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The number of children starting school without basic skills such as being able to go to the toilet unaided, put on a coat or respond to questions is at record levels because of nursery closures, according to research.

Experts say further closures could widen gaps in school readiness between children from rich and poor backgrounds.

Research commissioned by Kindred ², a charitable foundation working to improve early education and child development, found that a record proportion of children were starting school without basic skills.

Nearly half (46%) of children who started reception class in 2020 were not "school ready", compared with 35% in 2019, a survey of more than 500 British primary schools found. Less time spent at nursery due to lockdown restrictions was the key reason for this decline, teachers said.

Unlike primary schools, nurseries and childminders in England are now open to all children. There is mounting pressure on the government to introduce further restrictions to contain the pandemic, and a recent Observer poll found 61% of people were in favour of shutting nurseries. The Labour leader, Keir Starmer, has also flagged nurseries as an area where restrictions could be tightened.

Helen Dodd, a professor of child psychology at the University of Reading, said: "We need to accept that this year's intake of children and next year's - particularly if nurseries close - may be a bit behind where they would be otherwise. We need to give children the chance to, in their own time, get to where they need to be. And we also need to allow schools the space to give the children space."

Research interviews with 208 registered early years providers conducted by Ofsted highlighted lapses in children's personal, social and emotional development as a result of the first national lockdown.

"Many children were more anxious and had struggled when they first returned to the setting, finding it difficult to separate from their parents," inspectors said. "Some children were less confident with others and slower to join in. Others returned using nappies, comforters and dummies at an older age than providers would usually expect."

However, not all children suffered equally, and those whose parents were available to spend quality time with them often thrived, Ofsted found.

Dr Nayeli Gonzalez-Gomez, of Oxford Brookes University, who is leading a study of more than 500 families with nursery-aged children to better understand how lockdowns and social distancing affect their development, said: "A key purpose of nurseries is that they provide high-quality education and enriching activities which improve children's cognitive and social-emotional outcomes."

Preliminary results of her research suggest that children whose parents were available to do enriching activities such as reading, arts and crafts or gardening with them during lockdown showed a growth in their vocabularies and cognitive skills associated with mental flexibility and self-control, which was less evident in those who spent less time doing such activities. Children from disadvantaged backgrounds were more likely to fall into the latter category and also more had higher daily screen use.

One reason may that they had less access to resources such as age-appropriate books and private gardens. "This pandemic is widening the deep inequalities that already exist in children's early experiences and life chances," Gonzalez-Gomez said.

If nurseries were to close now, such children could face an additional disadvantage, because getting outdoors to play games or investigate nature required access to warm, weatherproof clothing, which may be unaffordable for some, she said.

Dodd has conducted extensive interviews with the parents of two- to four-year-olds to understand the impact of the pandemic on families' mental health. "We found that children's emotional problems stayed the same, and behaviour problems actually reduced very slightly, which is probably due to fewer tantrums about putting shoes on and getting out of the house in time in the mornings," she said.

However, 73% of parents reported feeling they were unable to fully meet the needs of both their work and their child, and 53% were very worried that they were not doing enough for their child.

If nurseries do close, being conscious of what young children are most missing out on will be important, Dodd added. The biggest factor is social contact. Nurseries allow children to learn about friendships, sharing and collaborative play. So if they close then continuing to allow families to form a childcare bubble with another family will be important, said Dodd. Childcare bubbles also take some of the pressure off working parents, giving them some space to get work done and reducing stress.

Although children may need time to catch up on missed play opportunities and develop the skills needed to succeed at school, Dodd is confident that most will do so eventually. "Children should be with other children. But also, children are resilient, so they probably will be OK."

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Fewer UK children 'school ready' after Covid nursery closures

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The number of children starting school without basic skills such as being able to go to the toilet unaided, put on a coat or respond to questions is at record levels because of nursery closures, according to research. Experts say further closures could widen gaps in school readiness between children from rich and poor backgrounds.

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The government has spent too long debating Brexit and not enough time focusing on social justice, which has had a negative affect on the development of children's rights, argues a new report.
The annual report by the Children's Rights Alliance for England has this year bemoaned Brexit's dominance in the Commons while "at the same time child poverty has seen further increases, with a devastating impact on the most disadvantaged households".

"Rising levels of poverty and homelessness represent an erosion and regression of children's rights," the report says.

Image credit: Unsplash

The report also criticises the harmful impact Brexit legislation could have on the progression of children's rights. For instance, the rights specifically given to children under article 24 of the EU Charter of Fundamental Rights have failed to be transposed into UK law as a part of the EU Withdrawal Act.

There is further concern that too much power has been given to ministers, who under the Withdrawal Act can "create statutory instruments to help with a range of legal issues caused by the UK's exit" which may directly affect children's rights.

Brexit Isn't Safeguarding Children's Rights

The report argues that an impact assessment should safeguard children's rights every time a change is proposed by ministers under the EU Withdrawal Act.

It also suggests that a cabinet minister responsible for children's rights should be appointed and that they should be tasked with righting the wrongs emphasised by the UN Committee in 2016 when they examined the UK government's compliance with the UN Convention on the Rights of the Child.

The report extensively researches eight key areas of children's rights. Some of the most damning critical findings relate to children's poverty, suicide rates and the behaviours of policing.

Children's Poverty

The freeze on social security benefits and the rollout of Universal Credit are to blame for the erosion of children's standard of living, the report argued.

In 2016 -17 the number of children living in relative poverty was 4.1 million, which when compared to figures from 2014 - 15 of 3.9 million illustrates a significant increase.

This comes despite government assurances that work is a route out of poverty. Despite such beliefs, two-thirds of children in poverty had one or more parent or guardian in work, according to the report.

Suicide Rates Increase

The number of children committing suicide in the UK has increased, though the report stops short at publishing further data. Alongside problems at home and at school, social media may be part of the problem, following the recent Instagram controversy over self-harm videos which founders now say have been deleted.

The report also reveals "shocking" findings around physical intervention and seclusion, detailing how over half of cases involved children between five and ten.

Mental health

The report marks positive steps in the development of conversations and healthcare implementation around mental health, despite trigger areas in other parts of a child's life for bad mental health, including a "concerning" use of segregation in custody.

Schools have been strengthening the role of mental health as instructed by the Green Paper on Children and Young People's Mental Health. Experts say this is a positive yet lacking step in the general promotion of the subject for young people, one in eight of whom between five and 19 had a mental health problem in 2017.

The report says services are struggling to cope with the demand and that a disparity in mental health between the poor and privileged is a "worrying trend".

Policing

Over half of children tasered by police are from black or minority backgrounds, the report finds as it calls for "urgent reform" of the way children are treated when they come into conflict with the law.

While arrests of children have reduced by more than two-thirds over the past seven years, the state of police interaction with children is problematic, argues the report. The amount of children to be tasered is increasing year-on-year, for instance, and early figures for the first nine months of 2018 look to continue that trend.

Furthermore, there has been an increase on the number of children segregated in custody, despite the overall drop in figures of detained children, which the report calls "extremely concerning."

The report surmises: "While there are positive examples of government action to improve children's rights highlighted in the report, for example, steps taken to better safeguard children in care and those with mental health issues, we still have a long way to go to achieve the positive vision of childhood set out in the UNCRC back in 1989."
To read the full report visit the crae's website.
Featured image: Flickr

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Brexit Has Prohibited Children's Rights, Insists Damning New Report

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The government has spent too long debating Brexit and not enough time focusing on social justice, which has had a negative affect on the development of children's rights, argues a new report.

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A quarter of a century after the UN convention on the rights of the child, the international community must match promises with funding to safeguard children's rights in a volatile world where conflict exposes young people to profound shocks, a leading campaigner said.

As the world marks the 25th anniversary of the convention (CRC), gains made in education, reducing child mortality and recognising the inalienable rights of children have been hailed, but UN member states have been criticised for failing to deliver on promises contained in the world's most widely ratified rights treaty.

"We really need to see a global partnership ... and the creation of a funding mechanism for the protection of children. What has been neglected historically is a pulling together of all the actors - civil society, governments and the private sector," said Susan Bissell, Unicef's global chief of child protection.

Bissell, who spoke as she prepared to fly to Sierra Leone to take part in Ebola relief efforts, said there was not enough investment in implementation, nationally and internationally. "It's moving from promise to action," she said, adding that social change was required as well as more funding. "We need to accelerate social change ... [That takes] a lot of political will, and leadership and bravery," she said.

In the past 18 months, conflicts in Syria, South Sudan, the Central African Republic and Gaza have spawned new perils for young people.

"We are extremely concerned about the generation of children growing up experiencing Syria, and the migration and the mobility," Bissell said. "This really merits attention for the psychological impact on millions of children, not just those directly affected or recruited ... but [those] indirectly witnessing violence or seeing the family experience violence."

In a report to mark the CRC anniversary, Unicef asked whether today's children are better off than young people growing up 25 years ago. It concluded that the answer was yes, but not for every child.

"We cannot afford to continue at the same pace for the next 25 years. Unless efforts are stepped up, the rights of millions of children will continue to be violated. When we come together to focus commitments, investments and actions on the right interventions, true progress ensues," it said.

UN member states have a historic opportunity to end child poverty by child-focused budgeting and expanding social protection programmes, the report said. "While no silver bullet, child-sensitive social protection programmes have proved to be extremely effective in addressing risks and vulnerabilities related to chronic multidimensional poverty," it said.

To mark the anniversary, UCLA's World Policy Analysis Centre compiled an online resource bank looking at how specific articles from the convention have been implemented. Only three countries have not ratified the convention - Somalia, the US and South Sudan - and only the US has not signalled an intention to do so.

"With the passage of the CRC, the rights of the world's youngest citizens were recognised. Yet, we still lag far behind on the implementation of universal protections important to children's healthy development," said Dr Jody Heymann, founding director of the World Policy Analysis Centre and dean of the UCLA Fielding School of Public Health.

The centre said 74% of countries no longer allow children to engage in hazardous work, but once legal exceptions were taken in account, nearly half of these countries still allow children to work in jobs that endanger their health and safety, including mining and factory work.

On child marriage, 88% of countries have set a minimum age of 18 or older but when exceptions with parental consent are included, only 49% of these protect girls from early marriage.

Unicef said a baby born in 2014 had a "dramatically improved chance" of living to the age of five, compared with one born in 1990. The number of children under five years old who die each year fell by almost half - from 12.7 million in 1990 to 6.3 million in 2013 - it said. However, deaths in the first year of life, and the neonatal mortality rate, which covers the first 28 days, improved less swiftly.

