Both JCoSS and JFS will require pupils to wear masks in communal areas such as corridors when they return to school, though not in class.
The Hasmonean Multi-Academy Trust previously announced a similar policy for their boys’ and girls’ high schools.
So far the government will only require masks to be worn in English schools in areas where tighter social distancing controls are in force because of the higher incidence of Covid-19 cases.
Otherwise, it has left it up to individual schools to decide on whether masks should be worn.
JCoSS parents were told that “students and staff will be expected to wear masks whilst moving around inside the building, but not during lessons. All students must therefore bring a mask, restrained in design, and a small sealable plastic bag to keep it in when not in use.
“The evidence surrounding masks indicates that they may reduce risk if worn and handled correctly: they are not a magical forcefield, and absorb infection rather than preventing it.”
King David High School Manchester, where pupils began returning last Friday, has gone even further, making masks compulsory, even in class.
