Coronavirus (COVID-19): impact on children, young people and families - evidence summary June 2020

Children, young people & families with vulnerabilities 

Children and young people with mental health problems

Young Minds published the results of its survey in April which ran from 20 - 25 March 2020 (very early phase of lockdown).  Over 2000 young people (aged <25) with a history of mental health needs responded.  

• Over 8 in 10 of respondents stated that the pandemic had made their mental health a bit (51%) or much worse (32%).  
• Most respondents were still able to access some form of mental health response, but a quarter (26%) were not.
• A lack of privacy at home was highlighted as a barrier to providing remote services (some services were encouraging young people to have therapy while doing their daily exercise outside).  
• Young people's top three concerns about coping over the next few months were isolation and loneliness, not having enough food / supplies [this may be due to widely reported panic buying at the start of lockdown] and managing mental health / mental health deteriorating.
• Young people raised concerns were raised about loss of routine and coping measures and loss of social connection, but also reported that helpful methods included face-to-face calls with friends, watching TV and exercise.   
• In terms of support, respondents asked for the resumption of face-to-face sessions as soon as possible, more online and digital support, advice on self-help techniques and coping strategies, and more accessible information and guidance about COVID-19 generally.  

Children living in poverty

Children's Neighbourhoods Scotland (University of Glasgow) is undertaking research in partnership with Policy Scotland, and local authorities to understand the impact of COVID-19 on families with children, and how third sector services and organisations are responding to it. Key to this will be exploring supports and services that are working well, as well as the challenges that families are facing due to the pandemic.  The research focuses on service responses to and experiences of children and young people living in high poverty settings to COVID-19.  Early insights (published 8 May) include:

• There are very significant concerns around the impact of the lockdown on households including overcrowding, job losses and access to financial support, the strain placed on relationships and the stress of dealing with additional support needs and caring responsibilities.
• The demand for support (including food parcels) in high poverty areas is increasing day on day.
• Families who were managing at the beginning of the lockdown period are now seeking support. Many of the families that were 'just coping' have now become 'chaotic' families.
• There is a demand for intensive and regular emotional support from families. This is being provided via the phone and video calls.
• Digital access, both to devices and to the internet, is an issue for many, including children and young people expected to access online learning.
• Some families are preferring to engage with the third sector rather than formal education.
• There is concern that volunteer groups established at the start of the lockdown may not have either the capacity or structures to continue in the longer term.

The Child Poverty Action Group has run two surveys for parents and children aged 4-17 from 1-25 May to find out about what is working well, and what could be improved, especially for families on low incomes.  This is a UK survey but Scottish results will be available.  As of 19 May, the survey had received responses from over 2,500 parents and carers and over 1,200 children and young people. Early findings indicate the following emerging themes:

• Resources for learning: one of the common barriers mentioned by parents and carers is the lack of resources for learning at home, including digital devices, printers and stationery.   In addition, parents and carers report struggling to support home learning due other responsibilities, particularly having to work or having to care for other children or family members.
• Pupil and family wellbeing: beyond learning, families are struggling with isolation and wellbeing, and would like more pastoral support and reassurances about expectations for home learning from schools.  
• Financial support: families are facing increasing financial pressures and often struggle to find information about financial support options. Some families are struggling with increased financial pressures but are not entitled to any support.
• Support with food costs: families on low incomes have found free school meal provision extremely important during school closures to help with additional costs. Cash payments were by far the preferred option, with many parents describing difficulties with vouchers.
• When schools reopen: children and young people are most looking forward to seeing their friends and teachers, and parents want the primary focus of schools to be on emotional support and wellbeing. 
• Some carers report having to give up employment due to caring responsibilities.

Children and families affected by disability

The Family Fund have now conducted two UK-wide surveys (including Scotland) – in March and April – to track the continuing impact of lockdown on the health and wellbeing of disabled children.  The key findings are:

• 94% of families said the health and wellbeing of their disabled or seriously ill children had been negatively affected, an increase from 89% in first few weeks of the lockdown.
• 89% said their disabled or seriously ill children's behaviour and emotions were being negatively affected and 82% reported a negative effect on their mental health.
• 65% said their access to formal support services for their child, such as physiotherapy and mental health services, has declined since the Coronavirus outbreak.
• 30% struggled to afford food and a quarter of parent carers (24%) admit to missing meals in the last two weeks, with nearly three quarters of families now having no savings to fall back on.
• The biggest concerns for families are around educating and entertaining their disabled or seriously ill children at home (74%) and their children's health and wellbeing (71%).

Inclusion Scotland published early results of their survey in April which had 822 respondents.  Initial findings report mental distress in adults and children with disabilities, and a reduction in services.  Parents of very young or adult children with ASN report stressful experiences, particularly lone parents. Other issues reported include problems with accessing food and essential items including medicine.