Kevin Watkins, executive director of the Overseas Development Institute, wrote that the convention was widely and systematically violated in near total impunity. "Under the terms of the treaty, governments have a responsibility to ensure that every child has access to schooling. Yet 115 million school-age children are working in the most extreme forms of child labour," he wrote.

Watkins said around 150 million girls, mostly in Africa and south Asia, still marry before the age of 15; child trafficking and slavery had reached "epidemic proportions"; and schools and children had been targeted by armed forces.

"A quarter of a century after the inception of the convention on the rights of the child, it is time to deliver on its promise ... We need a new global civil rights movement that turns principles into the practical interventions that can transform the lives of children," he wrote.

Watkins called for the creation of an international court for child rights to investigate systemic abuses, and urged the UN committee overseeing the convention to "ruthlessly investigate" violations.

Bissell said Unicef was happy with the child-related content of the proposed sustainable development goals, which are being discussed over the coming year. "What we are going to be rallying around over the next six to nine months is the partnership - what will it take to make it happen? They say it takes a village to raise a child. It really takes a global partnership to protect the world's children," she said.

The latest crisis to affect children is the Ebola outbreak in west Africa, where thousands of children have lost one or both parents, and face stigma surrounding survivors.

"The good news is that ... the extended family and kinship care are part of the culture, so we have that to build on," Bissell said. "The quicker there's a sense of normalcy in these kids' lives the better."

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Children's rights being 'violated with impunity'

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A quarter of a century after the UN convention on the rights of the child, the international community must match promises with funding to safeguard children's rights in a volatile world where conflict exposes young people to profound shocks, a leading campaigner said.

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Read the executive summary of this report here.

Introduction

One of the most significant public health measures implemented during the COVID-19 pandemic has been extended periods of 'lockdown' where whole populations have been advised to remain in their households other than to collect necessary supplies, to care for others, or to exercise.

There are increasing calls to understand the impacts of this lockdown, and of subsequent school closures, on the mental health and wellbeing of children and young people during the COVID-19 pandemic ¹⁻⁵. As lockdown measures begin to ease, we require an understanding of what children and young people have been experiencing during the lockdown period1 as well as how children and young people can be best supported to resume to normal life, or the 'new normal', over the coming months and years. This understanding can inform responses to recovery implemented at the policy level and by those working directly with children and young people. Such responses are beginning to be formalised in other countries. For example, the New Zealand Government have published a national psychosocial and wellbeing recovery framework with a focus on prevention and early intervention upheld through the principles of collectivity, empowerment, community solutions, assets-focus, and support for community and specialist services.

In this evidence overview, we consider empirical studies of the impacts of lockdown of both COVID-19, and of similar previous health-related disasters, to identify important considerations about the mental health and wellbeing impacts of lockdown, both positive and negative, on children and young people. By similar health-related disasters in the past, we refer to previous pandemics, epidemics, and other health disasters. Given that much of the literature in this space is not focused specifically on the mental health and wellbeing of children and young people1 , we consider the empirical evidence of impacts across three areas:

1. The individual: Direct impacts on children and young people's mental health and wellbeing

2. The interpersonal/family: Impacts within the family context

3. The school: Impacts within the context of education

Based on our findings, we consider policy and practice recommendations that can help to inform solutions and responses to the challenges facing children and young people, their families, and those who work with these groups. As a result, this overview is focussed predominantly on the problem. This is an emerging situation evidence of effective interventions are limited. As such, we hope that by broadly contextualising some of the mental health impacts and challenges for children and young people, that decision-makers have more informed scope to develop effective programmes and interventions to support children and young people going forward.

Approach to reviewing literature

This evidence overview used the following structured approach to identify key pieces of empirical literature to include. The focus was on empirical research and therefore we include both primary research articles and articles analysing secondary data or conducting systematic/ rapid reviews of empirical literature.

To begin with we focussed on a wide set of events which could be considered similar to COVID-19. Initially, this included pandemics, epidemics, health disasters, natural disasters, and conflict zones. The hits on this wide search were large, so we decided to focus on health-related disasters more narrowly. Indicative search terms relating to health-related disasters include: pandemic OR endemic OR covid OR coronavirus OR SARS OR MERS OR H1N1 OR ebola OR health NEAR/2 [N1] disaster OR outbreak OR isolate* OR quarantine OR social distanc* OR home confin*. Searches were then refined to focus on mental health and wellbeing impacts and children and young people. This overview includes only articles printed in English. Searches were undertaken in the Web of Science and PsychInfo databases. Thereafter, the reference lists of relevant articles were reviewed to identify additional relevant articles. In the overview of evidence, we also consulted available findings from several large-scale surveys of the mental health impacts of COVID-19 that relate to the potential impacts of lockdown. The surveys include but are not limited to: Mental Health in the Pandemic i , Lockdown Lowdown ii, Co-SPACE iii & Co-SPYCE studies, Office for National Statistics routine survey of 16+ iv, and the Carers Trust Survey of Young carers v.

Key findings

The individual: direct impacts on children and young people's mental health and wellbeing

The direct impact of lockdown on the mental health and wellbeing of children and young people yields mixed findings. Findings center on the mental health and wellbeing impacts of lockdown and the factors affecting mental health and wellbeing.
Mental health and wellbeing impacts of lockdown for children and young people
In some cases, where quarantine was not at the population level, e.g. only required for those with contact with infected persons, one study on the impacts in the context of the H1N1 influenza found no immediate negative psychological effect of quarantine for undergraduate students ⁷ . However, in the case of the SARS epidemic, stress scores for Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder (PTSD) were reported by parents to be 4 times higher in children quarantined than those not quarantined ⁸, ⁹: in this case, criteria for PTSD was met by 30% of quarantined children. A study from India, during the COVID-19 pandemic, yields similar results 10 and further studies conducted in China find that young people report increased depressive symptoms and anxiety symptoms ¹¹ and can experience negative psychological consequences as a result of the COVID-19 pandemic ¹².

Qualitative evidence indicates a number of reasons for these findings including the perceived threat of the virus, confusion, disruption, and isolation imposed by this type of health-related crisis8. Other studies have found that levels of distress were higher in young adults as a potential consequence of increased consumption of social media for example 13,14. Emerging evidence from the COVID-19 pandemic in the UK suggests similar trends that young people, in particular teenagers, in the UK are feeling more anxious than they did before the outbreak, a trend which is up to 10% higher for black and mixed race participants ¹⁵. Further evidence of the mental health and wellbeing impacts of this kind of quarantine related to both the fear of stigma and the stigma experienced by those young people who had been quarantined and returned to college 16 which this study identifies as a risk factor for maintaining social support mechanisms with friends, classmates, or roommates post-quarantine.

Young carers are one group whose mental health has been negatively impacted by the lockdown restrictions. A survey of nearly 1000 young carers in the UK found that over half of young carers have felt overwhelmed and stressed and have, as a result, suffered worsened mental health during the a. The individual: direct impacts on children and young people's mental health and wellbeing 7 lockdown period ¹⁷. Around a third of those surveyed said they struggled to get emotional support with some respondents saying they had increased their alcohol intake as a result of the stresses they were feeling, and were struggling to take care of themselves. The survey identified that young carers require more practical support in coping with day to day life, but also more access to peer support, either online or in-person.
Factors affecting the mental health and wellbeing of children and young people Loneliness
Loneliness is considered as a key risk factor of lockdown for the mental health and wellbeing of children and young people. A rapid review of the links between loneliness and mental health highlights the potential for increases in children and young people experiencing loneliness to link to mental health problems in children and young people ¹⁸. However, it is important to note that experiences of loneliness involve some form of social comparison, and in the UK case, the shared experience of lockdown might mitigate the negative impacts of loneliness to some extent18. Yet, emerging evidence of the impact of the COVID-19 pandemic suggests that, despite the shared experience of lockdown, children and young people are experiencing loneliness. Emerging evidence suggests that, amongst the general population in the UK, the proportion of adults experiencing loneliness is highest amongst young adults aged 18-24 ¹⁹, with another survey identifying that 50% of 16-24 year-olds have experienced 'lockdown loneliness' ²⁰. This could, as the literature suggests, be a consequence of the loss of peer group support during this important developmental stages where peer interaction is important for brain development, self-concept construction, and ultimately mental health and wellbeing 18,21. #
Worries about school and the future
Emerging evidence from the COVID-19 pandemic also suggests several other factors influencing the mental health and wellbeing of children and young people including: worries and concerns around their education (all ages), missing school (all ages), transitions and being away from school (primary school age), academic pressures (secondary school age), their career (young adults), and uncertainties about the future more generally (young adults) 19,22,23. Similarly, in the case of children and young people currently in contact with youth justice systems, it has similarly been reported that lack of contact with others, boredom, not being able to attend school, financial worries and general uncertainty about the future are key factors impacting mental health and wellbeing ²⁴.
Supporting mental health and wellbeing
One study has found that a majority of participating parents report that their children are keeping in regular contact with family and friends via video-chat and are getting regular physical exercise ²⁵, factors that can support the mental health and wellbeing of children and young people ²¹. However, this was not the case with pre-school age children in one survey, where parents had concerns about their children's lack of communication with others outside the household ²⁶.

The interpersonal/family: impacts within the family context/on parents and carers

An important consideration about the impact of quarantine is the impact on both the relational family contexts in which children and young people are isolating, and the impacts on the mental health and wellbeing of parents/ caregivers more generally. This is particularly important to consider given the wide range of literature evidencing the long-term health and wellbeing impacts of traumatic events that occur during childhood ²⁷. Such traumatic events include but are not limited to the experience of or witnessing violence, abuse, and neglect in the household, substance abuse, mental health problems, and parental separation and, overall, a lack of sense of safety, stability and bonding within the household ²⁸.
Mental health and wellbeing impacts of lockdown on parents/carers
For a variety of reasons, quarantine can be traumatising for some parents8. In a study on post-traumatic stress disorder in health-related disasters, criteria for PTSD was met in 25% of isolated or quarantined parents ⁸. The same study found links between PTSD criteria in adults and their children having PTSD symptoms ⁸. Duration of quarantine and consequent lack of social and physical contact with friends/family and the outside world has been shown to be associated with increased PTSD symptoms29. Similarly, it has been shown that social isolation and associated loneliness have a negative impact on mental health outcomes for adults ³⁰. Other factors that have been shown to have an impact on stressors and wellbeing9 include the duration of quarantine, fear of infection, frustration and boredom, inadequate supplies and information (guidelines, rationale for actions, and level of risk), loss of work or working more than usual ³¹, or COVID-19 related stressful life events e.g. bereavement/having an acquaintance infected 14,31,32. The links between experience of COVID-19 related stressful life events and increased stress were shown to be the case in one study regardless of previous mental illness or childhood trauma ³¹.

