Education, Children and Young People Committee
Centre for Excellence for Childrens Care and Protection CELCIS
CELCIS submission on the Impact of Covid 19 on Children and Young People for ASN
Response to the Education, Children and Young People Committee session on the impact of the pandemic upon children and young people with additional support needs and care experienced young people.
November 2021
CELCIS is Scotland’s Centre for Excellence for Children's Care and Protection, based at the University of Strathclyde. We are thankful for the opportunity to give evidence to the Education, Children and Young People Committee on the above subject. Our written response is based on research evidence, practice experience and feedback from our long-standing, cross-organisational networks, comprising practitioners and leaders working across the spectrum of children’s services and other public services in support of children, young people and families. We are grateful for the opportunity to discuss the areas we have detailed below, and those of interest to the committee, at the evidence session.
Key Messages
• Structural inequalities that existed prior to the pandemic have been compounded for many families. The ‘digital divide’ and levels of poverty and inequality have been brought into stark focus and must be addressed in order to ensure all children and families have equity of access to supportive services.
• There is no nationally recognised definition of ‘vulnerability’, or common tool for assessing children’s wellbeing. Many children who may have benefited from accessing school hubs during the pandemic may have missed out on learning and social interactions due to the variable ways in which local areas assessed ‘vulnerability’. A lack of consistent wellbeing data makes it difficult for adults and professionals to accurately understand the impact of the pandemic on children’s wellbeing.
• Regular, attuned and timely support is required from trusted adults to understand children’s individual needs, and plan for and provide the support they require. The workforce must have the skills, capacity and emotional support to provide this.
Context
All children have their own unique strengths, and their own needs. Babies, children, young people (anyone under the age of 18 referred to hereafter as children), in need of care and protection, and their families, are no different. With the right support, all children can thrive throughout their lives, and yet Covid-19 has presented significant challenges in how we respond to the needs of children and families struggling in difficult circumstances. Prior to the Covid-19 outbreak, care experienced children and their families faced several complex and often difficult circumstances which presented barriers to positive educational experiences; the public health crisis compounded these. The pandemic and subsequent public health protection response is affecting many in areas such as digital exclusion, loss of learning and education, mental health, poverty, and food security; however, these are examples of long existing inequalities that have been intensified and continue to disproportionately affect many care experienced children and families.
Scottish Government Educational Outcomes data from 2018/19 (the most recent pre-pandemic data available) shows that ‘looked after children (a), on average, have lower attendance rates, higher exclusion rates, leave school earlier, and attain fewer qualifications than all other children (1). Whilst having experience of care, or having an additional support need, are not predictors of poor educational achievement or attainment, this data highlights the importance of providing more effective and responsive support to meet children’s individual needs.
The Education (Additional Support for Learning) (Scotland) Act 2009 promotes the interests of ‘looked after children’ by stating that they are presumed to have additional support needs (ASN) unless assessed as otherwise; and must be routinely considered for a co-ordinated support plan. A freedom of information request from 2016 shows that these presumptions and assessments were not being undertaken consistently across Scotland, with the rights of many children to assessment for additional support not being upheld. We are concerned that this continues to remain the case, and the consequent inequalities will have been further exacerbated by the pandemic. Good quality, appropriate and timely ASN provision should be available at every phase of children’s learning journey to ensure equity of access to the curriculum in accordance with the recent recommendations, and subsequent action plan, within the Additional Support for Learning review conducted by Angela Morgan.
Areas of particular significance in relation to the impact of the pandemic upon children with additional support needs and children with care experience.
Loss of learning
During the two lengthy school closures in the first year of the pandemic, education hubs were made available to support specific children and families.
The criteria for accessing education hubs (children of key workers and ‘vulnerable’ children) meant that some children and families who would have benefited from this vital support missed out due to the variable and inconsistent ways that local areas assessed ‘vulnerability.’
Whilst initial rigidity in these criteria did become more flexible, not all care experienced children were assessed or prioritised for this support, despite many being on compulsory supervision orders. Some care experienced children who would have benefited from the support offered by a hub placement will not have been offered a place, and some children will have missed more learning than others.
a ‘Looked after’ and ‘looked after child’ are the terms used in current legislation to refer to a child or young person who is cared for under a formal arrangement with a local authority. It has a specific legal meaning, but wherever possible, the more inclusive term ‘care experience’ is preferred.
We note with concern that the number of children who accessed hub supports for vulnerable children only represented around 0.5% of the children with multi-agency child’s plans, which undermines the right to education for this group of children, who are more likely to face barriers such as digital exclusion when accessing educational learning at home (2). Additionally, families who were already struggling with multiple issues and were not able to access support from a hub were faced with the challenging task of attempting to meet the range of children’s educational, social, and emotional needs at home without the supports and protective measures offered in a school environment.
