Legacy of lockdown should be ‘resilience generation’

Financial worries, mental health, fears over kids’ schooling and job security were top concerns for frontline workers over past year, says Paul Carberry

On May 6, the next Scottish Parliament elections will take place set against one of the most unique backdrops many of us will ever experience. What is likely to be a relatively subdued campaign due to pandemic restrictions, we will go to polls to elect our local MSP and play our part in deciding which party will form the next Scottish Government.

Ahead of this election, Action for Children has published its own manifesto. This lists policy asks which we believe are important to ensure that Scotland can support children, young people, and their families to recover from the negative impacts of Covid while building their resilience for the future.

To coincide with our manifesto launch, we conducted an investigationwith our front line workers, who have continued to deliver support to young people and families during the pandemic. We aimed to gather their experiences and first-hand perspectives of what they witnessed during lockdown regarding the challenges that families faced.

Based on interviews with more than 100 front line workers, representing all 87 of our scottish services, our investigation revealed the oftenstark impact the last 12 months have had on society’s most vulnerable. It will come as no surprise that financial worries were prominent. Other areas which were, sadly, at the forefront were mental health concerns, fears over kids’ schooling and over job security.

As we pass the first anniversary of lockdown, our research shows the damaging impact these 12 months have had. the longer this goes on, the more families find themselves in crisis. Extreme family stress and strain is the price children and young people are paying. A legacy of lockdown shouldn’t be a ‘Covid or lost generation’ ,instead we can and should createa‘ resilience generation ’. to do this we need to fund family support services, equalise education opportunities, multiply mental health provision and put money in the pockets of families. Action for Children has detailed a roadmap for political parties to follow so they can deliver that resilience generation scotland needs to thrive.

We have asked political parties to sign up to our manifesto asks, based on our frontline staff’s experience of supporting children, young people, and their families both before and during Covid. We are asking the next Government to increase the Scottish Child Payment to £20 per week and establish an education catch-up fund to equalise learning opportunities which have become more unequal for many during lock down. We also want to see a new contract with families giving them the right to family support services free at the point of need and tailored to their needs. We also called for an extended offer of mental health provision to those people who have substance misuse and/ or addiction issues and increased investment in children’s social and emotional learning from primary school onwards.

The pandemic has accelerated the need to make fundamental changes. May’s election is an opportunity for every political party to commit to building resilience for Scotland’s children and families. We will push all parties to commit to ensure that every child and young person in the country has a safe and happy childhood and the foundations they need to thrive.

Paul Carberry is Action for Children's Director for Scotland