Schools are seeking legal advice over threatening letters from parents who refuse to let their children wear masks or use hand gel. 

Several letter templates, riddled with pseudoscientific claims, are being used by some parents to voice their opposition to school Covid-19 safety measures.

One reads: “I am deeply concerned at the potential for detrimental health issues from mask-wearing, and I serve this Notice of Liability on you to inform you I DO NOT CONSENT to my child being compelled to wear a mask at school and will, if any harm or injury arises from same, hold you personally liable for damages and or injury.”

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It adds: “Science shows that mask-wearing reduces oxygen intake and contributes to excessive levels of CO2 inhalation. Science also shows that children are not at risk from the coronavirus, which has an infection fatality rate of around 0.1%!”  

Head teachers are being faced with letters like this as they introduce new safety measures in line with government policy.

Julie McCulloch, director of policy at the Association of School and College Leaders, said the union was “aware of template letters which are being sent to schools from parents who do not want their children to wear face coverings, and which are written in legal-sounding language”.

Now, according to law firm Stone King, schools have started seeking advice on how to respond to such letters.

Laura Berman, partner in Stone King’s education team, said that the letter above was “doing the rounds” and her firm had been contacted by 10 schools just over the course of one day.

“I know that several of our partners have all mentioned it,” she told Tes.

But, while the letter was “reviewed by a top lawyer” according to one Facebook group, Ms Berman said it carried little legal weight.

She said: “‘I serve legal notice of liability on you’ doesn’t mean anything. It’s not really what you would say. You serve a notice on someone, you allege that they might be liable. But you don’t serve notice of liability.”

Claims debunked 

The claim that mask-wearing reduces oxygen intake has been debunked many different times, with some doctors taking on creative challenges to disprove it.

The letter also claims that schools could detain children who are displaying coronavirus symptoms.

However, the Coronavirus Act, which gave the government various powers to amend legislation so that they could deal with the pandemic, does not give schools the power to detain children, says Ms Berman.

She said the latest guidance was “very clear” on what schools should do if someone has symptoms of coronavirus, and “it’s certainly not to call someone to take the child away”.

“It’s to phone home and while they are waiting to go home to isolate them,” she added.

She recommended that schools faced with a letter like the one above should disclose their risk assessment, explain to parents what the guidance says, and consider whether any exceptions need to be made for pupils with specific disabilities.

ASCL is urging concerned parents to discuss their concerns with school. The tone of the letters described above is “not helpful”, said Ms McCulloch. 

She added: “It is important to understand that secondary schools in areas where coronavirus restrictions apply are directed by government guidance to require the use of face coverings in communal areas. Elsewhere, this is at the discretion of the school based on a risk assessment in their context. We would urge students and parents to respect and support the decisions made by schools.”

The letter in full

Notice 1) “Requesting forthwith a copy of your health risk assessment on the potential adverse health effects, injury or damage, arising from mask-wearing at school. I am deeply concerned at the potential for detrimental health issues from mask-wearing, and I serve this Notice of Liability on you to inform you I DO NOT CONSENT to my child being compelled to wear a mask at school and will, if any harm or injury arises from same, hold you personally liable for damages and or injury. Science shows that mask-wearing reduces oxygen intake and contributes to excessive levels of CO2 inhalation. Science also shows that children are not at risk from the coronavirus which has an infection fatality rate of around 0.1%!”  

Notice 2) If at any time you or a member of staff believe my son to be showing symptoms of any cold, flu or a ‘virus’ of any kind, you will contact me in the first instance and you guarantee he will not be taken to any place out of school without our permission as parent first. There are powers within the Coronavirus Act 2020 to detain and take away anyone deemed to be infected and I say again, I DO NOT CONSENT to this abuse of unlawful power.

Notice 3) In addition, I would like to make you aware that some hand sanitizers through excessive use can contribute to eczema, dermatitis and the active chemicals can be absorbed in through the skin and adversely affect health in the long term. I also alert you to the fact that some industrial chemicals used on a regular basis to clean desks often contain chemicals which are judged to be potentially carcinogenic and have side effects with prolonged use, thus posing a risk to both pupils and staff. I do not consent to chemical hand sanitizer being used on [child’s name] and I have provided my own.