Basis for Requiring Children to Wear Masks in Schools
Dear Department for Education,
This request:
Reference: Coronavirus (COVID-19) and the use of face coverings in education settings (publishing.service.gov.uk) https://assets.publishing.service.gov.uk...
1. Please either:
a. confirm that the DfE’s Policy on the wearing of face masks by children in schools has matured, removing the need for the ‘safe space argument’ and no risk of information release having a “potentially corrosive effect on good Government and/or leading to less fully informed decision making”.
b. Or explain what why Policy remains undeveloped after over two years and what aspects of Policy development remain immature and what work is ongoing to complete the process of policy development.
2. Given that there is a strong public interest in demonstrating that decisions on mask wearing by children are based on solid evidence, please supply the supporting evidence for the use of face coverings in classrooms and in other areas of a school, by age group, by disease risk factor, and as a function of collateral risks.
3. The research results set out in the Reference Paper (DfE’s 5 January 2022 paper ‘Evidence Summary’, released to support the Department’s decision to mask secondary students all day at school, was described as a “preliminary, experimental analysis, which would benefit from robust external peer review to a longer timescale.” Please supply any research or data produced to follow up on this research.
4. The Reference paper states: “This set of further collective analyses would benefit from independent replication of results by external peer review.” Please provide details of the peer review carried out as indicated.
5. The Reference paper states: “DfE is working on making the underlying data, coding, and statistical analysis available to an external peer reviewer for independent replication of results.” Please make the underlying data, coding, and statistical analysis available as part of this FOIR.
Background
The Prime Minister has described face masks in the classroom as “nonsensical” and said that “you can’t teach with face coverings and you can’t expect people to learn with face coverings.” Unsurprisingly, many of those responsible for the safeguarding of children in schools have asked for the scientific evidence to be published to justify the measure so that the intervention can be properly evaluated for potential harms to both psychological and physical health.
I raised an information request dated 28 March 2021 (https://www.whatdotheyknow.com/request/b...) and this was refused on 28 April under the section 12 exemption. I submitted several smaller follow up requests on 4 May 2021 and these were all refused under section 12 on 26 May 2021.
In May 2021, I made a third attempt (https://www.whatdotheyknow.com/request/b...), through an FOI request, to have placed in the public domain the information/evidence underpinning the decision by the Department for Education to impose on secondary children the extended wear of face coverings. I asked the Department to "provide all briefing documents provided to, or communications with, DfE ministers supporting the decision to advise the use of face coverings in classrooms from 8 March 2021".
This request was refused on 1 July 2021 citing section 35 and section 40 as exemptions.
The Department's refusal suggested that a "disclosure of the withheld information would be likely to have a potentially corrosive effect on good Government and lead to less fully informed decision making"
I requested an internal review and this was rejected on 29 July 2021.
The DfE had taken every hour of the time they were allowed for an Internal Review and stuck to their position that:
“Disclosure of the withheld information would be likely to have a potentially corrosive effect on good Government and lead to less fully informed decision making. “
My subsequent complaint to the Information Commissioner’s Office was acknowledged as being eligible for further consideration on 25 August 2021. The ICO’s response, over 7 months later, dated 7 April 2022 referred to an ICO decision note covering another FOIR in which the previous ICO Commissioner held that “policy was still evolving and that disclosure would have undermined the DfE’s ability to give clear guidance on what was expected.” That ICO’s decision notice was appealed to the First Tier Tribunal and the latter’s decision upheld the former decision.
The ICO’s response to me confirms that the public interest arguments I put forward when making my complaint, and when seeking an internal review, were all valid. In 2021, the Commissioner and the Tribunal did not feel these arguments outweighed the harm that might result from disclosure. However, now all legal restrictions have been lifted in England, I am raising my request afresh. At this stage, there is no “safe space argument” and, as set out in Para 7. 3. of the First Tier Tribunal “If the request is made after the policy is complete, that particular process can no longer be harmed”.
My initial request was submitted several months after the DfE’s internal review in the previous case (November 2020) and I contend that, by Spring 2022, the DfE’s policy should have matured and that there is “a strong public interest in demonstrating that such decisions were based on solid evidence”.
On 5 January 2022, an ‘Evidence Summary’ was released to support your decision to mask secondary students all day at school (Referenced in my FOIR request above) This document is a blatant example of policy-based evidence-making and does not pass cursory review by anyone with basic statistical skills.
On 13 January 2022, I submitted a FOI request (Advice that Children Should Use Face Coverings in Classrooms - a Freedom of Information request to Department for Education - WhatDoTheyKnow) as follows:
"Please provide the briefing documents provided to, or communications with, DfE minister supporting the decision to advise the use of face coverings in classrooms from January 2022.”
The response I received dated 8 February 2022 stated that:
“The department holds this information, but it is being withheld under the Freedom of Information Act 2000. The exemption which applies to this information is s35(1)(a) which allows for the withholding of information if it relates to the formulation or development of government policy. In applying section 35(1)(a), the Act requires that the department balances the public interest in withholding the information against the public interest in disclosing the information. “
Yours faithfully,
CHP Gillow
Thank you for contacting the Department for Education.
Exam Results
If your enquiry is about 2021 exam results, we will endeavour to get a
response to you as soon as possible.