The psychological impacts are particularly important to consider in cases where parents are front-line workers 4 with much evidence showing that those working in health care in particular, experience negative psychological consequences during health emergencies 33,34. Moreover, in the case of healthcare workers, quarantine has been associated with distress, exhaustion, detachment, anxiety, and PTSD symptoms over time ⁹, all of which will impact upon the home environment. Worryingly, the same study identified that alcohol abuse and dependency, and avoidance behaviours were positively associated with workers having been quarantined 9 , all of which have been shown to have negative effects on the mental health and wellbeing of children in such households ²⁸. One UK-based study has found that children (aged 13-24) of key workers have experienced greater levels of COVID-19 anxiety and trauma and also report more somatic symptoms ¹⁵.
Factors affecting mental health and wellbeing in the context of the family Groups disproportionately affected by lockdown
There is mixed evidence of the factors associated with pre-quarantine predictors of impact on mental health and wellbeing. Some factors associated with negative effects on the mental health and wellbeing of adults include those that are younger 9,13,31,35, female 9,13,14,31,32,33,35,36, with a history of psychiatric illness or chronic illness/ poor health (diagnosed or selfreported) 14,31,32,33,35,36, and single parent adolescents ¹ . There is mixed evidence on the impact of education level as a predictor of impact of lockdown on mental health 9,13,36. Post-quarantine stressors can include: finances9, ³⁷ and stigma for healthcare workers ⁹ . At a broader level, Harkins has identified that there are several groups who have experienced, and are still experiencing, disproportionate vulnerability to the 'lockdown' public health measures ³². These groups include: disadvantaged communities, people with disabilities, BAME groups, people experiencing homelessness, those affected by violence, older people, and frontline health and care staff ³². Particular note should also be given to the increases in both calls and referrals to domestic abuse charities 38,39, with the mental health impacts this has for the victim, and to the children and young people witnessing or experiencing such abuse, being of primary concern as we emerge from lockdown.
Worries about financial security, homelife, and the future
Emerging evidence from the COVID-19 pandemic suggests that in general, many adults are feeling anxious or worried about the future. In particular, adults who are unemployed have reported not coping as well19 with a quarter of this group feeling hopeless with primary concerns around financial security ¹⁹. Parents who are working have also reported difficulties in balancing the needs of their child with the demands of working ²³. Moreover, parents with children with special educational needs/ neurodevelopmental disorders have reported that they were experiencing higher levels of stress and require more support to cope with changes in their children's behaviour ²³. One study has reported that difficulties in relationships and conflict within the family home are problematic for children and young people, particularly those with experience of the youth justice system ²⁴.

The school: Impacts within the context of education

Lockdown related school closures has been one of the most significant public health measures across the world. For children and young people in the UK , this has been the first extended closure of schools in recent history and as such, its impact on their mental health and wellbeing is important to consider, particularly given the already contentious nature of the effectiveness of school closures on disease containment1,40 and the fact that school is often the first place that children and young people can and do seek support for their mental health and wellbeing ⁴.
Worries about education
An extended period of school closures will no doubt impact curriculum delivery over the coming years and as such, school is an emerging source of distress and worry for children and young people 17,19,41. In particular, young adults are experiencing concerns about their education being interrupted and their future career opportunities ¹⁹. Young carers have also reported concerns about their education, with half of those surveyed in one study reporting that their education has suffered as a result of increased caring responsibilities and associated stresses ¹⁷. With respect to returning to school, children and young people have reported having worries over losing the enjoyable aspects of school and the impact of social distancing on friendships. In particular, one surveyreports that primary aged children worry about being away from home and transitioning between schools, whereas secondary aged children worry about increased academic pressures as well as catching COVID-19 ⁴². Moreover, a case study of a group of quarantined students during the SARS outbreak found that the students experienced stigma upon returning to their studies due to their contact with infection ¹⁶, a factor which is important to consider should we experience more localised lockdown measures during future outbreaks of COVID-19.
Factors affecting the delivery of education Disadvantage and engagement with curriculum
In terms of the delivery of education during lockdown, there has been concern over the exclusion of children without digital access, physical space, and other resources to support their learning ⁴³. Emerging evidence from England suggests that there has been a substantial deficit in curriculum coverage across schools, that just over half of parents are engaged with their children's home learning, and that less than half of pupils had returned their last piece of work at the time the survey was undertaken 43. In this particular survey, teachers expressed concern over the engagement of the most disadvantaged pupils with the analysis finding that the level of disadvantage of the school being influential on pupil engagement ⁴³. Variability in engagement with the curriculum will potentially have differing effects on both the development and mental health of pupils returning to school43. Moreover, those receiving free school meals may have experienced increasing food insecurity, although recent policy changes reflect governments' commitment to continuing such funding over the summer break this year ⁴⁴.
School responses
In previous outbreaks, there has been variability in school responses to public health measures. In one study, despite highly consistent evidence of duty of care, schools varied in extent to which information was shared openly and transparently; in how responsive school decision-makers were to the changing situation ⁴⁵. In this study, schools had reservations about the need for closures/quarantine, including a lack of understanding about the rationale for this action ⁴⁵. The study concludes that there needs to be high levels of trust between schools, public officials, and governments. School closures worked where there were high levels of trust between key players. The findings here highlight the importance of schools as agents of public health and the significance of their role in response to such crises ⁴⁵. This variability in response may have implications for parents and children. For example, there may be parental concerns about going back to school ²³, particularly worries around the child being upset and not understanding social distancing measures and so increasing their chances of catching/transmitting COVID-19. In this survey, these findings were particularly relevant in cases where children has special educational needs/ neurodevelopmental disorders, or for parents with lower incomes ²³.

Policy and practice implications for suppor ting children and young people

The overview of evidence presented here highlights some of the needs children and young people may have going forward, as lockdown measures begin to ease, and children return to school. Echoing earlier calls ¹, there seem to be several areas where attention is required, highlighting the need for a multi-disciplinary and multi-sectoral responses going forward3. Given the emerging nature of the COVID-19 pandemic, evidence for effective support mechanisms for children and young people is lacking. Nevertheless, we use the findings presented here, on the evidence of the problem, to highlight several areas for consideration for those developing programmes, interventions, and support for children and young people going forward.

a. Supporting the mental health and wellbeing of children and young people
Validating experiences
Many children and young people have likely experienced loneliness during lockdown and in particular, been affected by lack of physical contact with their friends, families and peers, and the boredom and frustration associated with a loss of all the activities they have been used to taking part in. Moreover, many children and young people have experienced worries and distress about their education and returning to school. It therefore seems important to facilitate support for children and young people that allows them to talk through some of these shared experiences and in turn, validating their experience of lockdown, whilst simultaneously informing them of what is being done to ensure their return to school and education is impacted as little as possible. For example, in one post-quarantine study of young students, students benefited from sense of connection developed with group and validating their experiences with peers, and through gaining reliable information to ease early anxieties ¹⁶. Success factors associated with this particular case of group work included a combination of psychoeducational, interpersonal, and effective elements introduced in a phased, structured approach over 5 weeks ¹⁶.
Continued communication about COVID-19
It is important that there is continued provision of clear information about COVID-1946, the rationale and guidelines for both public health measures and for supporting mental health and wellbeing for children and young people, in terms which are accessible for these groups. It is recommended that such communication continues for the foreseeable, beyond the easing of lockdown measures and return to school. Young Scot for example have provided access to a 'jargon buster' webpage on their website which communicates information about coronavirus in accessible ways: https://young.scot/ get-informed/national/coronavirusjargonbuster and provides information on the ways in which coronavirus is directly impacting children and young people.

b. Identifying and supporting vulnerable groups of children and young people

This overview has also identified that those children and young people living in families where the experience of lockdown may have been particularly difficult and challenging may require additional support to deal with the mental health and wellbeing impacts of lockdown. For example, the findings from several of the studies presented suggest that families that are young, have parents with a long-term physical or mental health conditions, have low household incomes/unemployment, or those that have experienced a COVID-19 related stressful life experience may have had particularly difficult experiences of lockdown. These are groups that may require additional support in making sense of and coping with their experiences of lockdown, particularly within the context of family support.

One study included in this overview highlights that those working with vulnerable groups should adopt a traumainformed approach to understanding the impacts of lockdown on such groups during health-related crises ⁸ in order to understand the different biopsychosocial reactions to the pandemic. The authors here suggest utilising a traumatic stress framework to organising response to provide appropriate evidence-informed care to vulnerable groups. From a policy perspective it will be important to continue to support vulnerable groups as we move out of lockdown. For example, informing policy through a trauma-informed perspective will be an important part of adequately supporting vulnerable families to begin shifting out of lockdown, especially in cases where the experience of lockdown has been particularly difficult. Similarly, some have highlighted the value of community responses to recovery ³² whereby policy should: incorporate the views and insights of community members, particularly the most vulnerable; policy should work with communities to identify and develop responses that are innovative and flexible to local circumstances and to build social cohesion; and should endorse community-based support to enhance mental health and wellbeing.

c. Returning to school
Clear communication about returning to school
This overview has identified evidence that both parents and children and young people are experiencing worry and distress about the return to school, both in terms of the process of returning to school safely and the impact on their educational experience, curriculum delivery and future prospects. Therefore, providing clear information and communication to both parents and children about the return to school will be important. This will include ensuring clarity over processes for returning to school safely, what the school-day will look like, and curriculum delivery. Evidence from experiences during the H1N1 pandemic suggest that clear communication and support from government (national and local) in facilitating the safe re-opening of schools is important. The study highlights that trust between schools and government officials will be central to enabling a safe re-opening of schools in a consistent way for all children and young people ⁴⁵. Young people have also expressed worries about how lockdown will affect their educational and career prospects. It is therefore also important to ensure that schools are providing support and reassurance to children and young people on how schools will support them to continue to sit exams and apply for further education/higher education/jobs.
Supporting those who have struggled to engage with the curriculum during lockdown
Additional guidance and support at the policy level will help schools support those children and young people for whom lockdown has been particularly challenging in terms of engagement with virtual learning, including those with no access to digital technologies and physical space to do school work, or those children and young people with special educational needs.

Research implications

There are many studies emerging of the impact of COVID-19 on the mental health and wellbeing of the population. We can also learn from similar events in the past, but evidence in such cases should be interpreted with caution given the differences between events and subsequent localised policy response. Based on the findings of this study, there is a need to understand the mental health and wellbeing impacts for children and young people, and particularly those in vulnerable groups and for whom lockdown has been particularly challenging.

