Schools drive ‘will protect pupils at risk’

Safeguarding the most vulnerable ‘a key reason for return to classrooms’

PROTECTING VULNERABLE children from abuse at home is one of the driving forces behind getting pupils back into classrooms next month, a Government Minister has said.

Children’s Minister Vicky Ford said although schools had remained open for the most vulnerable of children throughout lockdown, ensuring those at risk of abuse at the hands of those they lived with were safe was a major factor in getting children back to school in September.

It comes as the charity NSPCC reported that during the coronavirus lockdown, reports of physical abuse to the charity rose by 53 per cent.

Speaking to The Yorkshire Post Ms Ford said: “That is precisely why we kept schools open for vulnerable children. It’s also why we did a massive project with NSPCC, we put £1.6m into their helpline and a huge awareness campaign so that people knew who to contact if they saw a child at risk of harm.”

But she said that the risks posed to some children when forced to be at home with potential perpetrators had been of concern as teachers were often the ones to make safeguarding referrals if they spotted the signs of abuse. And said: “We’ve been very aware [of the risk], it’s one of the reasons we need to get children back.”

In a report released today the NSPCC said its helpline received 1,066 contacts about physical abuse on average each month between April and July, compared with a monthly average of 696 before lockdown.

The NSPCC also found a rise in the number of people getting in touch and the number of counselling sessions held about child sexual abuse within the family during lockdown.

And it also said there were indications that child suicide deaths may have increased during lockdown, but it was too early to call this a trend.

There were 26 probable child suicides during the 82 days before lockdown, and a further 25 in the first 56 days of lockdown in England, the charity said.

In 12 of the 25 post-lockdown deaths, factors related to coronavirus or lockdown were thought to have played some part.

These included restrictions on education and other activities, disruption to care and support services, tensions at home and isolation.

Peter Wanless, NSPCC chief executive, said: “As pupils return to education, we need to be prepared to make sure schools and teachers, children’s social care and other safeguarding partners are ready to support every young person who has suffered during lockdown.”

It comes after a BBC Panorama investigation with charity Women’s Aid found two-thirds of women in abusive relationships suffered more violence from their partners during the pandemic.

Ms Ford also said that while the Government was confident it was safe for schools to return next month, local leaders in areas where restrictions had been imposed, such as Kirklees, Calderdale, and Bradford, would have some flexibility based on the risk.

She said: “We know that the risks are incredibly low, and indeed as the chief medical officer said over the weekend and indeed the chief medical officers from all four countries have said, the risk to children of being back at school versus Covid is far lower than the risk to children of being away from school.”

But she added: “If we have areas where there has been an outbreak, that’s when it becomes the local decisions, to understand what is the best decision in the area, that is where they will be looking really closely.”

Education Secretary Gavin Williamson said closing schools would be “the absolute last resort” while Downing Street said it would be on a case by case basis.

As of yesterday 41,433 people had died in the UK within 28 days of testing positive for Covid-19, an increase of four on the day before. No new deaths were recorded in Yorkshire yesterday, where the total death toll stands at 2,915.

The risk of abuse is one of the reasons we need to get children back. Children’s Minister Vicky Ford.

AFTER THE chaos surrounding A-level results, it is perhaps unsurprising that public trust is running low with the Government among parents as the full reopening of schools looms.

Following a joint statement by the chief medical officers of England, Wales, Scotland and Northern Ireland at the weekend stating that children have an “exceptionally small risk” of dying from Covid-19 as well as there being a very low chance of them ending up in hospital with the disease, Prime Minister Boris Johnson yesterday urged families to get pupils back to school from next week.

But while the direct risk to children from coronavirus now thankfully appears to be minimal, the risk of it further disrupting their education this autumn appears sizeable and a detailed national Plan B is clearly needed should schools need to shut or classes self-isolate in the event of an outbreak.

As the Tory chair of the Education Committee Robert Halfon – who accurately warned of the problems with the A-level grade calculation system back in July – puts it, if there are local lockdowns or a national second wave, a strategy is needed to ensure children can still learn properly at home in a way that didn’t happen for too many pupils this spring and summer. One simple but entirely sensible suggestion he made is guaranteeing computers for those children who don’t have them by giving teachers vouchers to buy them.

Education unions have similarly urged the Government to come up with feasible strategy that “prepare for the worst while hoping for the best”.

While the Department for Education says it has set out clear guidelines to reduce the risk of coronavirus spreading in schools – such as staggered start times for different year groups – its focus must now be on what happens if, and more likely when in many cases, that approach does not stop every outbreak.