‘Self-isolating and social distancing was a bad habit I worked really hard to get out of. Now I’m being made to do it and being told it’s the right thing to do. It’s very confusing and I’m scared of falling back in to that cycle.’
Survey Respondent, Coronavirus: Impact on Young People with Mental Health Needs, YoungMinds 2020
This is my first email since lockdown due to a global pandemic was announced in March earlier this year and, like everyone else, I have found the recent months to be interesting to say the least. And I continue to be contacted by my customers who want to know if I am offering safeguarding children training at the current time. To be absolutely clear, I am continuing to offer my training, but mostly online using Zoom. Over the months I have reconfigured my courses using available technology to offer high quality, interactive and largely bespoke sessions that have received consistently excellent feedback. I still offer inhouse training to specific teams, and Delegated Services continue to support my open courses for individuals from a range of different settings. The range of courses I deliver is explained in my most recent training brochure which appears on my website:
http://mandyparrytraining.co.uk/safeguarding-children/open-courses/
The added benefit of delivering training using online technology is that I am able to offer my training further afield, and there is no limit on the number of participants in terms of venue. The only requirement is that all participants have access to a laptop. Please do contact me if you want more information.
So what are the safeguarding challenges at the current time? The recent months have seen a period of lockdown, extended periods of social distancing, quarantine for some of us, serious illness for so many, and widespread loss of employment and economic uncertainty. All families have therefore been vulnerable to isolation, poverty, stress, anxiety and depression. Children have spent increased time online leaving them vulnerable to online abuse. Whilst we absolutely know that families and children have been at a greater risk of domestic abuse, neglect, physical abuse, emotional abuse and sexual abuse, support services can be much more difficult to access and there have been much fewer opportunities for adults to spot signs of abuse in families. Nevertheless, despite all these ‘unprecedented challenges’, it is still our responsibility to keep children safe, spot the signs of abuse and report concerns to keep children safe.
Read: Coronavirus: Impact on Young People with Mental Health Needs
I have been in close contact with many settings that I support directly with their safeguarding responsibilities. I have encouraged everyone to do the following as a simple ‘safeguarding during Covid’ checklist:
- Keep up to date with local and national guidance
- Keep in regular contact with all families
- Offer support and advice by a variety of different ways
- Put together a list of vulnerable children, risk assess, share the risk assessments to key staff, and review the risk assessments regularly
- Do home visits if possible
- Offer places for vulnerable children
- Ensure that all staff are supported to spot the signs of abuse in a domestic environment
- Support the health and wellbeing of all staff
One of the many risks facing children and young people at the current time is the danger posed to their mental health. According to a recent survey by YoungMinds, more than 60 per cent of young people with mental health needs found their mental health worsening since they have returned to school. A survey of 2,011 11-18 year olds with a history of mental health needs found that only 27% of young people said that their mental health had got better since their return to education. 61 per cent, however, said it had got worse. While 15% agreed that there was enough information and support available for their mental health at their school, 58% disagreed. Almost a quarter of respondents (23%) said that there was less mental health support in their school than before the pandemic, while only 9% agreed that there was more mental health support. The research highlighted positives for mental health in the initial return to school, with respondents indicating that seeing friends, having a routine, and seeing their teachers were beneficial. However, many said that the rapid return to academic pressure, after six months away, was having a negative impact. Others raised concerns about safety, social distancing measures, and difficult relationships with peers, including bullying.
NHS Digital has published the first in a series of follow up reports to the Mental Health and Young People Survey (MHCYP) 2017, exploring the mental health of children and young people in England during the coronavirus pandemic and looking at changes since 2017. Findings from survey data collected from a sample of 3,570 children and young people aged between 5 and 22 years old in July 2020 include: 16.0% of children aged 5 to 16 were identified as having a probable mental disorder in 2020, increasing from 10.8% in 2017; and the likelihood of a probable mental disorder increased with age with 27.2% of young women aged 17 to 22 years and 13.3% of young men identified as having a probable mental disorder. Experiences of family life, education and services, and worries and anxieties during the pandemic are also examined.
Read the news story: Survey conducted in July 2020 shows one in six children having a probable mental disorder
Read the report: Mental health of children and young people in England, 2020 (PDF)
The Royal College of Paediatrics and Child Health (RCPCH) has published summaries of children’s and young people’s views on the evidence from published studies around being in lockdown. Analysis of 15 studies by six young people aged 16-25 identified eight themes for consideration by NHS Trusts including: making sure there is support in recovery plans for children and young people’s mental health; supporting the mental health impact of not seeing friends; helping children and young people to learn how to reconnect with others; and making online learning as fair for all students as possible.
Read the news story: COVID-19 – summaries of key findings on children and young people’s views
NHS Digital has published the first in a series of follow up reports to the Mental Health and Young People Survey (MHCYP) 2017, exploring the mental health of children and young people in England during the coronavirus pandemic and looking at changes since 2017. Findings from survey data collected from a sample of 3,570 children and young people aged between 5 and 22 years old in July 2020 include: 16.0% of children aged 5 to 16 were identified as having a probable mental disorder in 2020, increasing from 10.8% in 2017; and the likelihood of a probable mental disorder increased with age with 27.2% of young women aged 17 to 22 years and 13.3% of young men identified as having a probable mental disorder. Experiences of family life, education and services, and worries and anxieties during the pandemic are also examined.
Read the news story: Survey conducted in July 2020 shows one in six children having a probable mental disorder
Read the report: Mental health of children and young people in England, 2020 (PDF)
The Royal College of Paediatrics and Child Health (RCPCH) has published summaries of children’s and young people’s views on the evidence from published studies around being in lockdown. Analysis of 15 studies by six young people aged 16-25 identified eight themes for consideration by NHS Trusts including: making sure there is support in recovery plans for children and young people’s mental health; supporting the mental health impact of not seeing friends; helping children and young people to learn how to reconnect with others; and making online learning as fair for all students as possible.
Read the news story: COVID-19 – summaries of key findings on children and young people’s views