AGONY OF OUR CHILDREN
● YOUNGSTERS LEFT TRAUMATISED BY MANCHESTER ARENA TERROR ATTACK ● SHARP RISE IN NUMBERS REFERRED TO SOCIAL SERVICES
MANCHESTER has seen a ‘spike’ in the number of children referred to its social services department in the wake of May’s arena bomb, the M.E.N. has learned.
Officials believe last month’s sharp rise may be linked to the trauma youngsters have suffered as a result of the attack, which many are still struggling to process.
Some small children have been left scared to go into Manchester city centre, are afraid their relatives might come to harm or are worried a bomb might go off when they go to a busy event.
Meanwhile, the effects on older children are broader than fear of another bomb attack, with ‘anxiety’ among their school’s pupils, particularly those of non-white backgrounds, over their own safety.
A Manchester primary school headteacher said: “One nine-year-old asked me: ‘Why do they [terrorists] hate us so much that they want to kill us and kill themselves as well?’
“They have also asked if Manchester is safe, is our school safe, was it safe to be out on the playground, and what we would do if someone wanted to attack us there.
“They were very unnerved in the days following the bomb by the constant drone of the police helicopters and frequent sirens as police vehicle sped past school, and asked what was happening – and was it close by.”
And a secondary head said: “There are kids who are not so much scared of the bomb or of going into the city centre because they’re able to assess that risk, but about what’s happening in their communities and the racist abuse being hurled at them,” they added. Over the summer holidays specialist drop-in support sessions are now planned for families at schools across the city in a bid to provide emotional support for those still coming to terms with the atrocity. Children can be referred to social services whenever a teacher, worker or member of the public is worried about their welfare, including their emotional wellbeing. Since the bomb, social services have been working closely with the NHS to make sure any youngster flagged up to them in need of mental health support as a result of the attack is given swift treatment. In other cases they have carried out their own assessment before working with the child’s family to make sure they have the help they need. And while most youngsters will recover from a trauma such as the Manchester attack within a few weeks, in other cases the effects can take longer to show themselves. Councillor Rosa Battle, the town hall’s lead member for education, said it can take weeks, months or even years for children to put into words how they feel, so the council is offering extra help throughout the summer break. “As a parent or as a teacher you may never have had to deal with a situation like this, so having support that’s targeted by people who know how to talk to kids about these kind of issues is invaluable really,” she added. “It’s just heartbreaking that our young people could grow up now being scared of what might happen. For our little people to know their friends and brothers and sisters are being targeted in that way – we have to be aware that for our young people, Manchester is a bit more scary than it used to be.”
Town hall officials believe that while social services referrals always have seasonal trends, June’s rise is unusual.
They now plan to analyse more closely how connected the events of May 22 are with the increase in numbers.
Coun Battle said some of it may be due in part to the council’s own efforts in highlighting the issue.
“Straight after the incident the offer was made to all schools, regardless of what type of school, that if young people needed assisted support they could take it up,” she said.
“That offer has been continued and also included drop-in sessions for children and parents, which will be continued into the summer. I’ve also been working with the police, fire and ambulance to do more school visits and community days so our youngest Manchester residents feel safe and secure that there are people whose job it is to look after them.
“There’s been a real proactive move to do all this – what we’re saying as a local authority is that we’ll continue to offer this as it can take weeks, months or even years for children to understand or verbalise what’s happened to them.”
Dr Sarah Davidson, head of psychosocial at the Red Cross, said the key to explaining such events to children lies in avoiding too much detail.
“You shouldn’t lie but you also want to keep it low key. Offer a simple, direct explanation that is age appropriate. It’s fine to say, for example, that there was an explosion in town. Avoid euphemism and graphic detail. Keep it as simple as possible.”
Avoid euphemism and graphic detail. Keep it as simple as possible Dr Sarah Davidson on what to tell children