Deaf children have been left struggling to communicate with friends and are “falling behind” with schoolwork after the return of face coverings in secondary school classrooms, a charity has warned.

The National Deaf Children’s Society (NDCS) has called on parents of deaf children across England to email education secretary Nadhim Zahawi about the impact that face coverings are having on their children.

It says that face masks make lip-reading “impossible” and cover up “crucial” facial expressions.

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The NDCS added that the government should provide clear face coverings to schools and colleges with deaf students and set up a dedicated fund to pay for extra support, like radio aids and speech-to-text reporters for deaf students, while the wearing of masks continues.

The government is set to review the use of face masks in secondary schools and colleges in England on 26 January.

Covid: Face masks ‘having a huge impact’ on deaf children

Earlier this month, the government admitted that scientific studies on the impact of face coverings in schools on reducing the spread of coronavirus were “not conclusive”.

An evidence review published by the Department for Education found that studies had provided “mixed results” on masks’ effectiveness in education settings.

It found that secondary schools where face coverings were used saw their average Covid-19 absence rate fall by 2.3 percentage points while secondary schools where masks were not used saw a fall in their absence rate of 1.7 percentage points.

But the review concluded: “There is a level of statistical uncertainty around the result.”

Mike Hobday, director of policy and campaigns at the NDCS, said: “Face masks across the country are having a huge impact on England’s 45,000 deaf children.”

He added that “public health must be a priority” but that face coverings in class “mean that deaf children are being left out and left behind”.

“This is not acceptable,” he said.

“Deaf children tell us they are struggling to communicate with their mask-wearing friends, unable to consistently understand their teachers and falling behind in their schoolwork.”

“The government needs to take the urgent actions we’ve set out today to stop deaf children being failed.”