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It’s packed with activities for children to bring the outside in and enjoy at home 🏠🤸🎨
Designed by our knowledgeable, experienced and fun-loving Schools Officers. The four-week activity pack is full of cycling, walking and scooting themed fun 🚲🛴🚶
The Scottish Government has published detailed guidance on practical measures to allow schools to re-open safely on 11 August – but an EIS survey has warned of challenges that must be overcome for schools to reopen.
Teachers and other school staff will be able to return in June to prepare for a new model of learning from August. The plans are contingent on scientific and medical advice that it is safe to proceed and public health measures being in place.
Key contents of the guidance include:
Local plans: education authorities and schools should draw on this national guidance to work in partnership with trades unions, staff, parents and children to develop local plans.
Physical distancing: With some limited exceptions, physical distancing of 2 metres for staff and pupils will be implemented. Physical distancing measures will be kept under review as the public health position evolves.
School transport: Schools will work with council transport teams to inform their local planning, particularly in respect of options to minimise and, where possible, stagger the use of public transport. Active travel – walking and cycling – by parents, carers, staff and pupils will be encouraged.
Determining capacity: Local authorities and schools are encouraged, where necessary, to take an innovative approach to the use of alternative facilities to bring as many children back on a safe, phased basis as possible (subject to risk assessments), while maintaining a positive learning environment.
Separate guidance for Early Learning and Childcare settings is being developed.
Deputy First Minister John Swinney said: “Creating this practical blueprint over the last two months was a team effort and that team spirit will be needed to make this next phase a success.
“The guidance – underpinned by advice from public health experts – has been developed with the Education Recovery Group, which includes representatives from local authorities, teachers’ organisations and trades unions.
“The health and wellbeing of children and young people is our priority, which is why in implementing this guidance, we will adopt a cautious approach and monitor progress to inform decisions on further changes to restrictions.
“It is important to stress that there will be regional variation in the approach to implementation. It is for councils to work with teachers and put in place the best solutions locally. I am certain they will rise to the challenge.”
The full results of a major survey, carried out by the EIS, have highlighted the difficulties presented by the COVID-19 pandemic and warned of challenges that must be overcome for schools to re-open.
Over 26,000 EIS members responded to the online survey – making this the biggest survey of teachers’ opinions to have been carried out in Scotland.
EIS General Secretary Larry Flanagan said, “The EIS surveyed its members, to seek teachers’ views on the challenges that have been presented to education during the COVID-19 crisis.
“We received an unprecedented level of response, with almost 60% of teachers responding to the online survey in just one week. This has given us a very clear picture of the challenges that Scottish education, its pupils and teachers, have faced during the lockdown and will continue to face even once schools re-open following the summer.”
Mr Flanagan continued, “There is much to be encouraged about in these findings, including good provision in Hub schools for the children of key workers and a strong commitment to supporting young people and their families in home learning.
“There are, however, also some significant causes for concern such as the real challenge of maintaining social distancing in a school environment and how best to ensure that more vulnerable young people and those experiencing disadvantage associated with poverty can receive appropriate support during this crisis. Our survey findings identify many challenges that education will continue to face for months, if not years, to come.”
Many teachers reported largely positive experiences in the way in which their school had responded to the challenges presented by the move to a blend of hub provision and home learning for different groups of pupils.
Over one-third (35%) of teachers who responded had been involved in Hub provision in their local authority area, on a voluntary basis. These teachers felt particularly positive about how well provision had been delivered for children of key workers (88%), and about health and safety procedures such as regular handwashing (93%) for pupils and staff.
On social distancing, slightly more than half (51%) felt that there had been clear guidance on who should and shouldn’t be entering Hubs, while just 44% felt that social distancing of 2 metres had been maintained at all times – a serious consideration when considering how schools will operate after re-opening following the summer period.
Looking ahead to the potential for schools re-opening, on a partial basis, teachers identified some significant challenges to be addressed.
The vast majority of teachers (93%) believed that the most important issue was a need for clarity over how teaching and learning will be delivered in the next academic year.
77% believed that there was a critical need for adequate time to prepare for the delivery of a more ‘blended’ approach to learning – including both limited time for pupils in a school environment, coupled with significant use of online learning at home. 63% believed that adequate support from their school or local authority would be essential to adjusting to these new methods of delivery.