The long-term effects for these groups will also require attention. In the case of education, research should continue to track the impacts of this extended period of lockdown on the delivery of the curriculum and of the process of returning to school. This learning is important for future outbreaks, but also in terms of coping with subsequent periods of lockdown should they be required in the case of a second wave of COVID-19. Moreover, as support is developed for children and young people and their families, careful attention should be paid to the evaluation of the effectiveness of such support, particularly for those groups mentioned above, for whom experiences of lockdown may have been particularly difficult.

Limitations

There are several limitations of this overview of evidence:

Whilst a structured approach to searching the literature was adopted, this was not a systematic search and as such, some relevant literature may have been omitted. Nevertheless, by searching the reference lists of identified studies, we hope that this overview provides a good coverage of empirical literature.

In terms of articles included in this review, there was no assessment of the quality of empirical studies. Moreover, the findings of different studies cannot be compared due to differences in methodology and measurement tools. This means that findings presented should be interpreted with caution.

The use of survey data is useful to contextualise academic research. However, it should be noted that included survey data are from a number of surveys, using different methodologies, and sampling strategies which are not necessarily representative of whole populations.

The findings and recommendations of this overview should be interpreted given differences of past pandemics and differences in international policy responses. Direct comparisons between events and policy responses is therefore not possible. For example, findings from the SARS epidemic should be interpreted considering a particularly high mortality rate when infected with SARS. Moreover, in past events the definition of 'quarantine'⁴⁷ may refer to individualised instances of isolation, rather than the population level lockdown experienced in the UK during the COVID-19 pandemic.

As this is an emerging phenomenon, and even though research on the impacts of COVID-19 is developing at great pace, there is still much to learn about this phenomenon, particularly its long-term impacts. These longerterm impacts should be the primary focus of researchers going forward.

Conclusions

This overview sought to provide an overview of evidence on the mental health and wellbeing impacts of lockdown for children and young people during both the COVID-19 pandemic and during similar events in the past.

Whilst studies yielded mixed findings, the findings presented here reflect not only evidence on the direct impacts to the mental health and wellbeing of children and young people but also Impacts of lockdown on the mental health and wellbeing of children and young people 16 how the challenges in the context of families and education can influence their mental health and wellbeing. As a result, it is recommended that policymakers and those working with children and young people develop and support multidisciplinary and multisectoral responses that ease the anxieties and worries of this group more broadly, but also identify and support those for whom lockdown will have been most challenging.

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Impacts of lockdown on the mental health of children and young people

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Read the executive summary of this report here. One of the most significant public health measures implemented during the COVID-19 pandemic has been extended periods of 'lockdown' where whole populations have been advised to remain in their households other than to collect necessary supplies, to care for others, or to exercise.

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Here is an article about the MP's who voted against free school meals for children.

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The British government has come under heavy scrutiny and criticism after more than 300 Tory MPs voted against free meals for school children over the holidays.
Earlier this year, Manchester United and England footballer Marcus Rashford led a successful campaign that allowed hungry children to have access to free meals during the summer holidays, drawing upon the own troubles that his mother went through when he was a child.

A motion had been brought back to the Commons to have the same initiative extended for the upcoming October half-term break and the Christmas holidays in order to help families that have been hit hardest by the pandemic and were already struggling in the battle against poverty.

However, the motion was defeated by the government's majority with prime minister Boris Johnson, chancellor Rishi Sunak, health secretary Matt Hancock and former PM Theresa May amongst the 320 Tories who voted it down. The Tories were joined by Dr Julian Lewis, the independent MP for New Forest East.

Rashford's response to the vote was a plea for MPs to work together and put aside party politics adding that "child food poverty has the potential to become the greatest pandemic the country has ever faced."

Tensions proved to be high in the Commons during the debate with Tory backbencher Christopher Clarkson accusing Labour deputy leader Angela Rayner of calling him 'scum.' She later apologised.

Another Tory backbencher Brendan Clarke-Smith, accused Rashford of "celebrity virtue signalling on Twitter" adding "where is the slick PR campaign encouraging absent parents to take some responsibility for their children?"

The uproar about this decision, which will affect millions of families across the country has been sizeable. Even Nigel Farage, possibly one of the most disliked politicians in Britain, called the government "mean" and asked why they were able to subsidise money for the Eat Out to Help Out scheme but can't help hungry children.

Some Tories have attempted to hit back at the criticism. Ben Bradley claimed that reintroducing the free school meals campaign "increases dependency" while Steve Baker attempted to debate Rashford and claimed that "feeding hungry children is a top priority."