If your enquiry is related to exam appeals or priority appeals, we
recommend that students should discuss the appeals process with their
school or college in the first instance. JCQ have also published a student
guide to appeals which can be found here:
[1]https://www.jcq.org.uk/wp-content/upload....
If a student wishes to appeal a VTQ result they should refer to the
guidance on their specific Awarding Organisation’s website.
Students can also contact the National Careers Service helpline for advice
and support regarding their results, including for advice on appeals, on
0800 100 900.
Other enquiries
Thank you for contacting the Department for Education. If you are
contacting us about coronavirus (COVID-19) you can find advice and
guidance on [2]GOV.UK. This includes [3]guidance for educational settings
in England. You can also contact our coronavirus helpline on 0800 046
8687. Lines are open Monday to Friday from 8am to 6pm and weekends 10am to
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For emails and other written enquiries you will usually receive a reply
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Dear Department for Education,
Please pass this on to the person who conducts Freedom of Information reviews.
I am writing to request an internal review of Department for Education's handling of my FOI request 'Basis for Requiring Children to Wear Masks in Schools'.
A full history of my FOI request and all correspondence is available on the Internet at this address: https://www.whatdotheyknow.com/request/b...
This FOIR was raised on 9 April 2022. I received an acknowledgement on the same day. However, I have not received the information I sought.
Yours faithfully,
CHP Gillow
Thank you for contacting the Department for Education.
Exam Results
If your enquiry is about 2021 exam results, we will endeavour to get a
response to you as soon as possible.
If your enquiry is related to exam appeals or priority appeals, we
recommend that students should discuss the appeals process with their
school or college in the first instance. JCQ have also published a student
guide to appeals which can be found here:
[1]https://www.jcq.org.uk/wp-content/upload....
If a student wishes to appeal a VTQ result they should refer to the
guidance on their specific Awarding Organisation’s website.
Students can also contact the National Careers Service helpline for advice
and support regarding their results, including for advice on appeals, on
0800 100 900.
Other enquiries
Thank you for contacting the Department for Education. If you are
contacting us about coronavirus (COVID-19) you can find advice and
guidance on [2]GOV.UK. This includes [3]guidance for educational settings
in England. You can also contact our coronavirus helpline on 0800 046
8687. Lines are open Monday to Friday from 8am to 6pm and weekends 10am to
4pm.
For emails and other written enquiries you will usually receive a reply
within 15 working days. You can find out how the department processes your
personal information by reading our [4]Privacy Notice.
References
Visible links
1. https://www.jcq.org.uk/wp-content/upload...
2. https://www.gov.uk/coronavirus
https://www.gov.uk/coronavirus
3. https://www.gov.uk/government/collection...
https://www.gov.uk/government/collection...
4. https://www.gov.uk/government/organisati...
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Dear Department for Education,
Please pass this on to the person who conducts Freedom of Information reviews.
I am writing to request an internal review of Department for Education's handling of my FOI request 'Basis for Requiring Children to Wear Masks in Schools'.
I note that you have not confirmed or denied whether the authority holds this information, and have not applied an exemption that would remove this obligation.
As you may be aware, Section 1(1) of the FOI Act (https://www.legislation.gov.uk/ukpga/200...) states that "Any person making a request for information to a public authority is entitled to be informed in writing by the public authority whether it holds information of the description specified in the request".
I would be grateful if you could clarify whether or not this information is held, or specify which exemption of the duty to confirm or deny you are applying.
A full history of my FOI request and all correspondence is available on the Internet at this address: https://www.whatdotheyknow.com/request/b...
Yours faithfully,
CHP Gillow
Thank you for contacting the Department for Education.
Exam Results
If your enquiry is about 2021 exam results, we will endeavour to get a
response to you as soon as possible.
If your enquiry is related to exam appeals or priority appeals, we
recommend that students should discuss the appeals process with their
school or college in the first instance. JCQ have also published a student
guide to appeals which can be found here:
[1]https://www.jcq.org.uk/wp-content/upload....
If a student wishes to appeal a VTQ result they should refer to the
guidance on their specific Awarding Organisation’s website.
Students can also contact the National Careers Service helpline for advice
and support regarding their results, including for advice on appeals, on
0800 100 900.
Other enquiries
Thank you for contacting the Department for Education. If you are
contacting us about coronavirus (COVID-19) you can find advice and
guidance on [2]GOV.UK. This includes [3]guidance for educational settings
in England. You can also contact our coronavirus helpline on 0800 046
8687. Lines are open Monday to Friday from 8am to 6pm and weekends 10am to
4pm.
For emails and other written enquiries you will usually receive a reply
within 15 working days. You can find out how the department processes your
personal information by reading our [4]Privacy Notice.
References
Visible links
1. https://www.jcq.org.uk/wp-content/upload...
2. https://www.gov.uk/coronavirus
https://www.gov.uk/coronavirus
3. https://www.gov.uk/government/collection...
https://www.gov.uk/government/collection...
4. https://www.gov.uk/government/organisati...
https://www.gov.uk/government/organisati...
Dear Department for Education,
I await a substantive response to my request for an internal review.
Yours faithfully,
CHP Gillow
Thank you for contacting the Department for Education.