On the potential models for a return to school, 58% of teachers agreed that certain categories of pupils should be prioritised in a phased return to school, with 23% believing that universal access to provision (on a part-time basis) was the preferable model.
Amongst the groups of pupils that teachers believed should potentially be prioritised were children on the child protection register (75%), children identified by social work as having a challenging home environment (72%), children in transition from primary to secondary (60%), children with Additional Support Needs (58%), children of key workers (58%), and children presenting for external qualifications (53%).
Teachers felt generally positive about the level of expectations from their school and from parents regarding the level and type of support for children’s home learning. There was, however, a notable difference between the primary and secondary sectors – with primary teachers significantly more likely to agree that the expectations being placed on them were achievable.
Click here to view a copy of the full Survey report, including comments from teachers on the key issues.
Click here to view a presentation summarising the key survey findings.
An additional £611,000 is being distributed to support voluntary organisations helping vulnerable and disadvantaged young people and their families across Edinburgh – but the funding announcement will still bring bad news for some city projects.
The decision was unanimously approved at the Policy and Sustainability Committee yesterday.
The groups, which include youth projects, children’s clubs, mental health charities and BAME groups, are being funded by the third party grant programme run by the Communities and Families service of the City of Edinburgh Council.
The extra money means this year’s annual grants will total nearly £4m. Initial funding of £3.37m was proposed at the Education, Children and Families Committee in March 2020 but was put on hold after deputations from community groups.
A short life working group was set up to review the grants process and report back this month. The conclusions it reached included agreeing the previous recommendations and restoring funding to groups in the Scottish Index of Multiple Deprivation (SIMD) 1 and 2 areas of the Capital and BAME organisations.
Although 80% of the recommended awards were being distributed to organisations tackling poverty, the integrated impact assessment identified an imbalance in funding being delivered for services across SIMD 1 and 2 areas and also significant impacts on organisations providing services for the BAME communities.
The effects of the coronavirus pandemic were also taken into account by the working group as there will almost certainly be a rise in unemployment after lockdown which would adversely affect SIMD 1 and 2 areas.
As a result a cross party addendum agreeing funding for an extra £611k was approved at the Council’s Policy and Sustainability Committee yesterday, but for some youth organisations, following years of real-tems cuts, the extra funding won’t be enough.
Education Convener Ian Perry said: “The additional £611k that has been agreed by all political parties means we are meeting our primary objective for supporting vulnerable and disadvantaged young people and their families across the whole of Edinburgh especially in SIMD 1 and 2 areas.
“We need to ensure during this Covid-19 crisis that our most disadvantaged communities are well supported and that this support is equitable across the areas that need it most. These communities are likely to be hardest hit during the outbreak and more likely to experience the worst effects of the inevitable crisis.
“We’ve already seen countless examples in the past 10 weeks of communities coming together to support vulnerable families. Now more than ever we need to continue our partnership work with the third sector and voluntary organisations as we help people rebuild their lives again and this funding will help support this aim.”
Education Vice Convener Alison Dickie said: “Our Children’s Services Plan has been the driving force for our grants programme focussing on the outcomes that best support the children, young people and families most impacted by poverty and disadvantage.
“This has resulted in 85% of the awards now being distributed to organisations tackling poverty. We’re also supporting services that deliver for children, young people and families, particularly those with lived experience of the care system, disabilities, young carers, LGBT, and BAME young people.
“The organisations we are supporting are already working hard for people living in SIMD 1 and 2 communities and these grants and decisions will help to ensure there is no gap in provision and also an equity of investment.”
Nineteen organisations will benefit for the first time and the money will be distributed to all groups until 31 August 2023 with the first year’s funding starting on 1 September this year.
In total 186 applications were received from 129 different organisations who submitted bids of £26.4m for the £10.1m three-year fund.