Whether the motion does return to the Commons remains to be seen but for the record here are all the Tory MPs that voted against the school children having access to free school meals.
Nigel Adams (Conservative - Selby and Ainsty) Bim Afolami (Conservative - Hitchin and Harpenden) Adam Afriyie (Conservative - Windsor) Imran Ahmad Khan (Conservative - Wakefield) Nickie Aiken (Conservative - Cities of London and Westminster) (Proxy vote cast by Stuart Andrew) Peter Aldous (Conservative - Waveney) Lucy Allan (Conservative - Telford) David Amess (Conservative - Southend West) Lee Anderson (Conservative - Ashfield) Stuart Anderson (Conservative - Wolverhampton South West) Stuart Andrew (Conservative - Pudsey) Edward Argar (Conservative - Charnwood) Sarah Atherton (Conservative - Wrexham) Victoria Atkins (Conservative - Louth and Horncastle) Gareth Bacon (Conservative - Orpington) Richard Bacon (Conservative - South Norfolk) (Proxy vote cast by Stuart Andrew) Kemi Badenoch (Conservative - Saffron Walden) Shaun Bailey (Conservative - West Bromwich West) Duncan Baker (Conservative - North Norfolk) Steve Baker (Conservative - Wycombe) Harriett Baldwin (Conservative - West Worcestershire) Steve Barclay (Conservative - North East Cambridgeshire) Simon Baynes (Conservative - Clwyd South) Aaron Bell (Conservative - Newcastle-under-Lyme) Scott Benton (Conservative - Blackpool South) Paul Beresford (Conservative - Mole Valley) (Proxy vote cast by Stuart Andrew) Jake Berry (Conservative - Rossendale and Darwen) (Proxy vote cast by Stuart Andrew) Saqib Bhatti (Conservative - Meriden) Bob Blackman (Conservative - Harrow East) (Proxy vote cast by Stuart Andrew) Crispin Blunt (Conservative - Reigate) (Proxy vote cast by Stuart Andrew) Peter Bone (Conservative - Wellingborough) (Proxy vote cast by Stuart Andrew) Peter Bottomley (Conservative - Worthing West) Andrew Bowie (Conservative - West Aberdeenshire and Kincardine) Ben Bradley (Conservative - Mansfield) (Proxy vote cast by Stuart Andrew) Karen Bradley (Conservative - Staffordshire Moorlands) Graham Brady (Conservative - Altrincham and Sale West) Suella Braverman (Conservative - Fareham) Jack Brereton (Conservative - Stoke-on-Trent South) Andrew Bridgen (Conservative - North West Leicestershire) (Proxy vote cast by Stuart Andrew) Steve Brine (Conservative - Winchester) Paul Bristow (Conservative - Peterborough) Sara Britcliffe (Conservative - Hyndburn) James Brokenshire (Conservative - Old Bexley and Sidcup) Anthony Browne (Conservative - South Cambridgeshire) Fiona Bruce (Conservative - Congleton) Felicity Buchan (Conservative - Kensington) Robert Buckland (Conservative - South Swindon) Alex Burghart (Conservative - Brentwood and Ongar) Conor Burns (Conservative - Bournemouth West) (Proxy vote cast by Stuart Andrew) Rob Butler (Conservative - Aylesbury) Alun Cairns (Conservative - Vale of Glamorgan) Andy Carter (Conservative - Warrington South) James Cartlidge (Conservative - South Suffolk) William Cash (Conservative - Stone) (Proxy vote cast by Stuart Andrew) Miriam Cates (Conservative - Penistone and Stocksbridge) Maria Caulfield (Conservative - Lewes) Alex Chalk (Conservative - Cheltenham) Rehman Chishti (Conservative - Gillingham and Rainham) Jo Churchill (Conservative - Bury St Edmunds) Greg Clark (Conservative - Tunbridge Wells) Simon Clarke (Conservative - Middlesbrough South and East Cleveland) (Proxy vote cast by Stuart Andrew) Theo Clarke (Conservative - Stafford) Brendan Clarke-Smith (Conservative - Bassetlaw) Chris Clarkson (Conservative - Heywood and Middleton) James Cleverly (Conservative - Braintree) Thérèse Coffey (Conservative - Suffolk Coastal) Damian Collins (Conservative - Folkestone and Hythe) (Proxy vote cast by Stuart Andrew) Alberto Costa (Conservative - South Leicestershire) (Proxy vote cast by Stuart Andrew) Robert Courts (Conservative - Witney) Claire Coutinho (Conservative - East Surrey) Geoffrey Cox (Conservative - Torridge and West Devon) (Proxy vote cast by Stuart Andrew) Virginia Crosbie (Conservative - Ynys Môn) James Daly (Conservative - Bury North) David T C Davies (Conservative - Monmouth) James Davies (Conservative - Vale of Clwyd) Gareth Davies (Conservative - Grantham and Stamford) Mims Davies (Conservative - Mid Sussex) (Proxy vote cast by Stuart Andrew) Philip Davies (Conservative - Shipley) David Davis (Conservative - Haltemprice and Howden) (Proxy vote cast by Stuart Andrew) Dehenna Davison (Conservative - Bishop Auckland) Caroline Dinenage (Conservative - Gosport) (Proxy vote cast by Caroline Nokes) Sarah Dines (Conservative - Derbyshire Dales) Jonathan Djanogly (Conservative - Huntingdon) Michelle Donelan (Conservative - Chippenham) Nadine Dorries (Conservative - Mid Bedfordshire) (Proxy vote cast by Stuart Andrew) Steve Double (Conservative - St Austell and Newquay) (Proxy vote cast by Stuart Andrew) Oliver Dowden (Conservative - Hertsmere) Jackie Doyle-Price (Conservative - Thurrock) Richard Drax (Conservative - South Dorset) Flick Drummond (Conservative - Meon Valley) David Duguid (Conservative - Banff and Buchan) Iain Duncan Smith (Conservative - Chingford and Woodford Green) Philips Dunne (Conservative - Ludlow) Mark Eastwood (Conservative - Dewsbury) Ruth Edwards (Conservative - Rushcliffe) (Proxy vote cast by Stuart Andrew) Michael Ellis (Conservative - Northampton North) Tobias Ellwood (Conservative - Bournemouth East) Natalie Elphicke (Conservative - Dover) (Proxy vote cast by Maria Caulfield) George Eustice (Conservative - Camborne and Redruth) Luke Evans (Conservative - Bosworth) (Proxy vote cast by Stuart Andrew) David Evennett (Conservative - Bexleyheath and Crayford) (Proxy vote cast by Stuart Andrew) Ben Everitt (Conservative - Milton Keynes North) Michael Fabricant (Conservative - Lichfield) (Proxy vote cast by Stuart Andrew) Laura Farris (Conservative - Newbury) Simon Fell (Conservative - Barrow and Furness) Katherine Fletcher (Conservative - South Ribble) Mark Fletcher (Conservative - Bolsover) Nick Fletcher (Conservative - Don Valley) Vicky Ford (Conservative - Chelmsford) Kevin Foster (Conservative - Torbay) Mark Francois (Conservative - Rayleigh and Wickford) (Proxy vote cast by Stuart Andrew) Lucy Frazer (Conservative - South East Cambridgeshire) George Freeman (Conservative - Mid Norfolk) (Proxy vote cast by Bim Afolami) Mike Freer (Conservative - Finchley and Golders Green) Richard Fuller (Conservative - North East Bedfordshire) Marcus Fysh (Conservative - Yeovil) (Proxy vote cast by Craig Mackinlay) Mark Garnier (Conservative - Wyre Forest) Nusrat Ghani (Conservative - Wealden) (Proxy vote cast by Steve Baker) Nick Gibb (Conservative - Bognor Regis and Littlehampton) Peter Gibson (Conservative - Darlington) Jo Gideon (Conservative - Stoke-on-Trent Central) Cheryl Gillan (Conservative - Chesham and Amersham) (Proxy vote cast by Stuart Andrew) John Glen (Conservative - Salisbury) Robert Goodwill (Conservative - Scarborough and Whitby) Michael Gove (Conservative - Surrey Heath) Richard Graham (Conservative - Gloucester) Helen Grant (Conservative - Maidstone and The Weald) (Proxy vote cast by Stuart Andrew) James Gray (Conservative - North Wiltshire) Chris Grayling (Conservative - Epsom and Ewell) Chris Green (Conservative - Bolton West) Damian Green (Conservative - Ashford) Andrew Griffith (Conservative - Arundel and South Downs) Kate Griffiths (Conservative - Burton) James Grundy (Conservative - Leigh) Jonathan Gullis (Conservative - Stoke-on-Trent North) Luke Hall (Conservative - Thornbury and Yate) Stephen Hammond (Conservative - Wimbledon) Matt Hancock (Conservative - West Suffolk) Greg Hands (Conservative - Chelsea and Fulham) Mark Harper (Conservative - Forest of Dean) Rebecca Harris (Conservative - Castle Point) Trudy Harrison (Conservative - Copeland) Sally-Ann Hart (Conservative - Hastings and Rye) Simon Hart (Conservative - Carmarthen West and South Pembrokeshire) John Hayes (Conservative - South Holland and The Deepings) Oliver Heald (Conservative - North East Hertfordshire) (Proxy vote cast by Stuart Andrew) Chris Heaton-Harris (Conservative - Daventry) Gordon Henderson (Conservative - Sittingbourne and Sheppey) Darren Henry (Conservative - Broxtowe) Antony Higginbotham (Conservative - Burnley) Damian Hinds (Conservative - East Hampshire) Kevin Hollinrake (Conservative - Thirsk and Malton) Philip Hollobone (Conservative - Kettering) Adam Holloway (Conservative - Gravesham) (Proxy vote cast by Maria Caulfield) Paul Holmes (Conservative - Eastleigh) John Howell (Conservative - Henley) Paul Howell (Conservative - Sedgefield) Nigel Huddleston (Conservative - Mid Worcestershire) Eddie Hughes (Conservative - Walsall North) Jane Hunt (Conservative - Loughborough) Jeremy Hunt (Conservative - South West Surrey) Tom Hunt (Conservative - Ipswich) Alister Jack (Conservative - Dumfries and Galloway) Sajid Javid (Conservative - Bromsgrove) Ranil Jayawardena (Conservative - North East Hampshire) (Proxy vote cast by Stuart Andrew) Mark Jenkinson (Conservative - Workington) Andrea Jenkyns (Conservative - Morley and Outwood) Robert Jenrick (Conservative - Newark) Boris Johnson (Conservative - Uxbridge and South Ruislip) Caroline Johnson (Conservative - Sleaford and North Hykeham) (Proxy vote cast by Stuart Andrew) Gareth Johnson (Conservative - Dartford) David Johnston (Conservative - Wantage) Andrew Jones (Conservative - Harrogate and Knaresborough) Fay Jones (Conservative - Brecon and Radnorshire) David Jones (Conservative - Clwyd West) Marcus Jones (Conservative - Nuneaton) Simon Jupp (Conservative - East Devon) (Proxy vote cast by Stuart Andrew) Daniel Kawczynski (Conservative - Shrewsbury and Atcham) Alicia Kearns (Conservative - Rutland and Melton) (Proxy vote cast by Stuart Andrew) Gillian Keegan (Conservative - Chichester) Julian Knight (Conservative - Solihull) (Proxy vote cast by Stuart Andrew) Greg Knight (Conservative - East Yorkshire) (Proxy vote cast by Stuart Andrew) Danny Kruger (Conservative - Devizes) Kwasi Kwarteng (Conservative - Spelthorne) John Lamont (Conservative - Berwickshire, Roxburgh and Selkirk) (Proxy vote cast by Stuart Andrew) Robert Largan (Conservative - High Peak) Andrea Leadsom (Conservative - South Northamptonshire) Edward Leigh (Conservative - Gainsborough) Ian Levy (Conservative - Blyth Valley) (Proxy vote cast by Stuart Andrew) Andrew Lewer (Conservative - Northampton South) Brandon Lewis (Conservative - Great Yarmouth) Ian Liddell-Grainger (Conservative - Bridgwater and West Somerset) (Proxy vote cast by Stuart Andrew) Chris Loder (Conservative - West Dorset) Mark Logan (Conservative - Bolton North East) Marco Longhi (Conservative - Dudley North) (Proxy vote cast by Stuart Andrew) Julia Lopez (Conservative - Hornchurch and Upminster) Jack Lopresti (Conservative - Filton and Bradley Stoke) Jonathan Lord (Conservative - Woking) (Proxy vote cast by Stuart Andrew) Craig Mackinlay (Conservative - South Thanet) Cherilyn Mackrory (Conservative - Truro and Falmouth) Rachel Maclean (Conservative - Redditch) Alan Mak (Conservative - Havant) Kit Malthouse (Conservative - North West Hampshire) Anthony Mangnall (Conservative - Totnes) Scott Mann (Conservative - North Cornwall) Julie Marson (Conservative - Hertford and Stortford) Theresa May (Conservative - Maidenhead) Jerome Mayhew (Conservative - Broadland) Karl McCartney (Conservative - Lincoln) (Proxy vote cast by Stuart Andrew) Mark Menzies (Conservative - Fylde) (Proxy vote cast by Stuart Andrew) Johnny Mercer (Conservative - Plymouth, Moor View) Huw Merriman (Conservative - Bexhill and Battle) Stephen Metcalfe (Conservative - South Basildon and East Thurrock) (Proxy vote cast by Stuart Andrew) Robin Millar (Conservative - Aberconwy) Maria Miller (Conservative - Basingstoke) Amanda Milling (Conservative - Cannock Chase) Nigel Mills (Conservative - Amber Valley) (Proxy vote cast by Stuart Andrew) Andrew Mitchell (Conservative - Sutton Coldfield) Gagan Mohindra (Conservative - South West Hertfordshire) Robbie Moore (Conservative - Keighley) Penny Mordaunt (Conservative - Portsmouth North) David Morris (Conservative - Morecambe and Lunesdale) (Proxy vote cast by Stuart Andrew) James Morris (Conservative - Halesowen and Rowley Regis) Wendy Morton (Conservative - Aldridge-Brownhills) Kieran Mullan (Conservative - Crewe and Nantwich) David Mundell (Conservative - Dumfriesshire, Clydesdale and Tweeddale) Sheryll Murray (Conservative - South East Cornwall) Andrew Murrison (Conservative - South West Wiltshire) Robert Neill (Conservative - Bromley and Chislehurst) Caroline Nokes (Conservative - Romsey and Southampton North) Jesse Norman (Conservative - Hereford and South Herefordshire) Neil O'Brien (Conservative - Harborough) Guy Opperman (Conservative - Hexham) (Proxy vote cast by Stuart Andrew) Owen Paterson (Conservative - North Shropshire) (Proxy vote cast by Stuart Andrew) Mark Pawsey (Conservative - Rugby) Mike Penning (Conservative - Hemel Hempstead) (Proxy vote cast by Stuart Andrew) John Penrose (Conservative - Weston-super-Mare) Chris Philp (Conservative - Croydon South) Christopher Pincher (Conservative - Tamworth) Rebecca Pow (Conservative - Taunton Deane) Victoria Prentis (Conservative - Banbury) Mark Pritchard (Conservative - The Wrekin) Jeremy Quin (Conservative - Horsham) Will Quince (Conservative - Colchester) Tom Randall (Conservative - Gedling) John Redwood (Conservative - Wokingham) Jacob Rees-Mogg (Conservative - North East Somerset) Nicola Richards (Conservative - West Bromwich East) Angela Richardson (Conservative - Guildford) Rob Roberts (Conservative - Delyn) Laurence Robertson (Conservative - Tewkesbury) Mary Robinson (Conservative - Cheadle) Andrew Rosindell (Conservative - Romford) Lee Rowley (Conservative - North East Derbyshire) Dean Russell (Conservative - Watford) David Rutley (Conservative - Macclesfield) Gary Sambrook (Conservative - Birmingham, Northfield) Selaine Saxby (Conservative - North Devon) (Proxy vote cast by Stuart Andrew) Paul Scully (Conservative - Sutton and Cheam) Bob Seely (Conservative - Isle of Wight) Andrew Selous (Conservative - South West Bedfordshire) Grant Shapps (Conservative - Welwyn Hatfield) Alok Sharma (Conservative - Reading West) Alec Shelbrooke (Conservative - Elmet and Rothwell) David Simmonds (Conservative - Ruislip, Northwood and Pinner) Chris Skidmore (Conservative - Kingswood) Chloe Smith (Conservative - Norwich North) (Proxy vote cast by Stuart Andrew) Greg Smith (Conservative - Buckingham) Henry Smith (Conservative - Crawley) (Proxy vote cast by Stuart Andrew) Julian Smith (Conservative - Skipton and Ripon) Royston Smith (Conservative - Southampton, Itchen) Amanda Solloway (Conservative - Derby North) Ben Spencer (Conservative - Runnymede and Weybridge) Mark Spencer (Conservative - Sherwood) Alexander Stafford (Conservative - Rother Valley) Andrew Stephenson (Conservative - Pendle) Jane Stevenson (Conservative - Wolverhampton North East) John Stevenson (Conservative - Carlisle) Bob Stewart (Conservative - Beckenham) Iain Stewart (Conservative - Milton Keynes South) Gary Streeter (Conservative - South West Devon) (Proxy vote cast by Stuart Andrew) Mel Stride (Conservative - Central Devon) (Proxy vote cast by Stuart Andrew) Rishi Sunak (Conservative - Richmond (Yorks)) James Sunderland (Conservative - Bracknell) Desmond Swayne (Conservative - New Forest West) Robert Syms (Conservative - Poole) Derek Thomas (Conservative - St Ives) Maggie Throup (Conservative - Erewash) Edward Timpson (Conservative - Eddisbury) (Proxy vote cast by Stuart Andrew) Kelly Tolhurst (Conservative - Rochester and Strood) Justin Tomlinson (Conservative - North Swindon) Michael Tomlinson (Conservative - Mid Dorset and North Poole) Craig Tracey (Conservative - North Warwickshire) Anne-Marie Trevelyan (Conservative - Berwick-upon-Tweed) Laura Trott (Conservative - Sevenoaks) Tom Tugendhat (Conservative - Tonbridge and Malling) Martin Vickers (Conservative - Cleethorpes) Matt Vickers (Conservative - Stockton South) Theresa Villiers (Conservative - Chipping Barnet) Robin Walker (Conservative - Worcester) Charles Walker (Conservative - Broxbourne) Jamie Wallis (Conservative - Bridgend) (Proxy vote cast by Stuart Andrew) David Warburton (Conservative - Somerton and Frome) (Proxy vote cast by Stuart Andrew) Matt Warman (Conservative - Boston and Skegness) Giles Watling (Conservative - Clacton) Suzanne Webb (Conservative - Stourbridge) Helen Whately (Conservative - Faversham and Mid Kent) Heather Wheeler (Conservative - South Derbyshire) Craig Whittaker (Conservative - Calder Valley) John Whittingdale (Conservative - Maldon) Bill Wiggin (Conservative - North Herefordshire) James Wild (Conservative - North West Norfolk) Craig Williams (Conservative - Montgomeryshire) Gavin Williamson (Conservative - South Staffordshire) Mike Wood (Conservative - Dudley South) William Wragg (Conservative - Hazel Grove) Jeremy Wright (Conservative - Kenilworth and Southam) Jacob Young (Conservative - Redcar) Nadhim Zahawi (Conservative - Stratford-on-Avon)
Five Tory MPs voted against the government: Caroline Ansell (Eastbourne), Robert Halfon (Harlow), Jason McCartney (Colne Valley), Anne Marie Morris (Newton Abbot), Holly Mumby-Croft (Scunthorpe). Ansell has since reportedly quit her post.

