Coronavirus: Schools and colleges in Wales to get £2.3m for face masks

Secondary schools and colleges are to receive £2.3m from the Welsh Government to provide face masks for students.

Face coverings are recommended in high schools when social distancing is "unlikely to be maintained" but are not compulsory like elsewhere in the UK.

Education Minister Kirsty Williams said it was "vital" people felt confident they were being protected as they return to school or college.

However Plaid Cymru said the money was a "drop in the ocean".

And the head teachers' union, NAHT Cymru, which had called for the Welsh Government to meet the costs of the masks, said it was difficult to know whether the cash would be enough.

In Wales it is up to schools, colleges and councils to decide if and when face coverings should be worn, after Health Minister Vaughan Gething said a "one size fits all" approach would not be right.

However, that has prompted criticism from opposition parties that the Welsh Government has "passed the buck".

Teaching unions have called for Wales to follow Scotland and Northern Ireland where face coverings are mandatory in corridors and communal areas of secondary schools.

They are also required in communal areas of secondary schools in parts of England that are under local lockdown.

Of the money, £1.8m will go to schools and £469,000 to further education providers.

The Welsh Government said the chief medical officer recommends the "risk assessed use" of face coverings in secondary schools where social distancing controls cannot, or are unlikely, to be followed.

Ms Williams said: "It is vital children and young people, parents and the education workforce feel confident that all measures are being taken to protect them as they return to schools and colleges.

"We have recently updated our guidance for schools and further education to require settings and local authorities to undertake risk assessments of their estates to determine if face coverings should be recommended for their staff and young people in communal areas - this includes transport."

Teaching staff have already tested positive at five different schools across south Wales since they re-opened last week.

A class of 21 pupils must self-isolate for 14 days after a member of staff at a school in Bargoed, Caerphilly, tested positive, while cases have also been confirmed at schools in Bridgend, Maesteg, Cwmbran and Carmarthen.

Plaid Cymru's education spokeswoman Sian Gwenllian said £2.3m was not enough to provide for all secondary schools and colleges in Wales.

"Schools are having to use their own grossly under-funded budgets to buy all sorts of items linked with health protection during the Coronavirus emergency - from hygiene products to PPE, signs and minor building work," she said.

"This £2.3m for face coverings will be a drop in the ocean when shared out amongst all our secondary schools and colleges."

The Conservative education spokeswoman in the Senedd, Suzy Davies said she welcomed any measures helping young people and staff back into classrooms.

She added: "This could have gone much more smoothly had the Welsh Government issued clear guidance earlier."

NAHT Cymru director Laura Doel welcomed the cash, but added: "However, surely it would make more sense for the government to have made a blanket decision on whether face coverings are needed and supply them?"

"Handing out cash to local authorities will not fix the mixed economy issue and without knowing which coverings each local authority is buying, it is difficult to say how much money is enough."