Five priorities were identified to support Council objectives to improve the overall health and wellbeing of young people and their families. They are:
Improve learning and developmental outcomes for disadvantaged babies, infants, children, young people and their families including care experienced young people
Improve mental health and wellbeing outcomes
Support the personal and social development of young people through the delivery of effective universal youth work programmes
Improve the level of participation in learning opportunities for all secondary school age young people and continue to increase positive destinations
Ensure that children and young people’s health and wellbeing are not damaged by alcohol and drugs through the delivery of effective drugs and alcohol prevention work and substance misuse services
Barnardo’s warns of missed opportunity if Government does not change education system when schools reopen
The Government could miss a once in a generation opportunity to put mental health and wellbeing at the heart of the education system if it does not make changes when schools reopen their gates.
This is the warning from Barnardo’s in its report Time for a Clean Slate: Children’s Mental Health at the Heart of Education, which is released today.
The UK’s largest children’s charity works in schools across the country supporting pupils with their emotional health and wellbeing and says the Government must realise it cannot make them return to the ‘business as usual’ from the pre-pandemic days.
This is because the Covid-19 outbreak, as well as side effects of the measures to contain it, have exposed the country’s children and young people to an unprecedented level of trauma, loss and adversity.
Some children, who were already extremely vulnerable will have been badly affected.
For example, children and young people living in lockdown or socially isolating in challenging and unsafe home environments may have lost their ‘safe space’ at school. Some children and young people will have experienced domestic abuse, poverty or child abuse for the first time.
Others will be grieving for loved ones, and we know the virus has disproportionately affected BAME communities.
Some children will be fearful of catching the virus and others will be experiencing separation anxiety.
As schools start to return, Barnardo’s says they should be allowed to use at least a term as a ‘readjustment period’ where they can be flexible with the curriculum, so they can work through the emotional effects of the pandemic.
This would enable teachers to help their pupils reintegrate into the school environment, re-socialise with their friends, and change the structure of the day so there is more of a focus on pastoral care, play, creative outlets and outdoor activities.
The call comes as the results of a survey, undertaken by Barnardo’s for the report, revealed 88% of school staff said the pandemic is likely to have an effect on the mental health and wellbeing of their pupils.
And 26% said they did not feel confident they had the tools, skills or resources to support their pupils in this way.
Barnardo’s would also like to see the Government act on the proposal by the chairman of the Education Select Committee, Robert Halfon, to introduce a catch up pupil premium for the most vulnerable and disadvantaged pupils.
But this funding should not just be about ‘catching up’ academically and schools should be able to use it flexibly to support these pupils in a holistic way, including for support with mental health and wellbeing.
And the UK’s leading children’s charity is calling on the Government to go much further than this in the longer term.
It wants the Government to seize this opportunity to bring about a sea change in the education system – to prioritise child welfare and wellbeing, so that it is on a par with academic achievement.
With the current system weighing heavily on the side of academic performance, Barnardo’s is concerned that schools are finding it difficult to meet the needs of the most vulnerable pupils and to prioritise welfare and wellbeing.
This echoes the views of the school staff surveyed, with more than two thirds (67%) saying they want to see changes in the curriculum structure and exams process.
Barnardo’s Chief Executive Javed Khan said: “When it comes to this pandemic, we are all in the same storm, but we are not in the same boat.
“We know children who were already vulnerable before the crisis have been badly affected, and with families now under increasing financial and emotional pressure, more children are now living in poverty and at risk of abuse. Many more are struggling with anxiety, depression and other mental health problems, now largely hidden from the view of teachers and professionals.
“When children return to school, there must be additional resource available to help overcome not just the ‘attainment gap’ but also the ‘trauma gap’ faced by vulnerable pupils.
“The Government should also take this once in a generation opportunity to rebalance the school system, recognising that children rely on school to keep them safe and well, just as much as they need it to pass exams.
“We urge the Government to work with schools, local authorities, the NHS and charities to place wellbeing at the heart of the curriculum and school culture, so that every child has the support they need to thrive.”
Families of children from P4 to S6 who receive Free School Meals, and those in P1 to P3 who are entitled to clothing grants, will receive a fortnightly electronic payment during term time and the Easter Holidays equivalent to the cost of a school meal.
Payments are £22.50 per child every fortnight until further notice from 23 March.
All children in primary 1 to 3 receive free school meals if they are attending school, but not free milk or a clothing grant. In the present circumstances, those families won’t receive the £22.50 fortnightly payment unless they are eligible to get the clothing grant and free milk due to low income.
The criteria is the same as for P4-7s.
