Taking children off the field is a terrible own goal
With the suspension of outdoor children’s sport the Government risks scoring a terrible own goal. From today, children will only be able to play sport as part of school lessons and all hockey, netball, rugby and football clubs will have to close for the next four weeks unless they have a formal child care function.
But there is a clear scientific case to be made for overturning the ban.
Sporting greats have queued up to back The Telegraph’s campaign to Keep Kids Active During Lockdown.
Health experts too say the suspension is set to have a negative impact on children’s physical and mental health, while there is little evidence that they are at risk of Covid-19 while playing outdoors.
Even Sir Patrick Vallance, the Government’s Chief Scientific Officer, seemed unsure whether playing outside posed a risk. He was asked at Tuesday’s science and technology select committee if he knew of any instance of coronavirus infection taking place at a children’s kickabout.
He said: “There may be evidence, but I haven’t seen it.” But he added the risk was not just about what happens on the playing field but the “interactions around events” – for example, if children travel to matches or parents gather at touchlines.
All the evidence on transmission of Covid-19 points to an indoor, crowded and poorly ventilated environment posing the greatest risk of spread.
According to a review of outdoor transmission of Covid-19 undertaken by academics at Canterbury Christ Church University, the risk is very low.
The review studied 25,000 cases of infection on global databases and found little evidence of outdoor spread.
One database collated by academics at the London School of Hygiene and Tropical Medicine showed that out of more than 20,000 cases, just 461 were transmitted outside.
But the paper said that organisers of outdoor events had to consider other factors too, such as the size, density, and duration of the event. In the case of children’s sport it would seem all these risks could be mitigated. Most people calling for the suspension to be overturned just want kids to get a chance to run about.
Football matches can be put on hold to avoid mixing of large numbers of children and parents can be asked to keep away from training sessions.
Children can maintain a social distance during pre-training pep talks and exercise in small groups.
Sessions could be shortened and clubhouses closed or changing times staggered. And contact tracing in the event of an outbreak would be simple, as clubs hold all members’ details.
The politics are more complicated: the Government worries its lockdown package will have too many exemptions if it caves in to everyone pressuring them. But on the other hand, there is a real national consensus that children need to be prioritised in this pandemic.
That’s amplified by the fact they are already mixing with team-mates in school corridors. And if the risks are minimal, the benefits of team sports for kids are huge. Regularly active
‘There is a real national consensus that children need to be prioritised in this pandemic’
children are two times less likely to report low well-being compared with those who are not, according to figures from the Children’s Society.
A study in the US last year of 35,000 children aged six to 17 backed this: those who did no weekly exercise were twice as likely to have mental health problems, particularly related to anxiety and depression, as those who did 60 minutes’ moderate to vigorous physical activity on a daily basis.
There are still some options for kids to exercise in this new lockdown: in England they can walk, run, cycle, play in playgrounds and do PE at school, although this too has been cut back.
A quarter of teachers say they will deliver less PE this year than last year, according to a survey by the Youth Sport Trust, mainly due to logistical issues and uncertainty over the rules. That means even fewer team sports – and that’s a problem because the social element of team sports is important, more so while other options are off the cards. Playing them helps self-esteem, social interaction and depression, according to numerous studies.
The physical benefits are obvious, and no less critical. Pre-pandemic, one in three children in the UK started secondary school overweight or obese, and only 47 per cent reached the daily exercise targets. That plummeted to 19 per cent during lockdown, according to Sport England, and it was worse in poorer households. Perhaps the cruellest irony is that young people may actually need team sports more – right at the moment they have been taken off the pitch.
The pandemic is taking a toll on mental health: mental health issues among children increased by a third, according to Barnardo’s. It appears the Government is fumbling the ball instead of focusing on keeping children healthy and happy at this point in time.