Yesterday Greg questioned the Education Secretary following his Statement to the House of Commons on the return of schools for the Spring Term 2022.
Commenting, Greg said, "First and foremost it is good news that the government is absolutely committed to keeping schools fully open for face to face learning. That is the best thing for all children, both in terms of their education and mental health. Too much harm was done to our young people during the various lockdowns in 2020 and 2021 and it is vitally important schools are never shut down again. However, I am very sceptical of the new mask mandate, for all children in Year 7 and above to wear masks in the classroom. For some children who travel to school by bus and stay for after school clubs, that could be up to ten hours a day in a face covering, with only minimal respite to eat and drink. That is not good for any child, especially when it comes to concentrating in class and being able to interact with their peers. However, for many the impact is simply intolerable, for example one teacher in the constituency wrote to me about three partially deaf children he teaches who are dependent lip reading for their interactions with others. I put this to Nadhim Zahawi and will continue to push for mask wearing in schools to be dropped."