IT’s NOT TOO LATE TO CLAIM
Parents may still apply for the current academic year and, if eligible, awards will be backdated to 23 March, the start of school closures.
The eligibility for free school meals and/or substitute payment (including P1-3s) depends on the family’s income and they need to be in receipt of one of the following benefits:
Universal credit (with monthly earnings up to £610)
Income Support and Income Based Job seekers Allowance or Employment and Support Allowance
Child Tax Credits only with gross income up to £16105
Child and Working Tax Credits with gross income up to £6900
Support under Part VI of the Immigration and Asylum Act 1999
Some families will get an automatic award for 2020-21 but others will have to apply when the time comes (they are not receiving applications yet).
Clothing grants applications closed on 31 March but will reopen for the next academic year later.
A cyclist has pledged to clock up 300km in 30 days to raise money for NSPCC Scotland to help protect children from harm.
David O’Rourke, who took up cycling ventures for charity about six years ago, is completing the challenge in lanes and roads around his Linlithgow home.
All the money raised will go to the NSPCC, which helps protect children from abuse, and has provided a lifeline through its Childline service for hundreds of children in Scotland through the Coronavirus pandemic.
David, 47, said the lockdown had made him think about those, especially children, for whom home was a difficult place to be and that was why he decided this year to support the NSPCC.
Since lockdown, Childline counsellors have heard from children whose parents have lost their jobs and are under growing financial pressure, as well as from young carers struggling to look after their siblings while their parents are ill with Coronavirus symptoms. Some children have talked about experiencing abuse and feeling trapped and isolated.
David, whose cycling challenges have included London to Paris, said: “I started cycling about six years ago to get fitter and to lose weight. I like to pick a charity and have a target, as it makes you get up and go out in the morning. The lockdown for so many people is not a nice thing but one good thing is that you can get out and exercise.”
Speaking about why he chose the NSPCC, David, a team manager at information technology company Atos, said: “When I look back at my childhood, I realise I was really lucky and that not everybody is as fortunate.
“There are kids who live in environments that aren’t very good, and the lockdown will be making life even harder for them, so I decided that I wanted to support the brilliant work of the NSPCC.”
Caroline Renton, Supporter Fundraising Manager for NSPCC Scotland, said: “We’re very grateful to David, as we are to all of those who are raising funds for us during this difficult period, especially when so many of the big fundraising challenges have been cancelled or postponed.
“Throughout the public health crisis, we have been there for children and we continue to be so. Our Helpline experts are there to take calls from any adults concerned about a child and our Childline counsellors are there for children, struggling with a range of issues, including their mental health, family relationships and experiencing abuse.
“Our counsellors are there to listen to them, provide support and guide them to make decisions that are right for them.
“I’d encourage anyone who would like to support us to take inspiration from David and sign up for one of our challenges or come up with a fundraising idea of your own.”
If you would like to help raise funds for the charity:
Measles in India A newborn receives a routine vaccination at an immunization site, in Ghaziabad, Uttar Pradesh India.
COVID 19 is disrupting life-saving immunization services around the world, putting millions of children – in rich and poor countries alike – at risk of diseases like diphtheria, measles and polio.
This stark warning comes from the World Health Organization, UNICEF and Gavi, the Vaccine Alliance ahead of the Global Vaccine Summit on 4 June, at which world leaders will come together to help maintain immunization programmes and mitigate the impact of the pandemic in lower-income countries.
According to data collected by the World Health Organization, UNICEF, Gavi and the Sabin Vaccine Institute, provision of routine immunization services is substantially hindered in at least 68 countries and is likely to affect approximately 80 million children under the age of 1 living in these countries.
Since March 2020, routine childhood immunization services have been disrupted on a global scale that may be unprecedented since the inception of expanded programs on immunization (EPI) in the 1970s. More than half (53%) of the 129 countries where data were available reported moderate-to-severe disruptions, or a total suspension of vaccination services during March-April 2020.
“Immunization is one of the most powerful and fundamental disease prevention tools in the history of public health,” said Dr Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus, WHO Director-General.
“Disruption to immunization programmes from the COVID-19 pandemic threatens to unwind decades of progress against vaccine-preventable diseases like measles.
