THE POSITIVE PROFESSOR
SOCIAL media’s voice of calm Karol Sikora has been signed up by the Daily Express. Readers can now enjoy his soothing advice in these troubled times, which has won him hundreds of thousands of followers on Twitter. If you need reassuring everything’s going to be all right read Professor Positivity.
THROUGHOUT this whole crisis I have been careful to avoid anything remotely political. I’m just a doctor. But on the welfare of the nation’s children, especially those from less fortunate backgrounds, I really feel obliged.
I have six grandchildren myself. As for any grandparent, they mean the world to me. We forget sometimes how difficult this crisis has been for them. They don’t understand why they can’t play with their friends or go to the playground. It’s terrible.
I am not pointing any fingers, but the current situation is just unacceptable. The Government, the unions and headteachers all need to get round a table and find a solution to get our kids back to their schools, nurseries and playgrounds. When millions of children’s educational and mental wellbeing is being harmed, in some cases beyond repair, we all must act.
We must make it safe for teachers, and our European friends have shown that it can be done safely. Austrian and Danish children returned to schools in April and it has gone remarkably well. Thankfully, this virus seems to have very little impact on most young children. It’s true there have been some more serious illnesses possibly associated with the virus, but these are extremely unusual.
Children are missing out on months of education. Their social development has been stunted and their mental health has taken a battering. The situation is serious. And, sadly, the poorest children are suffering the most.
It isn’t just schools – taking my grandchildren to the local playground fills me with joy. How sad it is to see the swings and climbing frames locked. Surely they can be opened safely now.
As with many of our current problems, this all stems from the two-metre rule. It’s time for some leadership on this to get our children where they need to be – back in school.