Carers UK conducted a survey of adult unpaid carers which had 5,047 respondents. The findings highlights financial and mental pressures placed on unpaid carers due to COVID-19 and removal/reduction of formal and informal care support. The report includes some issues related specifically to people who care for disabled children:

• The reduction or removal of formal support, particularly specialist provisions for those with high levels of support needs. Some carers report that school hubs were unable to provide support previously available at school due to low staffing levels.
• Lack of routine leading to worsening conditions for learning disabled young people and young people with mental health problems; 
• Financial pressure of having to buy equipment and toys to use at home that would usually be accessed outside the home, as well as increase utilities costs;
• Difficulties in accessing essential items if unable to leave the house due to caring responsibilities.

Care experienced children and young people

The Nuffield Family Justice Observatory has published a rapid evidence review to examine the evidence on post-separation digital contact between children and their birth families in order to inform decisions about how to reconcile social distancing requirements and court-ordered contact with birth families and on how best to use technology to maintain contact arrangements.  The review included 16 studies.  The evidence indicates that whilst  it is not possible to simply state that digital contact with birth families is either positive or negative for children and young people's well-being some key themes emerged:

• Digital contact is more immediate, less formal, and can help facilitate relationships. It can give families more freedom and control over contact arrangements.  However, it can be difficult for carers and professionals to set boundaries and supervise digital contact.
• Digital contact should be used to enhance rather than replace face-to-face contact. Private law studies highlight that children, parents and professionals alike feel that there are benefits of face-to-face contact that are lost through digital contact alone.
• Appropriate forms of digital contact depend on the child's age and experience e.g. conversations via video calls may not be appropriate for very young children.

The Nuffield Family Justice Observatory has published findings from a survey and interviews with social care professionals and foster and kinship carers on contact between children and their birth families.  Key research findings include:

• Almost all face-to-face contact with birth relatives has been suspended for all groups of children. Those taking part in the study reported widespread use of video calls with children in residential, foster and kinship care.
• Digital contact is working better for older children who are more familiar with the medium; it is less successful with young children (under 5s) and some older children with disabilities.  The quality of the child's relationship with birth family members was an important factor.  For some families, digital contact can be less difficult and emotionally intense than face-to-face meetings.
• Concerns were raised by parents about the lack of physical contact, particularly by parents of infants. Parents were keen that video calls do not substitute physical contact in the longer term.
• Practice appeared very variable around the country.  Professionals asked for more guidance on choice of digital platforms and how to use them safely, and ideas on how to make video calls work well, particularly in terms of making it an enjoyable and safe experience for children.
• Recommendations focus on improving the quality of digital contact, particularly for babies and young children (e.g. singing and reading).

See also the Who Cares? Report in a later section.

Children in contact with or impacted by the Justice System

The Nuffield Family Justice Observatory undertook a rapid consultation from 14 to 28 April 2 on the use of remote hearings in the family court.  The report highlighted the view of some that the current lockdown justifies the use of virtual hearings, but also the concerns about the fairness of such hearings. The report may lead to further guidance being issued about the hearings in care proceedings in England and Wales which may also have relevance in Scotland.

Other studies

The Department for Education (DfE) has published results of a poll of 1000 parents of young children (aged 0-4) on the use, availability and experiences of childcare in April 2020, including key workers and parents of vulnerable children.  The survey will be re-run in May.  Key findings include:

• The survey found that around a third (36%) of children aged 0-4 with parents that are key workers, or who are vulnerable, used formal childcare in April during COVID-19. 
• Among the children of critical workers or vulnerable children not using childcare, this was primarily due to parent choices.   The most common reason for not using childcare was having somebody at home that could care for the child (43%).  One in five parents (21%) gave being too concerned about their child's health during COVID-19 as a reason.

The data also revealed some distinctive findings for key worker and vulnerable child households:

• Vulnerable child households are less likely to have all forms of technology.  Only 40% of vulnerable child households reported having a computer or laptop and 65% reported having access to broadband, compared 87% of all households.
• 44% of key worker households reported that children spent more than 1 hour on digital devices, compared to 34% of vulnerable children households.
• Families in the most deprived areas were less likely to read to or look at books with their children at least once a day (61%), compared to those living in the least deprived areas (77%)
• 51% of vulnerable child households feel that the amount of learning and play activities they are doing is 'about right' but 24% would like to do less (compared to 7% all child households).
• Of those vulnerable child households that wanted to do more learning and play activities, the most common things they felt would help were having more toys and materials (38%), more free time (36%), working less hours (33%) and more resources online (33%).
• Vulnerable child households report less child physical activity than non-vulnerable households. Almost half do less than 1 hour per day (47% compared to 31% of all children).