“At the 4 June Global Vaccine Summit in London, donors will pledge their support to Gavi, the Vaccine Alliance, to sustain and accelerate this lifesaving work in some of the most vulnerable countries. From the bottom of my heart, I urge donors to fully fund the Alliance. These countries, these children especially, need vaccines, and they need Gavi.”
The reasons for disrupted services vary. Some parents are reluctant to leave home because of restrictions on movement, lack of information or because they fear infection with the COVID-19 virus. And many health workers are unavailable because of restrictions on travel, or redeployment to COVID response duties, as well as a lack of protective equipment.
“More children in more countries are now protected against more vaccine-preventable diseases than at any point in history,” said Dr. Seth Berkley, Gavi CEO.
“Due to COVID-19 this immense progress is now under threat, risking the resurgence of diseases like measles and polio. Not only will maintaining immunization programmes prevent more outbreaks, it will also ensure we have the infrastructure we need to roll out an eventual COVID-19 vaccine on a global scale.”
Transport delays of vaccines are exacerbating the situation. UNICEF has reported a substantial delay in planned vaccine deliveries due to the lockdown measures and the ensuing decline in commercial flights and limited availability of charters.
To help mitigate this, UNICEF is appealing to governments, the private sector, the airline industry, and others, to free up freight space at an affordable cost for these life-saving vaccines. Gavi recently signed an agreement with UNICEF to provide advance funding to cover increased freight costs for delivery of vaccines, in light of the reduced number of commercial flights available for transport.
“We cannot let our fight against one disease come at the expense of long-term progress in our fight against other diseases,” said Henrietta Fore, UNICEF Executive Director.
“We have effective vaccines against measles, polio and cholera. While circumstances may require us to temporarily pause some immunization efforts, these immunizations must restart as soon as possible, or we risk exchanging one deadly outbreak for another.”
Next week, WHO will issue new advice to countries on maintaining essential services during the pandemic, including recommendations on how to provide immunizations safely.
Mass immunization campaigns temporarily disrupted
Many countries have temporarily and justifiably suspended preventive mass vaccination campaigns against diseases like cholera, measles, meningitis, polio, tetanus, typhoid and yellow fever, due to risk of transmission and the need to maintain physical distancing during the early stages of the COVID-19 pandemic.
Measles and polio vaccination campaigns, in particular, have been badly hit, with measles campaigns suspended in 27 countries and polio campaigns put on hold in 38 countries.
At least 24 million people in 21 Gavi-supported lower-income countries are at risk of missing out on vaccines against polio, measles, typhoid, yellow fever, cholera, rotavirus, HPV, meningitis A and rubella due to postponed campaigns and introductions of new vaccines.
In late March, concerned that mass gatherings for vaccination campaigns would enflame transmission of COVID-19 WHO recommended countries to temporarily suspend preventive campaigns while assessments of risk, and effective measures for reducing COVID virus transmission were established.
WHO has since monitored the situation and has now issued advice to help countries determine how and when to resume mass vaccination campaigns. The guidance notes that countries will need to make specific risk assessments based on the local dynamics of COVID-19 transmission, the health system capacities, and the public health benefit of conducting preventive and outbreak response vaccination campaigns.
Based on this guidance, and following growing concerns about increasing transmission of polio, the Global Polio Eradication Initiative (GPEI), is advising countries to start planning for the safe resumption of polio vaccination campaigns, especially in polio high-risk countries.
Despite the challenges, several countries are making special efforts to continue immunization. Uganda is ensuring that immunization services continue along with other essential health services, even funding transportation to ensure outreach activities. And in Lao PDR, despite a national lockdown imposed in March, routine immunization in fixed sites continued with physical distancing measures in place.
City council leader Adam McVey has outlined the measures the Council will take following a report from the Edinburgh Poverty Commission into the impact the Covid-19 pandemic is having on residents in the city.
The interim Poverty and Coronavirus in Edinburgh report has taken testimonies from people directly affected by the pandemic focussing on areas such as jobs, people’s incomes, housing, homelessness, the cost of living, health and social isolation.
Leader Adam McVey pledged the Council will do everything it can to support those most in need and welcomed the report which will inform the future direction the Council takes in tackling poverty in the city.