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A list of all the Tory MPs who just voted against free school meals for hungry children

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The British government has come under heavy scrutiny and criticism after more than 300 Tory MPs voted against free meals for school children over the holidays. Earlier this year, Manchester United and England footballer Marcus Rashford led a successful campaign that allowed hungry children to have access to free meals during the summer holidays, drawing upon the own troubles that his mother went through when he was a child.

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The Guardian shows failed child's rights around the world monthly.

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Child abuse has risen by nearly 80% dure in the pandemic due to families staying at home due to lockdown.

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By India Pollock
BBC Wales social affairs correspondent

The number of referrals from the NSPCC about child abuse has increased by 79% since the UK-wide lockdown was imposed, according to the charity's data.

Calls to its helpline resulted in 923 referrals to police and social services between April and November.

Almost a third related to neglect and the charity warned more children could be at risk over Christmas.

Wales' children's commissioner said the pandemic had a "real and significant" impact on the most vulnerable children.

One caller to NSPCC Cymru's hotline reported concerns their neighbour's son was being neglected.

They said they could hear the father screaming and shouting obscenities towards his three-year-old son.

"This led to the boy crying constantly. The parents have no concern for their child, I've noticed the boy is regularly left in the garden for hours on end unsupervised," said the caller.

"There is also an excess of bin bags all ripped in the back garden. I only noticed this because of the smell that was emanating from it. It makes me sad and upset seeing the boy treated like this."

'I can't keep quiet anymore'

A mother also called as she was worried about her own son, who lived with his father.

"The father is unable to have a proper conversation about anything. The house is always a mess with lots of rubbish everywhere and my son is normally left to fend for himself," she said.

"I'm worried about the impact this is having on his emotional wellbeing. I can't keep quiet about this anymore, it's really worrying me, what should I do?"

There was an average of 115 referrals from helpline calls made each month between April and November, compared to the pre-lockdown average of 64.

NSPCC analysis of the data showed the level of concern about emotional abuse, neglect and physical abuse remained well above the pre-pandemic average across the UK.

Kamaljit Thandi, head of the NSPCC helpline, said: "It's no secret that this Christmas is going to be a very different one and, for thousands of children, being stuck at home for the holidays will be a terrifying thought."

Children's commissioner for Wales, Sally Holland, said people should trust their instincts and not delay speaking up.

"During a year where many have spent long periods unable to socialise with friends and unable to attend their nursery, school or youth group, some children will have spent more time in a home where they do not feel safe.

"With infection rates so high in our communities and no clear timeframe for getting back to normal life, it's even more important than usual that people look out for signs of child abuse and contact their local child protection team, or Childline, if they are worried."

Actions to prevent child abuse

NSPCC Cymru has urged the Welsh Government to encourage the public to be extra vigilant, especially during the Christmas holidays and while schools are closed, to ensure children and families "get the help they need".

It also said the government needed to invest long-term funding to support children recovering from adverse and traumatic experiences during lockdown.

The Welsh Government said it was committed to working with safeguarding partners to do everything possible to prevent and tackle child abuse and to support children who have experienced it.

"Our national action plan sets out clear actions to prevent child sexual abuse, to protect children at risk and to support abused children," a spokesperson said.

"It was published in 2019 and actions are to be completed by 31 December 2021. The existing plan sets out the next steps which would then be taken, including considering evidence from a review of its implementation, in consultation with stakeholders, to decide on next steps."

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Covid: Child abuse referrals up nearly 80%, says NSPCC

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By India Pollock BBC Wales social affairs correspondent The number of referrals from the NSPCC about child abuse has increased by 79% since the UK-wide lockdown was imposed, according to the charity's data. Calls to its helpline resulted in 923 referrals to police and social services between April and November.

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There is an on-going pandemic of child sexual exploitation in African countries. This is due to poor government, dictatorship and also the main reason is cultural. young girls suffer genital Mutilation because of Africa's culture.

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Of all the suffering and abuse endured by African boys and girls - and sadly the list is long and shameful - sexual exploitation is surely one of the most egregious. In my long life I have often witnessed the worst excesses of cruelty towards children - trafficking, violence, kidnapping, forced recruitment, discrimination of all kinds - and child sexual exploitation is a red thread that runs through them all.

The statistics are truly shocking. To take just a few examples: three quarters of children living on the streets in Uganda are victims of sexual violence. More than half the children with disabilities in Cameroon and Senegal who reported sexual exploitation had been raped. In South Africa, one in three children is at risk of sexual abuse before reaching the age of 17. Nearly 40 percent of boys and girls in Ghana say they have been indecently assaulted. And so the depressing litany of abuse goes on.

However, I have no doubt that most child sexual exploitation in Africa remains hidden and unreported. One in three child victims of sexual exploitation tells no one, fearing disbelief, blame, reprisals and public shame. Boys are even less likely to report sexual abuse, a situation made worse by the absence of laws to protect them. 'Out of sight, out of mind' seems to be the norm.

It is no exaggeration to call child sexual exploitation in Africa a 'silent emergency' - the title of a new report out this week from the African Child Policy Forum which lifts the lid on the scale and scope of the problem. Child sexual exploitation is on the rise in Africa and is affecting the entire continent, fuelled by a perfect storm of opportunities for child sex offenders to thrive.

Although child sexual exploitation is by no means a 21st century phenomenon, I was disturbed to read in the report of two modern trends which exacerbate the problem: digital technology and accessible travel which enable offenders to operate both virtually and in person, with little danger of detection. Africa is fast becoming the new frontier for online child sexual abuse, especially in those countries with higher internet coverage. Yet very few countries have laws specifically criminalising online sex crimes, and those that do frequently fail to enforce them adequately.

Similarly, laws regulating travel and tourism in Africa are weak or non-existent, giving free rein to criminals intent on travelling to the continent with the sole intent of sexually exploiting children. Sex tourists - 90 percent of them men - typically originate from the USA, UK, Italy, Germany, Canada, Korea, and China. They target countries with weak or poorly-enforced laws including South Africa, Nigeria, Ethiopia, Somalia, Uganda, Tanzania, Kenya, Rwanda and Sudan.

However, we cannot blame the growth in child sexual exploitation solely on digital and travel trends. In more than four decades of working with children across the continent and beyond, I have seen time and time again the corrosive, insidious impact of poverty, inequality and discrimination driven by traditional patriarchal and cultural attitudes.

Practices such as child marriage and treating children as property - combined with outdated laws which refuse to acknowledge that boys can be victims too - have deep roots which will not be easily be changed. Attitudes that glorify predatory sexual behavior and objectify women's sexuality have aggravated the sexual exploitation of girls, while traditional views of boys and men as perpetrators of sexual violence have led to the gross neglect of them as victims. In addition, African attitudes towards especially vulnerable groups, such as children with disabilities, those living and working on the street or those in unregulated domestic employment remain significant barriers to reducing child sexual exploitation. Homeless children, for example, almost always resort to so-called 'survival sex', including unprotected sex.

Perhaps what angers me most is that those who are supposed to protect our children - peacekeeping forces, humanitarian agencies, governments, law makers, teachers, police officers and parents - stand accused of abusing their power, control and trust in order to submit both girls and boys to sexual exploitation. It is a measure of how widespread this abuse of power has become that I was not particularly surprised to read about teachers in some west and central African countries demanding sex in exchange for higher grades. Instead of being safe havens, schools in certain instances, are becoming dangerous places for both girls and boys, who endure sexual violence from both teachers and fellow students.

The sexual exploitation of children is a multifaceted problem which requires action on multiple fronts, but that is no excuse for inaction. African governments must urgently pass legislation which is explicitly protective of the welfare and security of children, and that prohibits sexual abuse, child sex tourism and online exploitation. They must also build strong social institutions to safeguard the welfare of children as well as hold offenders accountable. Civil society organizations, teacher's associations, parents and caregivers must also be vigorously engaged to protect children and rid our societies of this hidden scandal which is so damaging to this, and future, generations of boys and girls.
Graça Machel is a life-long campaigner for children's rights. She is Chair of the Board of Trustees of the African Child Policy Forum, Chair of the Graç a Machel Trust and a founding member of The Elders.

