Bay of Plenty schools expected to take 'practical and pragmatic approach' to mask-wearing

Bay of Plenty educators are worried vulnerable families will struggle to afford appropriate face coverings as they get ready for children to return to the classroom next week.

This comes as schools are bracing themselves for some pupils to arrive without masks, a teaching union leader says.

But he believed teachers will "roll up their sleeves and do the best they can" to ensure every student has a mask.

Primary and secondary students, Year 4 and up, are required to wear a mask indoors at school.

Face coverings now must be an actual mask as opposed to scarves, bandannas or T-shirts pulled up over the face.

Western Bay of Plenty teacher Chelsea Old said she was concerned about students whose parents could not afford to buy masks for their children.

The New Zealand Education Institute Rotorua branch president said teachers will "step up and help" families that were struggling financially and use their own money to buy masks for their children.

"I am concerned about students - especially from vulnerable whānau - that might not have access to PPE. It is very expensive, especially if there are multiple children in a family," she said.

"I worry about the financial cost of this all. I am concerned about the reality of families being able to manage that and provide those things? Are they going to have support?

"As a teacher, we care so much about the safety of our tamariki. In a lot of cases, I know teachers will want to help them and will be supplementing PPE for students."

Old believed managing mask-wearing among students Years 4 and up would be "possible" as long as children understood why it was important to wear them.

"We are two years into this pandemic and children know about masking. I think the transition is possible but we need to have strong education and lots of practice."

Mask-wearing could be framed in a way that made students feel as though they were protecting themselves and the wider community, she said.

"Children are quite proud to be able to take care of themselves and help their community.
It is about removing fear and stigma - and embracing education and understanding."

Tauriko School principal Suzanne Billington. Photo / George Novak

Western Bay of Plenty Principals' Association president Suzanne Billington said families were expected to buy masks for their children to wear to school.

But the Tauriko School principal said both parents and school staff were finding it "really, really difficult" to find medical-grade masks.

"Everybody is struggling to access appropriate masks at the moment whether they are financially strapped or not."

She acknowledged buying masks was an "added cost" on top of uniforms, school stationery and fees.

Billington said some teachers were worried about managing mask-wearing among younger students when school returned.

"We don't know what it is going to be like until we have them in our classrooms and understand how difficult it is.

"When you think about primary-aged students - our younger ones especially - it is going to be quite difficult."

Time outside in the middle of class could be used as a way to give children a break from mask-wearing, she said.

"We are going to have to play it by ear, see how it goes and work with the kids in front of us."

NZEI Te Riu Roa president Liam Rutherford said it supported the Government's direction and knew mask-wearing would play a crucial role in either stopping or slowing the spread of Covid.

He believed schools would take a "practical and pragmatic approach" to encouraging and managing mask-wearing among primary students.

"Schools themselves are really good at establishing routines like this. The best example is in Terms 1 and 4 every year schools move straight into sunscreen and sunhats on students. "

Rutherford said decisions about mask-wearing strategies for mixed Year 3 and 4 classes would be made on a "local level".

"I have spoken to a principal that was going to talk to the parents in class around having all kids in Years 3 and 4 wear them. I have heard from another principal, they are going to make it optional for the Year 3s."

He said schools were "bracing themselves" for some students to come to school without masks.

In this situation, he expected school staff would "work alongside parents and make sure kids have a mask in school".

"Our system is one that is built on inequities across the board. We see it play out really specifically through the use of technology and a range of different things.

"This is just another example of further inequality within the system and schools will put their best foot forward, roll up their sleeves and do the best they can."

Ministry of Education hautū (leader) operations and integration, Sean Teddy, said the ministry had secured an initial supply of appropriate masks for teachers and school workers which can be distributed for the start of Term 1.