He said: “I welcome that this report recognises the work done by the Council, partners, third sector and volunteers across the city to respond positively and quickly to deliver lifeline services including vital food and medical supplies for citizens affected by the coronavirus measure that have been put in place.
“Today’s report contains important findings with vital and timely testimonies on the real impact that lockdown is having on people’s lives. While we have all been affected by the ongoing situation, it is clear from this report that this pandemic has been particularly challenging for those who were already in or at risk of poverty in the city.
“We’re absolutely committed to making sure this evidence shapes our continuing response to this emergency over the coming months, as well as the planning for how we will rebuild the city when this crisis has passed.
“It’s so important that while we look to address the additional hardship and pressures this crisis has brought, we also build on the renewed sense of community and collaboration we have witnessed across the city.
“As we plan for Edinburgh’s recovery, we will continue to be ambitious and make sure our responses are guided by our long-term commitment to boosting sustainability, tackling poverty and improving residents’ wellbeing.
“We will continue working with the Scottish and UK Governments to secure the right level of ongoing financial support to allow us to rebuild and create a fairer city for all going forward.”
In specific response to the actions the Commission has put forward, the Council will:
continue to deliver compassionate support directly to people in the most need during this period of emergency – this includes support for essential food supplies and medicine deliveries to people self-isolating and offering critical support to people in vulnerable situations through our Resilience Centres
make sure the support mechanisms set up by UK and Scottish Governments reach everyone in Edinburgh who needs them – we’ve already processed over 4,600 applications for Scottish Welfare Fund support, distributed nearly £600,000 in crisis payments to citizens and directed £61m in government grants to organisations in Edinburgh to help employers and the self-employed
make sure safe and secure housing options continue to be available for those people in temporary accommodation and rough sleeping who have been housed through emergency measures during this crisis, and
make sure that the city takes a co-ordinated and joined up approach to responding to and recovering from this crisis.
In the coming weeks the Council will publish its first plans for how the city will adapt and rebuild from this crisis throughout the rest of this year and beyond. A key element of this recovery programme will be ensuring that the twin targets of being fair and green for all lie at its heart.
The council will continue to encourage partners who are invested in the prosperity of the city work with them to achieve a ‘fair and green economic recovery’ which will include the work of both the Edinburgh Poverty Commission and the Edinburgh Climate Commission.
The final report by the Edinburgh Poverty Commission and their findings will be published in the autumn.
Access to additional support for learning specialist teachers has continued to drop in Scotland, the Scottish Greens have revealed. Figures from the Scottish Greens show that there is now only one specialist additional support needs teacher for every 76 ASN pupils.
The number of specialist additional support needs teachers in 2019 was 2,836 [1], while the number of pupils with additional needs rose to 215,897 [2].
The increasing number of children which each specialist teacher is responsible for is partly driven by the loss of hundreds of ASN teachers since 2010, whilst the number of pupils with identified needs has grown by almost 150,000.
The number of pupils with additional needs has increased from 69,587 in 2010 to 215,897 in 2019. By comparison, there were 3,887 ASN teachers in 2010, with just 2,836 now, or 3,462 if primary teachers in Scotland’s handful of special schools are included.
Ross Greer MSP, Scottish Green education spokesperson, said: “Thousands of children in Scotland with additional needs are being failed. I have raised this with the government time and again over a number of years, but the picture still is not improving.
“Specialist teachers are essential to supporting pupils with additional needs but they are gradually disappearing from our schools, at the same time as demand skyrockets.
“We know already that this lockdown is disproportionately hard for young people with additional needs and for their families, with a real risk that the attainment gap will be widened.
“As well as the need for urgent support, the Scottish Government must ensure that when schools do return to normal, it is a new normal where those with additional support needs are given a far fairer opportunity to learn than they have been this past decade.”
A spokesperson for the Scottish Children’s Services Coalition, which campaigns to improve services for vulnerable children and young people, commented: “The comments over a cut in specialist teachers reinforce concerns we have raised for some time now about a potential ‘lost generation’ of vulnerable children and young people.
“It is vital that those with ASN get the care and support they need, especially during and as we come out of the current COVID-19 crisis. This is also key if we are to genuinely close the educational attainment gap as we know that those with ASN disproportionately come from lower income families and areas of deprivation.