Exam Results
If your enquiry is about 2021 exam results, we will endeavour to get a
response to you as soon as possible.
If your enquiry is related to exam appeals or priority appeals, we
recommend that students should discuss the appeals process with their
school or college in the first instance. JCQ have also published a student
guide to appeals which can be found here:
[1]https://www.jcq.org.uk/wp-content/upload....
If a student wishes to appeal a VTQ result they should refer to the
guidance on their specific Awarding Organisation’s website.
Students can also contact the National Careers Service helpline for advice
and support regarding their results, including for advice on appeals, on
0800 100 900.
Other enquiries
Thank you for contacting the Department for Education. If you are
contacting us about coronavirus (COVID-19) you can find advice and
guidance on [2]GOV.UK. This includes [3]guidance for educational settings
in England. You can also contact our coronavirus helpline on 0800 046
8687. Lines are open Monday to Friday from 8am to 6pm and weekends 10am to
4pm.
For emails and other written enquiries you will usually receive a reply
within 15 working days. You can find out how the department processes your
personal information by reading our [4]Privacy Notice.
References
Visible links
1. https://www.jcq.org.uk/wp-content/upload...
2. https://www.gov.uk/coronavirus
https://www.gov.uk/coronavirus
3. https://www.gov.uk/government/collection...
https://www.gov.uk/government/collection...
4. https://www.gov.uk/government/organisati...
https://www.gov.uk/government/organisati...
Dear Chp Gillow
Thank you for your recent enquiry which was received on 12 August.
A reply will be sent to you as soon as possible. For information; the
departmental standard for correspondence received is that responses should
be sent within 20 working days as you are requesting information under the
Freedom of Information Act 2000. Your correspondence has been allocated
reference number 2022-0031389.
Department for Education
Ministerial and Public Communications Division
Tel: 0370 000 2288
Web: [1]https://www.education.gov.uk
Twitter: [2]https://www.twitter.com/educationgovuk
Facebook: [3]https://www.facebook.com/educationgovuk
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Dear Mr Gillow,
I am very sorry. Unfortunately your FOI 2022-0014097 was withdrawn from
our system as it was thought to be duplicate. I will send a response your
FOI request asap.
Due to this situation are you happy to withdraw the request for an
internal review at this stage?
Best wishes,
Hannah
[1]Department for Hannah Hollingworth (My pronouns are: she/her)
Education logo
Briefing officer, Resilience Directorate
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Dear Department for Education,
Please pass this on to the person who conducts Freedom of Information reviews. I am writing to request an internal review of Department for Education's handling of my FOI request 'Basis for Requiring Children to Wear Masks in Schools'. A full history of my FOI request and all correspondence is available on the Internet at this address: https://www.whatdotheyknow.com/request/b...
Your latest message at https://www.whatdotheyknow.com/request/b... states that my FOI (Your Ref FOI 2022-0014097) "was withdrawn from our system as it was thought to be duplicate."
My current request, dated 9 April 2022, is only a duplicate in as much as it follows earlier, rejected attempts to obtain related (but not identical) information. There is nothing about this FOIR that could lead you to think it is a duplicate.
This FOIR follows your rejection, on 8 February 2022, of my FOIR dated 13 January 2022 citing the qualified exemption under Section 35 of the FOIA . Subsequently, having received a letter from the ICO (Ref IC0121985-B4K9) on 7 April 2022, I felt encouraged to submit this FOIR dated 9 April 2022.
The ICO's letter covered and referred me to an ICO Decision Note (Ref IC-72508-Q4B0) dated 30 July 2021. This Decision Note dealt with a complaint made to the ICO following your rejection of an FOIR, dated 23 September 2020, seeking information about risk assessments and rationale for the decision to require children to wear face coverings in schools.
The letter from the ICO referred to "arguments which the Tribunal and the Commissioner felt did not outweigh the harm that might result from disclosure". However, to quote from the same letter, dated 7 April 2022:
"Were you to make the same request today (when all legal restrictions have been lifted in England) we might be persuaded to take a different view"
With that clear indication from the ICO, the end of Plan B, and the Government's publication of 'COVID-19 Response: Living with COVID-19', I reasonably expected my FOIR to be answered rather than ignored or, as your correspondent states, treated as a duplicate.
My information request need not be considered onerous, nor does disclosure risk what you have previously referred to as a "potentially corrosive effect on good Government". You can surely no longer rely on the qualified exemption in respect of formulation or even development of Government policy.
Summarising (but not replacing) my original questions, I seek (see Q1) confirmation that policy has matured, removing the 'safe space argument'; detail of the supporting evidence for the use of face coverings (see Q2); details of research/data following up on your 5 January 'Evidence Summary' (see Q 3); details of peer review conducted on the 5 January 'evidence Summary' (see Q4); and, the underlying data, coding, and statistical analysis used to produce the 'Evidence Summary' and any related analysis (see Q5).
These should be simple answers confirming the status of policy, and expanding, as was promised in the 5 January Evidence Summary, on the evidence supporting the use of face masks in schools. Alternatively, should you conclude that the DfE will continue a process of withholding information, I would be grateful if you could inform me without delay so I can raise a new complaint to the ICO.
Yours faithfully,
CHP Gillow
Thank you for contacting the Department for Education.