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Child sexual exploitation in Africa is on the rise - but governments are turning a blind eye- By Graça Machel

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Of all the suffering and abuse endured by African boys and girls - and sadly the list is long and shameful - sexual exploitation is surely one of the most egregious.

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I've found the UNICEF website really helpful with understanding children's rights, they also explain the UNCRC including all the articles. UNICEF devote their work to protecting children all over the world and even explains how you can help aswell.

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What is the UN Convention?

The UN Convention on the Rights of the Child (UNCRC) is the basis of all of our work. It is the most complete statement of children's rights ever produced and is the most widely-ratified international human rights treaty in history.

What makes the UN Convention so special?

The Convention has 54 articles that cover all aspects of a child's life and set out the civil, political, economic, social and cultural rights that all children everywhere are entitled to. It also explains how adults and governments must work together to make sure all children can enjoy all their rights.

Every child has rights "without discrimination of any kind, irrespective of the child's or his or her parent's or legal guardian's race, colour, sex, language, religion, political or other opinion, national, ethnic or social origin, property, disability, birth or other status" (Article 2).

The Convention must be seen as a whole: all the rights are linked and no right is more important than another. The right to relax and play (Article 31) and the right to freedom of expression (Article 13) have equal importance as the right to be safe from violence (Article 19) and the right to education (Article 28).

We are the only organisation working for children recognised by the Convention.

The Convention is also the most widely ratified human rights treaty in the world. All UN member states except for the United States have ratified the Convention. The Convention came into force in the UK in 1992.

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UN Convention on the Rights of the Child - UNICEF UK

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The United Nations Convention on the Rights of the Child (UNCRC) is the basis for all of UNICEF's work and upholds children's rights all over the world.

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There has been an increase in abusing children after England’s first lockdown. It has increased by 27% in the same period the previous year.

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Iryna Pona, policy manager at the Children's Society, said the increase in incidents last year happened at a time when Covid-19 was having a "huge impact on the well-being of children and families and disrupted help available to those who needed it most".

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Covid-19: Rise in suspected child abuse cases after lockdown

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Iryna Pona, policy manager at the Children's Society, said the increase in incidents last year happened at a time when Covid-19 was having a "huge impact on the well-being of children and families and disrupted help available to those who needed it most".

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Child poverty rates are projected to increase to 5.2 million by 2022.

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Save the Children is a charity registered in England and Wales

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Children's Rights | Save the Children UK

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Every child has rights, no matter who or where they are. But children's rights are still violated. Find out what we're doing to stop this.

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The impact of COVID-19 on global extreme poverty

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The impact of COVID-19 on global extreme poverty

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Homi Kharas examines the impact of COVID-19 on global extreme poverty and how cash transfers can help.

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Information for local authorities, academy trusts and schools about the devices, internet access and support available to provide remote education and access to children’s social care during coronavirus (COVID-19).

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Skip to main content

This is a new service - your alpha feedback will help us to improve it.

Information for local authorities, academy trusts and schools about the devices, internet access and support available to provide remote education and access to children's social care during the coronavirus (COVID-19).

Find out more about the Department for Education's
Get help with technology programme on GOV.UK.

Find out how to prepare to order laptops and tablets for disadvantaged children in certain year groups when schools are affected by disruption to face-to-face education due to coronavirus (COVID-19).

Get information about setting up, distributing and managing the laptops, tablets and 4G wireless routers you've received. You can also find guides to share with children and young people to help them use the devices.

Find out how to get internet access for disadvantaged and vulnerable children and young people when schools are affected by disruption to face-to-face education due to coronavirus (COVID-19). Learn about our pilot schemes offering free access to BT wifi hotspots and increased data allowances on mobile devices.

Find out how to apply for government-funded support through The Key for School Leaders and access one of two free-to-use digital education platforms: G Suite for Education or Office 365 Education.

Learn how you can use the EdTech Demonstrator Programme to contact a network of schools and colleges who are already using remote education technology resources for help and support.

Get support

If you work for a local authority, academy trust or school and you need help with any of the devices or services offered by this programme, please email COVID.TECHNOLOGY@education.gov.uk. We aim to respond within 3 working days.

If you've been given a laptop, tablet or 4G wireless router by your local authority or school and need some help, please contact the person or school who gave it to you.

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Skip to main content This is a new service - your alpha feedback will help us to improve it. Information for local authorities, academy trusts and schools about the devices, internet access and support available to provide remote education and access to children's social care during the coronavirus (COVID-19).

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Evaluates Australia's improvements in Children's Rights.

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Holding the Australian government to account on children's rights
20 January 2021 at 1:38 pm
Wth many of the child rights issues that Australia was facing in 2015 still the same in 2021, we should all be paying close attention to the federal government's reaction to the United Nations Human Rights Council's hearing, writes Save the Children Australia's Simon Henderson.
On Wednesday, Australia's human rights performance over the last five years will come under scrutiny by the United Nations Human Rights Council (HRC) through the universal periodic review process. The process occurs every five years and allows nations around the world to ask the Australian government questions and review its human rights record.

Shortly after Christmas, Australia's own self-assessment submitted to the HRC was released. The report outlines developments on everything from the rights of children, rights of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander peoples, asylum seekers and refugees, women's rights and much more.

However, the report is just as telling for its omissions, which are extensive. When foreign governments are thinking about what to say when Australia appears before the HRC, they will look to the report to see where Australia's priorities stand.

One of the starkest omissions is climate change. Much has been said about Australia's low ambition in combatting climate change. Australia's self-assessment makes no mention of climate change or the environment. This is disturbing because we know from speaking directly with young people and children, it is a critical child rights issue.

Additionally, when it comes to youth justice and the detention of children, the national report is noticeably lacking in detail. Some may not be aware that Australia holds a reservation under the Convention on the Rights of the Child to allow children to be detained with adults in prison.

The national report fails to explain why this continues to be the case or even provide data about the cases where children are detained together with adults. There is also no attempt to describe the significant breaches of children's rights in Australia's juvenile justice systems and youth detention facilities.

In recent days, several countries have released what are known as questions in advance ahead of Australia's hearing. Questions from a variety of countries have been received, including Slovenia, Uruguay, Sweden, the United Kingdom and more.

Germany asked "What are the key factors that have prevented Australia from raising the age of criminal responsibility from 10 to at least 14 years?" It is a good question and one that requires a direct answer given that Australia's position contrasts with UN recommendations, medical evidence about children's development and public pressure from the community.

One of the common threads when reading the questions in advance is that many of the child rights issues that Australia was facing in 2015 remain the same in 2021.

The federal government has failed to put in place laws to ensure immigration detention for children is a last resort.

They have failed to implement comprehensive measures to protect the rights of children under the Convention on the Rights of the Child. They have also failed to combat the over-representation of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander youth in Australian prisons.

In response to the COVID-19 pandemic Foreign Minister Payne has re-emphasised the importance of the multilateral system which implements rules and processes that are vital to our country's security, interests, values and prosperity.

Our review by the UN is a test for Australia on our commitment to the standards that underpin universal human rights and the rule of law.

Australia should use the universal periodic review as an opportunity to finally make progress on many long outstanding child rights issues, working in close collaboration with civil society organisations.

We should not end up in the same position again in 2025, writing the same words, expressing the same concerns and with children still not being fully protected under the human rights treaties to which Australia is bound to comply.

We should all be watching the federal government's reaction to Wednesday's hearing closely.

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Holding the Australian government to account on children's rights | PBA

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Wth many of the child rights issues that Australia was facing in 2015 still the same in 2021, we should all be paying close attention to the federal government's reaction to the United Nations Human Rights Council's hearing, writes Save the Children Australia's Simon Henderson.

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Little girl begging at a car for some food.
-  Article 27 (adequate standard of living)

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What children think about their own children's rights. I know this isn't a failed human right but thought it was interesting to share.

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The inadequate food parcels that have been given to children and their parents whilst children are off school.

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Images circulated on social media have revealed "woefully inadequate" free school meal parcels sent to families, including a £30 parcel estimated to contain just over £5 worth of food.

Twitter user Roadside Mum posted the image, commenting: "2 days jacket potato with beans, 8 single cheese sandwiches, 2 days carrots, 3 days apples, 2 days soreen, 3 days frubes.

"Spare pasta & tomato. Will need mayo for pasta salad.

"Issued instead of £30 vouchers. I could do more with £30 to be honest."

She estimated the cost of the food in the package at £5.22 based on prices at Asda.

Chartwell, the company that allegedly supplied Roadside Mum's box, said after investigating the matter, where food parcels have "not met our usual high standards" they will be refunding the cost.

A spokesperson for Chartwells said: "We will be contacting every school to understand where any shortages may have occurred and we will apologise to anyone affected.

"From Monday 15th January we will ensure our food hampers reflect the additional £3.50 funding allocation communicated by the government and that every penny goes into the provision of the food."

The firm's website says their £23 food hamper for two weeks contains a block of cheese, 14 portions of fruit, 16 portions of vegetables, a kilogram bag of penne pasta, four chopped tomato tins, two tins of tuna, one loaf of bread and nine healthy snacks.

The food in Roadside Mum's photo falls remarkably short of these requirements.

Other users posted similar images.

Footballer and campaigner Marcus Rashford tweeted another picture and wrote: "3 days of food for 1 family... Just not good enough.

"Then imagine we expect the children to engage in learning from home.

"Not to mention the parents who, at times, have to teach them who probably haven't eaten at all so their children can... We MUST do better."

A mum from March, Cambridgeshire received this package for her son - but even this amount of food included a top-up from the school.

Kirsty's food parcel Credit: Kirsty Peacock

Kirsty Peacock told ITV News: "I'm very grateful to my son's school for the effort they have put in - separate from the government - with local businesses to ensure that their children are fed.

"If it weren't for their efforts over previous years then this parcel would have been even worse.

"Taking away autonomy from parents who are often more resourceful at stretching budgets is, frankly, backwards.

"I budget stringently and know what I can get for the equivalent cost of school dinners per week, and there's absolutely no way that whoever has planned this parcel understands what can be bought or what families need.

"I would be happy to sit down with the people who planned these parcels and teach them proper budgeting and meal planning skills."

Lisa Tanner uploaded a photo showing food repackaged in money bags, a small carrot segment and half a tomato wrapped in cling film.

"Our school was disgusted by our caterers! Food in money bags!!! Pathetic carrot stub," she wrote.