This said, there are positive lessons to be taken forward from this experience. Some children felt more able to engage in and participate in their learning while they were at home. We must listen to children to understand why this was and ensure that the curriculum is flexible enough to apply these principles, as far as possible, in an education setting.
Understanding need and wellbeing
During the school closures, loss of learning, and limited contact with trusted adults within schools that provide nurturing and consistent relationships for children and families, impacted not only on children’s education, but their wider wellbeing. Although a range of work is underway, there is currently no nationally agreed method of measuring children’s wellbeing. The tools that schools use to understand children’s wellbeing can vary within and between local authority areas.
Due to this variability, it is difficult to build an accurate picture of how the pandemic has impacted and continues to impact children, either individually or as a group. Understanding children’s needs and how their life and circumstances have been impacted by the pandemic is dependent on the adults in their lives who know them and understand their needs. Children and families will need the adults who know them, alongside other relevant organisations, to develop robust plans to support them.
Alternative certification
Isolation had a significant impact on mental health. We have reports from local health teams of an increase in self-harming and hospital admissions due to lack of preventative support and interventions. A recent survey by Children’s Parliament has also highlighted a rise in children feeling scared or anxious because of the pandemic and there being a lack of appropriate support around this (3).
With the ‘cancellation’ of exams and development of the Alternative Certification Model (ACM), children’s anxiety and fear relating to the pandemic has been added to due to uncertainty about the impact of assessment changes on their future and how their educational achievements are recognised. Some care experienced pupils felt that the Alternative Certification Model was preferable to the traditional exam diet as it allowed efforts throughout the academic year to be recognised, as they felt end of year exams could put pressure on pupils and did not take account of individual circumstances (4).
However, alongside others, care experienced learners have also highlighted the confusing impact and intense pressure of multiple changes to assessment; poor communication and not knowing what to expect in school; and concerns that limited account is taken of challenging circumstances if appealing grades (for example a child having to move from one foster carer to another during the assessment period).(5) As uncertainty over assessment arrangements continues, children not only require clear communication about what to expect, but for their rights to participate in decisions around assessment to be fully and meaningfully realised.
To support with this, our Virtual School Head Teacher (VSHT) Network produced a practice paper for Designated Managers (a promoted member of staff within an educational establishment who has responsibility for all ‘looked after’ children within their setting(6) and SQA coordinators in schools to support them to understand the additional considerations required for pupils with care experience during the ACM process to mitigate possibilities of disproportionate disadvantage to care experienced learners due to this method of certification. The Additional Support for Learning Action Plan recommends that new measures are developed which should value and ensure visibility of the diverse range of achievements that are possible for all children with additional support needs.
An opportunity exists to integrate our learning from the pandemic and the Alternative Certification Model for care experienced learners, to inform the wider approach to reforms of the Scottish Education System currently being consulted on by the Scottish Government. As corporate parents, Scottish Ministers and other public bodies have a duty to ensure services meet the needs and promote the interests of those with care experience. It is vital that any reform relating to the curriculum and assessment is undertaken with care experienced learners’ needs and views at the heart. Seeking, and incorporating, the views of children and families is an asset and lever for change in itself. Done well, participation in decision making can lead to responsive, inclusive, and meaningful service redesign and delivery.
Regular, attuned support
Families have strong resources that can be utilised and built upon, it is the role of services and professionals to provide scaffolding to promote and develop their efficacy. In line with Scotland’s ‘Getting It Right For Every Child’ (GIRFEC) approach, ensuring rights and relationship-based, timely support to children and families is central to meeting needs and alleviating pressures which have been compounded by the pandemic. During the pandemic we heard from our education networks that there was a reduction in the number of Team Around the Child (TAC) meetings which are crucial to the GIRFEC approach, in developing plans and implementing person centred and timely support for children and families. As the pandemic recovery progresses, children will require either new or updated Child’s Plans to take account of missed learning and any changes to family circumstances which may impact upon their wellbeing and their ability to achieve and attain. Education practitioners, working together with children, families and multiagency partners, to develop and implement these plans require the time and resource to undertake this, alongside all other parts of their workload. Without dedicated time and capacity, there is a risk that the quality or regular review of children’s plans is compromised, to the detriment of children’s wellbeing and educational experiences.
All children benefit from predictable, consistent patterns and routines, particularly those with additional support needs. The Independent Care Review Promise recognised the important role schools have in enabling children to enjoy stable, nurturing relationships (7). Over the past 20 months, public health guidelines have necessitated restrictions to specialist and peripatetic supports being available within schools. This reduced children and family’s access to crucial additional supports e.g., educational psychologists, mentors, speech and language therapists, social workers, counsellors and school health staff.
These additional supports are often integral components of Child’s Plans, which contribute towards improving the educational experiences and outcomes for children with additional support needs and children with care experience.
Without regular and meaningful access to this additional support, children may take longer to catch up on any missed learning and children’s rights to additional support may not be fulfilled.