Exam Results
If your enquiry is about 2021 exam results, we will endeavour to get a
response to you as soon as possible.
If your enquiry is related to exam appeals or priority appeals, we
recommend that students should discuss the appeals process with their
school or college in the first instance. JCQ have also published a student
guide to appeals which can be found here:
[1]https://www.jcq.org.uk/wp-content/upload....
If a student wishes to appeal a VTQ result they should refer to the
guidance on their specific Awarding Organisation’s website.
Students can also contact the National Careers Service helpline for advice
and support regarding their results, including for advice on appeals, on
0800 100 900.
Other enquiries
Thank you for contacting the Department for Education. If you are
contacting us about coronavirus (COVID-19) you can find advice and
guidance on [2]GOV.UK. This includes [3]guidance for educational settings
in England. You can also contact our coronavirus helpline on 0800 046
8687. Lines are open Monday to Friday from 8am to 6pm and weekends 10am to
4pm.
For emails and other written enquiries you will usually receive a reply
within 15 working days. You can find out how the department processes your
personal information by reading our [4]Privacy Notice.
References
Visible links
1. https://www.jcq.org.uk/wp-content/upload...
2. https://www.gov.uk/coronavirus
https://www.gov.uk/coronavirus
3. https://www.gov.uk/government/collection...
https://www.gov.uk/government/collection...
4. https://www.gov.uk/government/organisati...
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Dear Department for Education,
By law, public authorities must respond “promptly” to requests. This means that I should expect a response as soon as is practical for the authority in question, taking into consideration factors such as the quantity of information I have requested, the authority’s workload from other requests, and the staff available to deal with them. In any case, the law states that you must respond within 20 working days
My request was submitted on 9 April 2022. After holding emails through to 15 August, you wrote on 22 August to say "I am very sorry. Unfortunately your FOI 2022-0014097 was withdrawn from our system as it was thought to be duplicate. I will send a response your FOI request asap."
You can see my response at https://www.whatdotheyknow.com/request/b...
You have a final opportunity to respond appropriately and fully this week. Otherwise, I will be writing at the weekend to raise a complaint with the ICO and, in parallel, to my MP who happens to be your new SoS.
Yours faithfully,
CHP Gillow
Thank you for contacting the Department for Education.
Exam Results
If your enquiry is about 2021 exam results, we will endeavour to get a
response to you as soon as possible.
If your enquiry is related to exam appeals or priority appeals, we
recommend that students should discuss the appeals process with their
school or college in the first instance. JCQ have also published a student
guide to appeals which can be found here:
[1]https://www.jcq.org.uk/wp-content/upload....
If a student wishes to appeal a VTQ result they should refer to the
guidance on their specific Awarding Organisation’s website.
Students can also contact the National Careers Service helpline for advice
and support regarding their results, including for advice on appeals, on
0800 100 900.
Other enquiries
Thank you for contacting the Department for Education. If you are
contacting us about coronavirus (COVID-19) you can find advice and
guidance on [2]GOV.UK. This includes [3]guidance for educational settings
in England. You can also contact our coronavirus helpline on 0800 046
8687. Lines are open Monday to Friday from 8am to 6pm and weekends 10am to
4pm.
For emails and other written enquiries you will usually receive a reply
within 15 working days. You can find out how the department processes your
personal information by reading our [4]Privacy Notice.
References
Visible links
1. https://www.jcq.org.uk/wp-content/upload...
2. https://www.gov.uk/coronavirus
https://www.gov.uk/coronavirus
3. https://www.gov.uk/government/collection...
https://www.gov.uk/government/collection...
4. https://www.gov.uk/government/organisati...
https://www.gov.uk/government/organisati...
Dear Mr Gillow,
Thank you for your request for an internal review which was received by
the Department for Education on 12 August 2022. This internal review
request was allocated case reference number 2022-0031389. The department
takes very seriously its obligations under the Freedom of Information Act,
including the aim to respond to requests for internal reviews within 20
working days. I am afraid that we have not been able to maintain this
standard in this instance. This delay is not acceptable and I am very
sorry for any inconvenience this may have caused you.
The Department has now completed its internal review process and has
carried out a thorough review of your case, chaired by a senior official
who has not involved with your original request. Please find attached the
outcome of the internal review process.
Thank you for your patience.
Yours sincerely,
Correspondence Officer
Resilience Directorate
Department for Education
Dear Mr Gillow,
Thank you for your request for an internal review received by the
Department for Education on 22 August 2022. This internal review request
was allocated case reference number 2022- 0032235.
The Department has now completed its internal review process and has
carried out a thorough review of your case, chaired by a senior official
who has not involved with your original request. Please find attached the
outcome of the internal review process.
Yours sincerely,
Correspondence Officer
Resilience Directorate
Department for Education
Dear Mr Gillow,
Thank you for your FOI enquiry received by the Department for Education on
13 September 2022 in relation to your original FOI request dated 9 April
with case reference number 2022-0014097, and internal review requests of
22 June (reference 2022-0024241), 12 August (reference 2022-0032235) and
22 August (reference 2022-002421)
The Department has now completed its internal review process and has
carried out a thorough review of your case, chaired by a senior official
who has not involved with your original request. Please find attached the
outcome of the internal review process.