It is unclear which company supplied the parcels in the above two photos.

Naomi Willis, from money-saving site Skint Dad, said members of her network have also been sharing pictures of inadequate food parcels.

"While it seems that some food parcels have been good quality, there is a distinct lack of consistency, compared to the previous voucher scheme," she said."This is adding additional pressure to struggling parents and is letting down children who are caught in the middle."The scheme needs to be reviewed immediately to ensure that all children are provided with enough food or reintroduce the previous voucher scheme today."

Labour leader Sir Keir Starmer described the situation as "a disgrace".

He tweeted: "The images appearing online of woefully inadequate free school meal parcels are a disgrace.

"Where is the money going? This needs sorting immediately so families don't go hungry through lockdown."

Downing Street has said the contents of some free school meal food parcels sent to families is "completely unacceptable" and that the government is urgently looking into the issue.

The Prime Minister's official spokesman told a Westminster briefing: "We're aware of those images circulating on social media, and it is clear that the contents of those food parcels are completely unacceptable.

"The Department for Education is looking into this urgently and the Minister for Children, Vicky Ford, is speaking to the company responsible and they will be making it clear that boxes like this should not be given to families."

The spokesman said the national free school meals voucher scheme would shortly be reopened.Vicky Ford reiterated that she would be "urgently" look into the matter, while also defending the use of parcels instead of vouchers for families in need.

She tweeted: "One of the reasons why some schools have used food parcels rather than vouchers is that it helps keep them in touch with families.

"Very sadly during the pandemic there has been an increase in risk to some children. Do call @NSPCC If you are concerned about a child."

Policing Minister Kit Malthouse said Ms Ford has been "working flat out to get food to families who need it".

"Those parcels didn't look the most generous that I've seen in the past," he said.

"The minister concerned, Vicky Ford, who is working flat out to get food to families who need it, is investigating that very urgently.

"Let's hope that they get to the bottom of it quite soon."
What can a £30 food voucher buy?
Kirsty Peacock, whose food parcel photo can be seen above, has produced a meal plan with a £29.92 total cost.

Kirsty's plan covers five evening meals and sandwiches. All prices reflect those of an online grocery shop at Tesco.

Kirsty also suggested four servings of garlic noodles with beef and broccoli. The main ingredients are spaghetti, minced beef, garlic and broccoli - the meal's total cost is £11.54

Fried rice is another evening meal option - this comes up to £4.84. Rice, chicken, carrots, eggs, and frozen peas are the key products involved.

Kirsty allowed for the remainder of the £30 to be spent on ingredients for sandwiches.

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Parents blast 'woefully inadequate' food parcels for children learning at home | ITV News

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Images circulated on social media have revealed "woefully inadequate" free school meal parcels sent to families, including a £30 parcel estimated to contain just over £5 worth of food. Twitter user Roadside Mum posted the image, commenting: "2 days jacket potato with beans, 8 single cheese sandwiches, 2 days carrots, 3 days apples, 2 days soreen, 3 days frubes.

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Nearly ten months into the pandemic, the government has failed to bridge the digital divide – leaving 1.78 million schoolchildren without proper means to learn from home. It is a scandal that could have been avoided.

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Only a government wilfully ignorant of the massive class inequalities its ideology reinforces would close schools without any notice, forcing teachers to provide remote, online learning for all of their pupils at the last minute. As luck would have it, this is exactly the kind of government Boris Johnson runs.

When schools were shut for five months over spring and summer 2020, it was already apparent that a vast attainment gap, which puts disadvantaged pupils on average 18 months behind their more affluent peers, was set to widen even further. Much of this can be put down to the sheer amount of learning time missed, not forgetting about the resources more readily available to children from better-off backgrounds that make up for that deficit.

Now, poorer children are facing at least another six weeks of the same bleak educational alienation because the government's pledge to provide them with the technology required to access the majority of at-home learning resources remains unfulfilled - almost ten months down the line.

Johnson's announcement on Monday that schools would close is the result of the commendable efforts of the National Education Union (NEU) and its allies, but it's hard not to be frustrated at the absurdity of letting children back into schools for only one day before changing tack.

This action-described as 'the contemptible climax of a truly woeful week' by SchoolsWeek editor John Dickens-does not only mean that children from different households have mixed unnecessarily during a period of the highest Covid-19 transmission rates in the UK yet, nor will it only induce disorienting situational whiplash for the children and parents who were assured it was safe to return to schools.

Crucially, it also means that educational institutions have not had enough time to put the required remote-learning measures in place to provide meaningful teaching for all children so suddenly sent home.

In the midst of the first lockdown, Labour MP Siobhain McDonagh wrote a letter to the government stating that 700,000 disadvantaged children in the UK did not have proper access to a computer or the internet and were not completing their homework assignments. In a letter sent this week, she updated that claim with figures from Ofcom indicating that the number of children on the wrong side of this 'digital divide' is actually 1.78 million (or about nine percent of British pupils) - a statistic which includes 880,000 children with access only to unreliable mobile internet, and more besides with no internet connection at all.

She wrote: 'These pupils were likely behind their peers even before the pandemic. After five months of missed education, they returned to school further behind and now start that new year facing weeks of even more missed education.'

Gavin Williamson's Department for Education has been pledging since April to provide schools with laptops and tablets for affected children on request, as well as 4G data increases for disadvantaged households reliant on mobile internet. Research from the Education Endowment Fund published that same month made clear immediately the potential pitfalls to be avoided when carrying out this provision, rendering the failures thus far entirely avoidable.

McDonagh and her cosignatories' latest retort lays Williamson's failures bare, and his upcoming speech to Parliament, amid calls for his resignation, is unlikely to provide meaningful answers or solutions. So what should those answers and solutions look like?

Faster, more meaningful action to deliver devices and connectivity to disadvantaged pupils could have saved a lot of head-scratching and heartache this time around, and clearer guidance than the DfE's vague best practice on remote learning for teachers could have ensured greater consistency across learning institutions of differing means, making school closures more practical and equitable from the word go.

While the impacts of school closures on the academic attainment-not to mention the physical and emotional wellbeing-of our poorest children are the result of systemic issues that have existed for far longer than Covid-19 and will take many years to address, there are immediate actions that can be taken.

Right now, the government could guarantee to cover the costs of broadband for any family accessing remote learning who would otherwise not be able to afford bills - allowing schools to determine eligibility. In addition to its woefully inefficient central programme of laptop provision ( handed over to a Tory donor, once again), it could offer vouchers for families to purchase devices directly from any supplier which met the required specifications, reducing the waiting time for the huge numbers who remain without necessary equipment.

The NEU's concerted campaign, which included several instances of legal action against the government, confirms yet again that direct, unified action works. We must build on this as a foundation for improving in- and out-of-school educational provision in the state sector in the long term.

School teachers struggling with new technological platforms can also access the Oak National Academy - an online public service which provides clearer, more meaningful guidance that in some ways makes up for the shortfalls in the DfE's official recommendations. The academy is running a free webinar on Thursday, 7 January to provide further support and advice.

We must also look to the reasons why children from better-off households have always held an educational advantage, key among them being access to private, individualised tutoring - which costs on average £26 per hour, provably boosts academic attainment at all ages, and continued to thrive during the first national lockdown.

A £350m National Tutoring Programme (NTP) was launched to provide such tutoring in schools for disadvantaged pupils, but the funding has only been made available for the 2020/21 academic year. Schools must continue to be encouraged to take advantage of this money while it is there and collaborate with the programme's approved service providers. Extracurricular support of this kind is not only vital to address the academic disparities among pupils of differing social class: it can also be utilised to provide essential relief for overworked, underpaid, increasingly desperate teachers.

Further school closures only solidify the need to keep this funding in place for longer than has presently been promised. An open letter from several key players in the education and charity sectors is in circulation asking the DfE to extend NTP provision beyond the current year, and further campaigning can only drive the need for this home. On an individual basis, you can even volunteer as an online tutor for disadvantaged schoolchildren through charities like Action Tutoring.

A concerted effort to fortify the Covid-afflicted state education sector for its poorest service users is in step with progressive lines of policy - not least that of universal, nationalised, full-fibre broadband access. We cannot ensure a continued campaign for a fairer society for generations to come without making sure working-class children are provided a robust education that encourages curiosity, critical thinking, and collaboration, and offers equal access to both resources and opportunity.

School closures are essential to curb the ongoing spread of an out-of-control pandemic, but they will also serve to undermine this dream further than even a business-as-usual Tory government ever could. We must band together and make our voices heard so this damage can be mitigated for the sake of our children's futures.

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The Government Has Failed Children Left Behind by the Digital Divide

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Only a government wilfully ignorant of the massive class inequalities its ideology reinforces would close schools without any notice, forcing teachers to provide remote, online learning for all of their pupils at the last minute. As luck would have it, this is exactly the kind of government Boris Johnson runs.

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The new Children's Rights Commissioner fails to support a ban on... smacking

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Children's rights campaigners have expressed dismay after the government's preferred candidate to become the next children's commissioner was unable to express a view on whether there should be a ban on the use of corporal punishment in England.

Dame Rachel de Souza was giving evidence to MPs on the Commons education committee before her almost certain appointment when she was asked if she would follow the lead of children's commissioners in Scotland and Wales and seek a complete legal ban in England.

Although smacking is already illegal in England, parents can claim a defence of "reasonable punishment" under section 58 of the Children Act 2004. That defence has been removed in Wales and Scotland, making England an outlier. The current children's commissioner, Anne Longfield, has campaigned for a similar change in the law in England.

De Souza told the committee: "I would need to look into this properly. But at the moment my answer to that would be the most important thing is safeguarding children and we need to make sure that all children are safeguarded, and then any questions about that need to flow out of that."

The Conservative MP David Simmonds, who posed the question to De Souza, said given that it was one of the central planks of children's commissioners in Wales, Scotland and internationally, "having a view about it soon would be quite a positive thing".

Carolyne Willow, director of the children's rights group Article 39, questioned how anyone in the children's rights movement could not have a view on the repeal of the reasonable chastisement defence.

"This is the only statutory, national post whose sole function is to promote and protect the rights of children, in accordance with the United Nations convention on the rights of the child and with complete independence from government," said Willow.

"What kind of rights champion for children doesn't have a view on whether the law should allow them to be hit?"

De Souza, who has close links with the Conservative party and is the founding chief executive of the Inspiration Trust chain of academies, is expected to have her appointment confirmed by the education secretary, Gavin Williamson, and will take over the role in February.

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Next children's commissioner for England fails to back smacking ban

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Children's rights campaigners have expressed dismay after the government's preferred candidate to become the next children's commissioner was unable to express a view on whether there should be a ban on the use of corporal punishment in England.