From the Centre for Evidence Based Medicine (via the Spectator):
https://www.spectator.co.uk/article/masks-in-schools-how-con...
"The Evidence Summary from the Department for Education (DfE) accepts the harm inflicted by face masks in class. It cites research showing that:
‘80 per cent of pupils reported that wearing a face covering made it difficult to communicate, and more than half (55 per cent) felt wearing one made learning more difficult’
‘Face coverings may have physical side effects and impair face identification, verbal and non-verbal communication between teacher and learner.’
‘Almost all secondary leaders and teachers (94 per cent) thought that wearing face coverings has made communication between teachers and students more difficult, with 59 per cent saying it has made it a lot more difficult.’"
And also in the article:
"The DfE study of 123 schools says that in schools with masks, Covid absences fell to 3 per cent, from 5.3 per cent — a 2.3 per cent drop. In schools that did not have masks — 1,192 of them — there was a 1.7 per cent drop: a small difference of 0.6 percentage points.
As the DfE accepts, the 123-school analysis is 'non-peer reviewed' and 'shows a non-statistical and unknown clinical significant reduction in infection in a short follow-up period'. So the results are within the margin of error, in a study that has not been properly assessed in the standard academic way."