Schools in some parts of the country are being asked to keep staff and students wearing masks in communal areas despite it no longer being recommended by the government nationally.

Public health directors in more than half a dozen areas of England have called for this measure to remain in place because of concern over Covid rates locally.

It is not clear how many of these councils have had their recommendations to schools approved by the Department for Education after the education secretary told MPs last week that local public health directors who want to reintroduce this measure in schools would need to run their plans past him.

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One council said it was still waiting to hear from the government on the “process local areas could go through to make appropriate decisions to manage the Covid-19 position”.

The national recommendation that masks should be worn in the communal areas of schools by adults and students in Year 7 and above came to an end yesterday, following the lifting of Plan B restrictions, announced by the prime minister last week.

Covid: Local recommendations for face masks in schools

Tes understands that some public health directors have received details this week about a new “light-touch” system in place for securing government approval for local plans to keep masks in school communal areas.

The latest DfE figures, which are for last week, show that the number of pupils with Covid has doubled in the space of a fortnight to more than 320,000 - its highest-ever level.

There are at least nine education authority areas in England with a local recommendation that masks remain in place in the communal areas of schools despite the change in national guidance.

These are Manchester, Derby, Wigan, Barking and Dagenham, Peterborough, Central Bedfordshire, Blackpool, Cambridgeshire and Rotherham.

And Barnet Council has also said that it is calling for schools to consider temporarily reinstating face coverings for staff and students in communal areas if they have two or more cases of Covid.

The DfE has not said how many areas have been given approval to keep the recommendation that masks be worn in communal areas of schools. 

Many of the local authorities told Tes they were acting in line with the government’s contingency framework.

But a spokesperson for Peterborough Council said: “We are still waiting for an announcement from the government on the process local areas could go through to make appropriate decisions to manage the Covid-19 position.” 

Barking and Dagenham Council said it made its recommendation on masks before the new system was in place but that it had met with the DfE and the UK Health Security Agency (UKHSA) today and “the discussion led to no change in the advice issued”.

New ‘light-touch’ system for mask rules in schools

The DfE has told public health directors this week that if they are advising area-wide use of masks in communal areas of schools, they should contact  both the UKHSA Regional Partnership Team and Health Protection Team and the DfE’s regional school commissioner for the area setting out their proposal. 

Local public health directors have also been told that if central government considers that keeping masks is not proportionate, it will work with them to “consider alternative options to managing the outbreak across the area”.

This process will be reviewed at February half-term.

Councils recommending masks in schools’ communal areas

Tes approached councils to ask if they were recommending that masks continue to be worn in communal areas of schools after the national recommendation was lifted yesterday

A Derby City Council spokesman said: “Our local health team... advises face coverings continue to be worn in communal areas.

“This is regularly reviewed in line with case rates in schools and the roll-out of the second dose of Covid vaccination for 12- to 15-year-olds.”

Wigan Council said it was recommending that all schools and other educational settings continue with the wearing of face coverings in corridors and communal areas by all staff and visitors, and by all students in Year 7 and above, until the end of the February half-term.

A Barking and Dagenham Council spokesperson said: “The decision around the wearing of face masks is ultimately down to each headteacher, but our director of public health has recommended that secondary schools continue to encourage their use in communal areas while our case rates remain high.”

A spokesperson for Central Bedfordshire Council said: “In Central Bedfordshire, our overall rates are not falling as quickly as they are elsewhere and we are seeing rapidly rising rates in school-aged children, which is causing disruption to education.

“Therefore our advice to educational settings is that staff and pupils in Year 7 and above should continue to wear face coverings in communal areas and on transport to and from school through to half-term to limit transmission, prevent further outbreaks and minimise disruption to education.”

Last week education secretary Nadhim Zahawi wrote to MPs saying he had agreed with directors of public health that in the event of “extraordinary” local Covid spikes, they will consult with him before recommending the reintroduction of face masks in schools in England, “so that we can assess evidence and data to ensure any extra measures are proportionate”.

At the time Mary Bousted, joint general secretary of NEU teaching union, said: “That Whitehall would seek to micromanage such decisions seems utterly unnecessary, if not bizarre.”