretary of the Association of School and College Leaders, said while there were obvious drawbacks to using face coverings in classrooms, it was clear that the Omicron variant poses a very significant additional risk.
He added that the government's decision on masks was recognition that the spring term will be extremely challenging, adding that the biggest problem was the "likelihood of high levels of absence caused by the prevalence of the Omicron variant".
'11th hour'
He added there was a real possibility that some classes and year groups may have to be sent home for short periods of remote learning.
Labour's shadow health secretary Wes Streeting said that while he did not think anyone would be "over the moon" about masks being worn in schools, it was better than children missing out on learning.
Mr Streeting said the supply issues around lateral flow tests was causing challenges for parents trying to get their children back to school, for frontline workers and people wanting to go about their daily lives.
He called for the government to "get a grip" on testing and criticised the government for acting at the "11th hour" as head teachers prepared for the start of term.
But Conservative MP Robert Halfon, chair of the Commons education select committee, said he had worries about the mask policy, telling the BBC that the children's minister had told his committee "there was no evidence of the efficacy of mask wearing".
He said he wanted the education secretary to set out the evidence behind the policy and what the government was doing to assess the impact of it on children's mental health, wellbeing, anxiety and education.
Sir Daniel Moynihan, who runs the Harris Federation which educates 36,000 children, said his schools would probably return to pupil bubbles and that he disagreed with Mr Halfon on face masks.
"If we've got a thousand kids in a school all breathing all over each other it is more likely they and their staff will be off sick and that will affect their mental health," he said.
Beth Collins, assistant head teacher at Laurels Primary in Worthing, said she felt that "once again primaries have been forgotten", saying that as primary pupils were unvaccinated "it has left us open to every danger going".
Ventilation
General Secretary of the National Association of Head Teachers Paul Whiteman said reintroducing face masks in secondary classrooms was a sensible move, but that more should be done.
He welcomed the 7,000 new units but said "adequate ventilation in classrooms should not be limited to first come, first served".
The process by which schools can obtain these units is due to be set out by the DfE shortly.
Dr Mary Bousted, joint general secretary of the National Education Union, said the government had been forced to recognise the scale and potential impact of Omicron on education and said wearing facemasks in secondary school classrooms should be a requirement."
Mr Streeting said that the government's announcement did not go far enough - suggesting that 7,000 was enough for about one in four schools in England to get one - and looked "very much like appearing to be busy days before the start of school term".
But Liverpool University's Prof Calum Semple, a member of the Scientific Advisory Group for Emergencies (Sage) which advises government, backed opening windows over air purifiers where possible because "it's cheaper and it works and its simpler to install".
He said opening a window a little bit at the the top was "incredibly effective" but opening it at the bottom meant you feel the cold but it does not change the air above it.
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2022-01-02 09:18:42Z
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