Long-term fears as some pupils not back in class
THERE is a “void” in the Welsh Government’s plan to tackle child poverty and some young people are at risk of slipping through the net because of the numbers of children and young people who have not returned to school since the start of the Covid pandemic, the departing Children’s Commissioner has warned.
Professor Sally Holland called for more planning and investment to help the 31% of children living in poverty in Wales and more help for those who have not returned to school since the pandemic began.
Prof Holland said the Welsh Government had cut child poverty since devolution, but not by enough, and she was “even more frustrated” with the lack of action from the UK Government.
Prof Holland, who steps down after her seven-year term in office next month, said more needs to be done to help all children and young people recover from the effects of the pandemic.
She repeated warnings that some children have not returned to school since classrooms first shut to most pupils two years ago with the first lockdown.
Prof Holland is concerned by the high numbers still off school and the growing mental health problems among young people.
Latest Welsh Government data, out earlier this week, showed more than one in 10 children miss school on average every day and those eligible for free meals are more likely to skip classes than their better-off peers.
“I am really worried about what I am hearing from schools and social care settings about how we have a whole cohort for whom the pandemic has had a very big impact in terms of their behaviour and mental health and the habit of not going to school,” said Prof Holland.
“Some children and young people have not returned to school since the start of the pandemic, some have returned but not often, and some have returned but are struggling to engage. I think we really are going to have years of trying to recover from this.”
Prof Holland said those in charge must pump more money in to help young people as serious consequences loom.
“I have been looking closely at the finances,” she said.
“The Education Policy Institute compares spend and it shows that Wales is spending more per pupil on pandemic recovery than England, but that is dwarfed by investment in other countries.
“The Netherlands is putting in five times as much and the USA, which is not known for large public spending, is putting in four times as much.
“I think we are going to need to plough huge investment into children’s services in the next few years, and not just education. If that investment is not made, we risk a cohort of children and young people who may continue to be disengaged from education, which will have long-term consequences.
“There is no quick fix for this. It needs really strong investment. This is going to last years. We need to continue to think of Covid as a public health emergency and something that will continue to be so long after we learn to live with it.”
On child poverty, Prof Holland said more action was urgently needed, particularly in the context of the current living standards crisis.
“Child poverty is a real issue across England and Wales,” she said. “Child poverty here is 1% higher than in England and nearly a third of children in Wales are living in poverty. That’s not something we should accept and we can do something about it.
“Child poverty in Wales is now running at 31%, compared to 30% in the UK as a whole. It was 34% at the start of devolution, so there’s been no proper shift in that time.”
Looking back on her seven years as Children’s Commissioner, Prof Holland said she was proud of her work on bullying and asking young people how they thought it should be addressed.
As a result of her work, there is now statutory guidance on bullying which schools must follow.
She is also pleased to have been part of the momentum behind Wales’s historic smacking ban, which came into law this week.
But as well as poverty and the pandemic, the spectre of a growing mental health crisis among young people is still a concern.
As part of her work as Children’s Commissioner, seven specialist therapy units are being set up in each health board area in Wales for children and young people in care who need help but don’t have a treatable disorder suitable for psychiatric units or treatment.
“There are some young people in the care system showing really alarming mental health issues such as suicidal intent, risk-taking and self-harming, that are traumrelated and not treatable psychiatric conditions.
“Sometimes they are held on adult psychiatric wards for weeks. I got very hot under the collar about this years ago and repeatedly talked to ministers such as Vaughan Gething and Julie Morgan about it.
“I am pleased to say there is now funding for these regional centres, jointly funded by mental health service and social care. They are the first specialist therapeutic units for these young peoople in the UK.”
Prof Holland said the past two years had been dominated by Covid and there was still plenty of work to be done.
Her successor, Rocio Cifuentes, takes over next month.