The Suicides
A joint briefing paper by the Department for Education (DfE) and the Independent Scientific Pandemic Influenza Group on Behaviours warned in November 2020 that “many more children will die from suicide than Covid-19 this year” as it cited evidence of a rise in self-harm among young people during the earlier lockdown (source)
The briefing paper revealed that Covid-19 related factors including school issues were reported to have contributed to deaths in 12 of the 25 cases of suicide by under-18s identified during the earlier lockdown in England.
The information was shared at a Scientific Advisory Group for Emergencies (SAGE) meeting in November 2020, which was attended by the senior scientific advisers responsible for briefing ministers, the Cabinet Office, the Home Office, and other departments.
Yet, despite learning of these findings and the government’s own admission, that what they touted as a “novel virus” posed no risk to children or young people, they still went ahead and closed schools for most pupils for the majority of the spring term in 2021. Tragically yet another 161 children aged 10-19 died due to suicide (source).
Save The Children
Save the Children had highlighted the risks that lockdowns posed to children in May 2020 and said that “children and youth who are already at risk—such as those living in challenging home environments or children who are lacking social support or whose families are already facing poverty —especially vulnerable.”
They advised that research shows that feelings of helplessness, loneliness, and fear of being socially excluded, stigmatised or separated from loved ones are common in any epidemic, while prolonged stress, boredom, and social isolation, as well as a lack of outdoor play, can lead to a higher number of mental health conditions in children, such as anxiety and even depression.
This was explained by Anne-Sophie Dybdal, Senior Child Protection Advisor at the Mental Health and Psychosocial Support Unit of Save the Children, explained back in May 2020 “People who are outside regularly have a lower activity in the part of the brain that focuses on repetitive negative emotions. This is one of the reasons children can slide into negative feelings or even depression during the circumstances they are living in now.” (source).
The Warnings
This warning was just one of nine opportunities to avert the damage caused by school closures that the government ignored, according to the first in a series of planned reports on pandemic decision-making by the parents’ campaign group UsforThem. The group noted that previous plandemic plans had been predicated on the basis that mass school closures were to be avoided.
.The group has a mission that begins “We believe that children must be placed front and centre in all decisions impacting them” which of course they were not, despite the warnings and pleas from UsForThem to remain open during the pandemic.
They claim that SAGE also had papers in February to March 2020, that documented that the impact the school closures would have on “stemming transmission” was likely to be “highly limited”. Even so, prior to the first school closures in March 2020, a SAGE paper stated that if schools closed, they would need to be closed for a lengthy period of time to have any impact!
Overlooked Children
Thus, by completely ignoring the warnings and the impact that the government decisions would undoubtedly have on the children, Their assessment was never communicated to the public according to USForThem (source).
The impact Will be Felt for Decades
Sadly, the suffering will continue, according to a group led by the University College London (UCL), which adds that the impact of closing schools and keeping children inside their homes for days on end will be felt for decades and in myriad ways, many of which will not be apparent for years to come.
In a report, the UCL says that the development and well-being of children were “deprioritised” and states that politicians did not consider children and young people a “priority group”. Childhood access to food, education, the internet, and playtime was curbed, and schemes to fix the flaws “took too long to be equally implemented”. (source)
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