Part of the debate – in the Senedd at 5:14 pm on 11 January 2022.
Thanks very much, Laura, and certainly, what we do know is that face covering in classrooms is not something we ideally want to see. We know that it's uncomfortable, we know that the children's commissioner, for example, is very unhappy about the need to do that, but also recognised that there are some exceptional circumstances, and that actually now was an exceptional circumstance. The rates are so incredibly high that we just need to make sure we understand that.
The other thing, of course, to bear in mind in relation to schools is that there is a local infection decision control framework, many schools have introduced one-way systems and seating plans for older learners, they've staggered the start and end times of the day and that actually we've distributed 30,000 carbon dioxide monitors to our schools and given £3.3 million for ventilation controls. So, we are taking this seriously. I know schools are taking it very seriously.
I think your points about masks are very well made, which is why we do need to think not just about some of the points you made, but also about making sure that they fit well, because that makes a huge difference in terms of spread as well. We haven't got a date that is clear at the moment. We've learnt from the mistakes made in England that if you set a date and then you have to change it you just look a bit stupid. So, we don't want to be in that situation. So, what we will do is to continue our approach, which is the three-weekly reviews, which has now been reduced to a weekly review. Of course, we want to get rid of them as soon as we possibly can, as soon as it's safe to do so. We recognise this is not a comfortable situation for children, and obviously we will try and dismantle that particular restriction as soon as we possibly can.