Yours sincerely,
Correspondence Officer
Resilience Directorate
Department for Education
Dear Mr Gillow,
Thank you for your request for information, which was received by the
Department for Education (DfE) on 9 April 2022.
Firstly, we would like to sincerely apologise for the delay in responding
to you. The department takes very seriously its obligations under the
Freedom of Information Act, and aim to respond to requests within 20
working days. I am afraid that we have not been able to maintain this
standard in this instance. This delay is not acceptable and I am very
sorry for any inconvenience this may have caused you.
I have dealt with your request under the Freedom of Information Act 2000.
(“the Act”) and attach the Department's response to you.
Yours sincerely,
Rapid Response and Emergency Planning Cell
Department for Education
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Dear Department for Education,
I refer to your letter reference number 2022-0014097.
I remain unhappy with the way my request has been handled, and therefore I am making a
complaint, as you suggested I should, to the Department. I understand the complaint will be considered by an independent review panel, which were not involved in the original consideration of my request. I also understand that if I am not content with the outcome of my complaint to the Department, I may then contact the Information Commissioner’s Office.
Your response includes acknowledgement that you are withholding information because you take the "view that section 35 is appropriately engaged in this case to ensure that the possibility of public exposure does not deter from full, candid and proper deliberation of policy formulation and development as we continue to respond accordingly to the pandemic." This response suggests that the wearing of face masks by children in schools remains a potential future policy option for covid 19. In this context, I asked (question 1) "what/why the Policy remains undeveloped after over two years, what aspects of Policy development remain immature and what work is ongoing to complete the process of policy development. " You have not adequately answered this question.
You have also not engaged with my questions 3 and 4 about the development of the DfE’s 5 January 2022 paper ‘Evidence Summary’, released to support the Department’s decision to mask secondary students all day at school, which was described as a “preliminary, experimental analysis, which would benefit from robust external peer review to a longer timescale" Specifically, I asked what "research or data [had been] produced to follow up on this research." I also asked for details of the peer review of the paper mentioned in the latter. Finally, under question 5, I asked for the "underlying data, coding, and statistical analysis" the paper stated would be made available to an external peer reviewer for independent replication of results.
Given the weak evidence base for masking children, it is certainly in the public interest to receive full disclosure of the evidence base for past and potential future use of masks in this way. Please reconsider your rejection of my request for the updates promised in your 5 January paper and for clarity on why policy remains immature at this stage of the pandemic.
Yours faithfully,
CHP Gillow
Thank you for contacting the Department for Education.
Exam Results
If your enquiry is about 2021 exam results, we will endeavour to get a
response to you as soon as possible.
If your enquiry is related to exam appeals or priority appeals, we
recommend that students should discuss the appeals process with their
school or college in the first instance. JCQ have also published a student
guide to appeals which can be found here:
[1]https://www.jcq.org.uk/wp-content/upload....
If a student wishes to appeal a VTQ result they should refer to the
guidance on their specific Awarding Organisation’s website.
Students can also contact the National Careers Service helpline for advice
and support regarding their results, including for advice on appeals, on
0800 100 900.
Other enquiries
Thank you for contacting the Department for Education. If you are
contacting us about coronavirus (COVID-19) you can find advice and
guidance on [2]GOV.UK. This includes [3]guidance for educational settings
in England. You can also contact our coronavirus helpline on 0800 046
8687. Lines are open Monday to Friday from 8am to 6pm and weekends 10am to
4pm.
For emails and other written enquiries you will usually receive a reply
within 15 working days. You can find out how the department processes your
personal information by reading our [4]Privacy Notice.
References
Visible links
1. https://www.jcq.org.uk/wp-content/upload...
2. https://www.gov.uk/coronavirus
https://www.gov.uk/coronavirus
3. https://www.gov.uk/government/collection...
https://www.gov.uk/government/collection...
4. https://www.gov.uk/government/organisati...
https://www.gov.uk/government/organisati...
Dear Department for Education,
It is eighteen working days since you offered to respond within 15 working days of 22 September 2022.
I will now escalate this matter to my MP, who happens to be you current Secretary of State.
Failing a satisfactory response from anyone in your Department, including the Secretary of State, I will escalate this matter to the ICO.
Yours faithfully,
CHP Gillow
Thank you for contacting the Department for Education.
Exam Results
If your enquiry is about 2021 exam results, we will endeavour to get a
response to you as soon as possible.
If your enquiry is related to exam appeals or priority appeals, we
recommend that students should discuss the appeals process with their
school or college in the first instance. JCQ have also published a student
guide to appeals which can be found here:
[1]https://www.jcq.org.uk/wp-content/upload....
If a student wishes to appeal a VTQ result they should refer to the
guidance on their specific Awarding Organisation’s website.
Students can also contact the National Careers Service helpline for advice
and support regarding their results, including for advice on appeals, on
0800 100 900.
Other enquiries
Thank you for contacting the Department for Education. If you are
contacting us about coronavirus (COVID-19) you can find advice and
guidance on [2]GOV.UK. This includes [3]guidance for educational settings
in England. You can also contact our coronavirus helpline on 0800 046
8687. Lines are open Monday to Friday from 8am to 6pm and weekends 10am to
4pm.