The digital divide
Digital access and digital literacy emerged at the beginning of lockdown as an area which posed significant barriers for some children and families in accessing education and other supportive services; many of these issues have endured throughout and beyond lockdown. For children and young people with additional support needs these issues may be particularly difficult where they are unable to access support such as assistive technology or the specialist support that can be required to make effective use of it.
Over and above education, in an increasingly digital age much of the everyday information and support that families need (from accessing advice services and welfare, to social connections) must be accessed online. The pandemic highlighted that many families do not have the digital skills or necessary IT or connectivity to enable them to access these crucial services. These structural inequalities risk further disempowering and disenfranchising children and families who may have struggled with these aspects before the pandemic, and who have found themselves further marginalised by the significant shift to the necessity of providing services and support solely online. In addition to ensuring equitable access to digital connectively, more must be done to upskill practitioners to better support children and families to develop their digital skills (8).
Poverty and inequality
Fragile family environments can develop anywhere, at any time, but the external pressures and inequalities of the pandemic have exacerbated existing structural inequalities and difficulties for many. In the continued context of rising prices and September’s removal of the £20-per-week uplift to Universal Credit, such pressures are likely to continue, with concerns for food and fuel poverty going in to winter. Poverty intersects with other stressors upon families, such as mental health problems, poor housing and stigma. The Independent Care Review recognised poverty as one of the mediating factors that increase the risk of child abuse and neglect, and research indicates the disproportionate number of children placed apart from their families within the poorest neighbourhoods in Scotland (9).
Provisions to supporting children in poverty cannot be distinguished from support to their families and consideration must be given to providing support for families in this position, and those whose circumstances have worsened during the pandemic and been affected by reductions in community services and other preventative supports. We anticipate, through engagement of senior leaders in children’s services and an understanding of data that this will lead to more families in need of care and protection (10).
Listening to children and young people
Children’s rights to express their views freely in all matters affecting them is a general principle underpinning the UNCRC. Children’s views must be sought, heard and taken into account, yet the pandemic has had a significant impact on children’s participation. For all children, but particularly for children who are care experienced, their right to participate must extend from the everyday decisions in their lives about the care that they receive, up to the policy decisions that affect them. The opportunity must be taken now to learn from the experiences of children during the pandemic to inform decision making for recovery. To enable meaningful participation takes time and resource, as well as strong relationships between children and the adults around them.
Supporting the workforce
Through engagement with the CELCIS Education Forum and our Virtual School Head Teacher (VSHT) Network we know that education staff, have and continue to find working conditions and workload in the current context extremely challenging. We have heard that teachers and other education staff are exhausted and facing challenges with their own mental health and wellbeing. We know that these issues are not unique to the education workforce but are present for all the children’s service workforce staff who have continued to work tirelessly to provide support to children and families throughout the pandemic.
The pressures and challenges felt by children in relation to the Alternative Certification Model have also been felt by staff. Meaningful, consistent relationships with trusted professionals who are responsive to the needs of children and families are crucial, and to provide this, the needs of staff require significant attention. The health and wellbeing of the workforce is intrinsically linked to the health and wellbeing of our children. We must ensure that the workforce has access to appropriate and meaningful support to enable them to care for and educate our children.
Thank you for providing us with this opportunity to respond. We hope the feedback is helpful; we would be happy to discuss any aspect in further detail.
Linda O’Neill
Education Lead
1 Scottish Government (2019) Looked after children: educational outcomes 2018-19. Edinburgh; Scottish Government
2 Scottish Government (2020) Supporting Vulnerable Children and Young People; Data Intelligence Report, Edinburgh; Scottish Government (pg. 4)
3 Children’s Parliament (2020) Corona Times Journal: Edition 2, online resource https://www.childrensparliament.org.uk/childrens-journal-2/
4SPICe (2020) Summary of evidence young people alternative certification model.pdf; Edinburgh, SPICe; (pg. 16)
5 Currie, L. (2021) Education, Children and Young People Committee School Assessment: Alternative Certification Model 2021. Edinburgh: SPICe.
6 Scottish Government (2008). Core tasks for designated managers in educational and residential establishments in Scotland. Edinburgh: The Scottish Government
7 Independent Care Review (2020) The Promise, Glasgow: Independent Care Review (pg.70)
8 Roesch-Marsh, A., McGhee, K. & Gillon, F. (2021) The digital divide: The impact on the rights of care leavers in Scotland. Glasgow: CELCIS
9 Bywaters P et al (2017) Identifying and Understanding Inequalities in Child Welfare Intervention Rates: comparative studies in four UK countries. Briefing Paper 4: Scotland. Nuffield Foundation.
10 Scottish Government (2020) Supporting Vulnerable Children and Young People; Data Intelligence Report, Edinburgh; Scottish Government