The former childrens commissioner for England has urged the prime minister to apologise to children for the Covid mistakes made during the pandemic. Baroness Anne Longfield said many of the errors were avoidable and that children were often ignored in government decisions. She believes a formal apology should be given once the Covid inquiry ends to recognise the damage caused to childrens education and wellbeing.
She told the inquiry that adults were put first while children were left behind. Pubs shops and theme parks opened before schools and the closure of schools in 2020 and 2021 was chaotic and badly managed
Baroness Longfield explained that it was not clear who was in charge of planning for children during the pandemic. She also said the Department for Education and Public Health England often gave conflicting guidance which delayed the reopening of schools. In some cases she had to act as a middle person to bring both sides together
The inquiry is now looking at how Covid decisions impacted children and young people. Baroness Longfield believes the school closures in 2021 could have been avoided with better planning during the summer of 2020. She stressed that whoever is prime minister when the inquiry ends should say sorry to children for the damage done to their learning and mental health
The government has said lessons have been learned but many families still feel children were overlooked. Baroness Longfield told the inquiry that mistakes were made and decisions often went against childrens best interests.
Vulnerable children were allowed to attend schools but most stayed at home as families feared it was unsafe. She said the stay at home message made families feel sending children to school was a risk rather than support