For emails and other written enquiries you will usually receive a reply
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References
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2. https://www.gov.uk/coronavirus
https://www.gov.uk/coronavirus
3. https://www.gov.uk/government/collection...
https://www.gov.uk/government/collection...
4. https://www.gov.uk/government/organisati...
https://www.gov.uk/government/organisati...
Dear Mr Gillow,
Thank you for your email correspondence dated 19 October 2022 in regard to
the progress of the internal review with case reference number
2022-0036235.
We are still in discussions with key officials regarding the information
that is within scope of your request and we hope to reconvene our internal
review and provide a substantive response as soon as we can.
Thank you for your patience.
Yours sincerely,
FOI Officer
Rapid Response and Emergency Planning Cell
[1]Shape<br><br>Description automatically generated with medium
confidence
[2]gov.uk/dfe | [3]@education.gov.uk | [4]fb.com/education.gov.uk
References
Visible links
2. https://gov.uk/dfe
3. https://twitter.com/educationgovuk
4. https://www.facebook.com/educationgovuk/
Dear Mr Gillow,
I refer to your request for an internal review which was received by the
Department for Education (DfE) on 22 September 2022. You requested a
review of our application of exemption Section 35(1) (a) and asked the
panel to consider releasing the information that you had requested; as
well as confirmation that the policy on face coverings in education
settings has now matured. A copy of your full request is outlined in Annex
A.
The department takes very seriously its obligations under the Act,
including the aim to respond to requests for internal reviews within 20
working days. I am afraid that we have not been able to maintain this
standard in this instance. This delay is not acceptable, and I am very
sorry for any inconvenience this may have caused you.
The department has now completed its internal review process and has
carried out a thorough review of the case, chaired by a senior official
who was not involved with the original request. The panel have found that
at the time of your original request was received, the application of
section 35 (1) (a) formulation or development of government policy, was
appropriately engaged. However, the panel asked officials in the
Department for Education (DfE) to re-review all of the information that
they considered to be within scope of your original request and to
reconsider the release of this information.
After thorough investigations, it was concluded that the information
requested can now be disclosed. Please note that this was advice provided
at that given point in time. Face coverings were assessed at each point of
the pandemic thoroughly. In the attachments provided, please note that
some of the information redacted is out of scope of your request. We have
also redacted the names of DfE officials below Senior Civil Service (SCS)
level. This is because, under section 40(2) of the Act, as staff at grades
below the SCS and who do not have a public-facing role, are exempt from
disclosure on the grounds that release of the information would breach one
of more of the principles of the Data Protection Act 2018 and would be
regarded ‘unfair’. Section 40(2) is an absolute exemption and is not
subject to the public interest test.
We would also like to be clear that the policy on face coverings in
education settings has matured. DfE withdrew pieces of specific COVID-19
guidance for education and childcare settings, which included all guidance
on face coverings in schools. To replace this guidance, The UK Health
Security Agency (UKHSA) published a series of new public health guidance
documents on [1]GOV.UK.
All education and childcare settings should now follow the public health
guidance set out by UKHSA on managing COVID-19 in line with other
infectious diseases. UKHSA’s [2]living safely with [3]respiratory
infections, including COVID-19 guidance is clear that those attending
education or childcare settings will not normally be expected to wear a
face covering.
UKHSA also updated their [4]health protection in education and childcare
[5]settings guidance, which settings should consult for advice on managing
infectious diseases, including COVID-19. Chapter 4 mentions that Health
Protection Teams (HPT) would be the route to assess appropriate actions
which may include exceptionally the temporary use of face coverings in
communal areas. The HPT will conduct a risk assessment of the situation,
which will inform the need for any further actions. Exceptionally, this
may include some temporary advice for people aged 11 and over to wear face
coverings in communal areas.
One of the document’s which was previously withheld was advice received
from the UK Health Security Agency (UKHSA). Please note that this advice
was circulated on 2 January 2022; the context of the Covid-19 pandemic was
very different at this point in time compared to now, and it is important
to note that this advice does not reflect the government’s ‘Living with
Covid’ strategy.
Your internal review request also asked to supply you with any research or
data in the follow up to the Reference Paper (DfE’s 5 January 2022 paper
‘Evidence Summary’). The department holds the information you requested,
but it is being withheld as exemption Section 22 of the Act applies to
this information. Section 22 applies to information which is due to be
published in the future. In this case, we are aiming for this information
to be published by the end of November 2022. Section 22 is a qualified
exemption and therefore subject to the public interest test. I have set
out below the particular factors which the department considered when
deciding where the public interest lay.
• It is acknowledged that there is a general public interest in
releasing this information because of the need for there to be open
and transparent government.
• Publication of this information could increase the public trust and
understanding of Government working and policies.
• However, early piecemeal disclosure could create disruption or
misinterpretation of the planned release. In this case, we take the
view that section 22 is appropriately engaged so that we can ensure
that the possibility of early public exposure does not create
disruption to the planned release.
• It is the department's view that the public interest in non-disclosure
outweighs the public interest in disclosure in this case.
The panel would like to reiterate that as outlined in the department’s
original response, face coverings in education at all stages of the
pandemic were recommendations, rather than statutory. Where face coverings
were recommended, the DfE guidance did not create any legal obligations on
staff, pupils and students.
