Children are not legally required to wear face masks in schools and should not be sent home if they refuse to wear one, government officials said last night.
This week Prime Minister Boris Johnson announced that secondary school pupils will have to wear masks if they cannot maintain social distancing in No10's ultra-cautious 'roadmap' out of England's third Covid lockdown.
Though masks and regular coronavirus tests are strongly encouraged, officials insisted they are not legal requirements and students should not be 'denied education' as a result of non-compliance.
Pupils will also be tested three times at school and once at home for two weeks after schools reopen on March 8, before being asked to test themselves twice a week at home and report the results to their teachers.