“Such a situation is clearly challenging during lockdown, when the educational attainment gap will inevitably widen, and with evidence of cuts in spending per pupil with ASN and in the number of specialist teachers supporting this group.
“The cost to society in the long term if adequate support is not provided will far outweigh any potential savings made today.
“Ensuring the adequate provision of educational support for children young people with ASN is critical and yet too many pupils are missing out on the specialist support they require because of cuts in specialist support at a time of increasing need.
“When children and young people with ASN return to school it is vital that we use this as an opportunity to give them the specialist support they need, ensuring that we can address increased inequalities that will have inevitably arisen due to lockdown.”
New survey reveals public concerns about child abuse during crisis but 20% of adults in Scotland are unsure where to go for advice about suspected incidents
Survivors speak out to urge anyone with worries about a child’s welfare to contact the NSPCC’s Helpline
One in five adults in Scotland are unsure where to seek help about suspected child abuse despite worries about the heightened risks to young people during the lockdown.
The NSPCC surveyed over 2,000 adults in Britain, which included 179 in Scotland, and found that north of the border 20% were not confident they would know where to get advice if they thought a child or young person was being abused or neglected.
The findings also revealed that more adults in Scotland were worried about the impact of the lockdown on children suffering domestic abuse than any other type of harm, with 81% reporting they were ‘fairly’ or ‘very’ concerned, compared to 79% for emotional abuse and 77% for neglect.
There is growing concern for the safety of vulnerable children during the coronavirus crisis, particularly as teachers and social workers have limited access to them with most not taking up the places at school allocated to them.
The Scottish Government’s update last month on supporting vulnerable children during the pandemic reported a reduction in child protection and domestic abuse referrals in Scotland.
That is why the NSPCC has launched a nationwide campaign, backed by survivors and £1.6million of UK Government funding, to ensure more people know they can raise concerns about child safety and wellbeing to its Helpline. People can also contact the police or their local social work department.
Jess, 29, was emotionally abused by her father who beat her mother throughout her childhood. He was later jailed for an attack on his new partner after Jess and her mother gave evidence against him in court:
“Our lives could have been completely changed. If there had been an intervention earlier on, then we perhaps would have been able to escape sooner. He may not have gone on to carry out the same abuse on his next partner and her son.
“Even if your concern turns out to be something that was misheard or misinterpreted, make the call because it is always better to be safe rather than sorry. One phone call and you have the potential to change a child’s life, to save them.”
Ian, 51, was aged 6 when his father returned from hospital after suffering a heart attack and started becoming violent towards Ian’s mum and later Ian as well:
“Please report anything that’s wrong, or if you suspect someone else might be going through this, then make sure that’s reported also. The long-term effects are lifelong potentially.
I still have regular nightmares now, I always will, but by dealing with the situation as soon as it happens a victim gets that support and help much quicker and a perpetrator is dealt with much sooner. Although I will live with this forever, we can easily prevent someone else from having to.”
Kam Thandi, Head of NSPCC Helpline, said: “It is terrible to think that cases of child abuse and neglect may be going unreported because people don’t know where to go to for help and advice.
“At the moment, we’re increasingly reliant on the public to come forward with their concerns and if reports drop we fear abusers will have free reign to harm children, both physically and emotionally.
“Even if you are not 100% sure, we urge any adult who is worried for the safety or wellbeing of a child to contact our helpline. We can answer any questions and concerns, provide reassurance or importantly take quick action if we feel a child is in danger.”
Spotting the signs of abuse or neglect may be more difficult in the present climate, but indicators can include:
aggressive or repeated shouting
hearing hitting or things being broken
children crying for long periods of time
very young children left alone or are outdoors by themselves
children looking dirty or not changing their clothes
children being withdrawn or anxious.
To help workers who regularly visit homes, such as postal workers and delivery drivers, spot safeguarding concerns the NSPCC has made a 15-minute safeguarding course free.
The NSPCC Helpline is available for advice and support on 0808 800 5000 or via help@nspcc.org.uk. The trained helpline staff can offer advice and make informed decisions about whether further support is potentially needed for a child and their family.
If you suspect a child or young person is in immediate danger call the police immediately on 999. Alternatively, contact the children’s social care team at your local council.