The UK Health Security Agency (UKHSA) provided independent, evidence-based
advice and guidance to other government departments, including the DfE, in
the context of the response to COVID-19. The advice provided was based on
critical appraisal of the most up to date evidence available and has
changed depending on the epidemiological picture and emerging evidence. It
is on the basis of this advice, rather than separate risk assessments,
that DfE’s recommendations are made.
The information supplied to you continues to be protected by copyright.
You are free to use it for your own purposes, including for private study
and non-commercial research, and for any other purpose authorised by an
exception in current copyright law. Documents (except photographs) can be
also used in the UK without requiring permission for the purposes of news
reporting. Any other re-use, for example commercial publication, would
require the permission of the copyright holder.
Most documents produced by a government department or agency will be
protected by Crown Copyright. Most Crown copyright information can be
re-used under the Open Government Licence.
([6]http://www.nationalarchives.gov.uk/doc/o...). For
information about the OGL and about re-using Crown Copyright information
please see The National Archives website
-[7]http://www.nationalarchives.gov.uk/infor...
.
Copyright in other documents may rest with a third party. For information
about obtaining permission from a third party see the Intellectual
Property Office’s website at [8]www.ipo.gov.uk.
If you have any queries about this letter, please contact me. Please
remember to quote the reference number 2022-0036235 in any future
communications.
Yours sincerely,
FOI Officer
Rapid Response and Emergency Planning Cell
Department for Education
[9]Text<br><br>Description automatically generated
[10]gov.uk/dfe | [11]@education.gov.uk | [12]fb.com/education.gov.uk
References
Visible links
1. https://www.gov.uk/guidance/people-with-...
2. https://www.gov.uk/guidance/living-safel...
3. https://www.gov.uk/guidance/living-safel...
4. https://educationgovuk-my.sharepoint.com...
5. https://educationgovuk-my.sharepoint.com...
6. http://www.nationalarchives.gov.uk/doc/o...
7. http://www.nationalarchives.gov.uk/infor...
8. http://www.ipo.gov.uk/
10. https://gov.uk/dfe
11. https://twitter.com/educationgovuk
12. https://www.facebook.com/educationgovuk/
Dear FOI Officer (Rapid Response and Emergency Planning Cell - Department for Education)
Thank you very much for your response following the internal review. I appreciate the effort put into this process, the detail in the response, the attachments, and the references.
Thank you for confirming that:
A. DfE’s Policy on the wearing of face masks by children in schools has matured, removing the need for the ‘safe space argument’ and no risk of information release having a “potentially corrosive effect on good Government and/or leading to less fully informed decision making”
B. Decisions were based on the very limited data you have supplied in supporting of the use of face coverings in classrooms and in other areas of a school, by age group, by disease risk factor, and as a function of collateral risks.
C. "face coverings in education at all stages of the pandemic were recommendations" and "did not create any legal obligations on staff, pupils or students".
D. DfE's recommendations were not based on an assessment of risk but rather on the advice of the UKHSA ("The UK Health Security Agency (UKHSA) provided independent, evidence-based advice and guidance to other government departments, including the DfE, in the context of the response to COVID-19. It
is on the basis of this advice, rather than separate risk assessments, that DfE’s recommendations are made."
Remaining Issues
1. Unfortunately, two of the references i.e. [4] and [5] are inaccessible to me because they are in an internal Sharepoint site at URL https://educationgovuk-my.sharepoint.com.... Inspecting the URLs, I believe the two references may be to the same document (i.e. Living%20With%20Covid/Top%20Lines%20QA%20Briefing%20pack/Health%20protection%20in%20schools%20and%20other%20childcare%20facilities). Is this the same as the public domain document at https://www.gov.uk/government/publicatio...
If not, would you please send me a URL to the publicly accessible version and/or send as an attachment....
2. I requested, and you withheld, research or data as follow up to the DfE’s 5 January 2022 paper
‘Evidence Summary’. You informed me that the department holds the information but it is being withheld because it is due to be published by the end of November 2022. Given that your response to this part of my request has taken over seven months and you are planning to publish the information tomorrow, I am surprised that you have decided to withhold it today. Would you please diarise to send the information at the end of this week or supply me with a link to the data.
3. As a reminder, in my FOIA Request dated 9 April, I sought:
- the results of the "robust external peer review to a longer timescale” and "independent replication of results by external peer review" referred to in the original paper.
- research or data produced to follow up on the original research
- the underlying data, coding, and statistical analysis indicated as being necessary in the paper: “DfE is working on making the underlying data, coding, and statistical analysis available to an external peer reviewer for independent replication of results.”
I would be grateful if you could confirm whether this information will be included in the near--term publication. If not, please supply the above direct to me.
Thank you for your continued efforts to complete the provision of information originally requested in April 2022.
Yours sincerely,
CHP Gillow
Thank you for contacting the Department for Education. We can confirm that
we have received the Freedom of Information request you submitted.
We will respond to you within 20 working days.
