Laura Doel, Director of NAHT Cymru, said: “Given the high level of uncertainty around the new variant, it would seem sensible to take a precautionary approach, at least in the short-term, and return to the policy that was in place earlier in the year of masks in secondary classrooms.

“But while the Welsh Government has taken a prudent approach in secondary schools, we still remain deeply concerned about primary and special schools. Even before the emergence of the new variant, NAHT Cymru has raised repeatedly its concerns that current measures needed to be reviewed and strengthened given the high numbers of cases of the delta variant in schools and the severe impact it is having on schools’ ability to deliver education.

“High levels of staff absence continues to cause immeasurable problems for schools. With the threat of a new variant looming, it is more important than ever for the Welsh Government to listen to the profession and seek to reintroduce those mitigation measures that had little or no impact on the delivery of education, like relaxing session times and allowing the grouping of learners for moving around the setting purposes.

“We have an opportunity to act now to avoid further disruption and we have a duty to our learners and the school workforce to do all we can to keep them in school safely.”