Dear Mr Gillow
Thank you for your follow-up request which was received by the Department
for Education (DfE) on 29 November 2022. Your request was as follows:
1. Two of the references i.e. [4] and [5] are inaccessible to me because
they are in an internal Sharepoint site at URL [1]https://educationgovuk-
my.sharepoint.com/personal/meganyeoeducation_gov_uk/Documents/Documents/CRM%20Briefings%20Hub.
Inspecting the URLs, I believe the two references may be to the same
document (i.e. Living%20With%20Covid/Top%20Lines%20QA%20Briefing%20pack/H
ealth%20protection%20in%20schools%20and%20other%20childcare%20facilities).
Is this the same as the public domain document at
[2]https://www.gov.uk/government/publicatio...
schools-and-other-childcare-facilities? If not, would you please send me a
URL to the publicly accessible version and/or send as an attachment....
2. I requested, and you withheld, research or data as follow up to the
DfE’s 5 January 2022 paper ‘Evidence Summary’. You informed me that the
department holds the information but it is being withheld because it is
due to be published by the end of November 2022. Given that your response
to this part of my request has taken over seven months and you are
planning to publish the information tomorrow, I am surprised that you have
decided to withhold it today. Would you please diarise to send the
information at the end of this week or supply me with a link to the data.
3. As a reminder, in my FOIA Request dated 9 April, I sought:
• the results of the "robust external peer review to a longer timescale”
and "independent replication of results by external peer review"
referred to in the original paper.
• research or data produced to follow up on the original research
• the underlying data, coding, and statistical analysis indicated as
being necessary in the paper: “DfE is working on making the underlying
data, coding, and statistical analysis available to an external
peer reviewer for independent replication of results.”
I would be grateful if you could confirm whether this information will be
included in the near--term publication. If not, please supply the
above direct to me.
I have dealt with your request under the Freedom of Information Act 2000
(“the Act”).
In response to point 1, please accept my apologies for the inaccessibility
of the documents that I had referenced to as links. Please see below
revised links:
[3]Living safely with respiratory infections, including COVID-19
[4]Health protection in children and young people settings, including
education
In response to point 2, I was unable to release the updated research or
data until this had been published and I did not want to hold up the
response to your internal review any further. The research and data has
now been published and are available at the following links:
[5]Evidence summary: COVID-19 - children, young people and education
settings
[6]Face coverings in schools: surveys and qualitative focus groups
[7]Analysis on the use of face coverings in secondary schools and COVID-19
absence rates
In response to point 3, as outlined in our January 2022 publication, the
Department stated that the analysis in that report was based on available
data from schools reporting. It was preliminary, experimental analysis,
which would benefit from robust external peer review to a longer
timescale. We can confirm that the follow-up publication published 24
November has been peer reviewed externally.
The [8]Analysis on the use of face coverings in secondary schools and
COVID-19 absence rates includes the updated analysis and the [9]underlying
data you asked for has been made available.
If you have any queries about this letter, please contact my team. Your
correspondence has been allocated reference number 2022-0046202. Please
remember to quote the reference number in any future communications.
[10]Contact the Department for Education - DFE Online Forms
If you are unhappy with the way your request has been handled, you should
make a complaint to the Department by writing to me within two calendar
months of the date of this letter. Your complaint will be considered by
an independent review panel, which were not involved in the original
consideration of your request.
If you are not content with the outcome of your complaint to the
Department, you may then contact the Information Commissioner’s Office.
Yours sincerely,
FOI Officer
Rapid Response and Coordination
[11]gov.uk/dfe | [12]@education.gov.uk | [13]fb.com/education.gov.uk
References
Visible links
1. https://educationgovuk-/
2. https://www.gov.uk/government/publicatio...
3. https://www.gov.uk/guidance/living-safel...
4. https://www.gov.uk/government/publicatio...
5. https://www.gov.uk/government/publicatio...
6. https://www.gov.uk/government/publicatio...
7. https://assets.publishing.service.gov.uk...
8. https://assets.publishing.service.gov.uk...
9. https://view.officeapps.live.com/op/view...
10. https://form.education.gov.uk/service/Co...
11. https://gov.uk/dfe
12. https://twitter.com/educationgovuk
13. https://www.facebook.com/educationgovuk/
CHP Gillow left an annotation ()
On the basis of the documents now revealed by the DfE and Matt Hancock’s recent disclosures, it is clear that science played no part in this appalling policy-making. No health risk analysis was carried out before the DfE required schoolchildren to wear masks for up to eight hours a day. DfE’s decision to mask children in classrooms was yet another occasion when the best interests of children were subordinated or ignored for the farcical appearance of safety for adults, or worse still for reasons of political expediency and avoidance of embarrassment caused by a walkout by teaching staff at the behest of their union leaders. In the course of time, this and other information will evidence what the DfE, union officials, and crucially, ministers who made the key decisions knew of the risk of harms and the limited benefits of masking schoolchildren, and of their motives for imposing this damaging intervention on our children.
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CHP Gillow left an annotation ()
This very recent study in school-aged children in Spain failed to find a useful effect of masking kids is so important.
See https://deliverypdf.ssrn.com/delivery.ph...
"FCM mandates in schools were not associated to a lower SARS-CoV-2 incidence, SAR or R*. Conversely, we found lower incidence and transmission in younger
children (without FCM mandates in school), suggesting that age is the most important component to explain transmission in children"