Comment on Waves 1-22 of the VCYP survey

05 May 2021 in Safeguarding and Child Protection > Safeguarding & Child Protection >

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Commenting on the latest findings of the Department for Education’s Vulnerable Children and Young People survey, ADCS President Charlotte Ramsden said:

“The latest findings from the Department for Education’s Vulnerable Children and Young People survey clearly show that the pandemic continues to impact on the lives of children and families, particularly the most vulnerable. Although Covid-19 appears to pose a lower risk of infection to children and young people, they have been affected by the secondary impacts of the pandemic such as loss of learning, the impact of successive lockdowns on their mental and emotional health and being unable to access services they may have previously relied on. For many, the pandemic will have exacerbated pre-existing challenges such as poverty, hunger, parental ill health and domestic abuse.

“As the survey findings note, local authorities are now seeing greater complexity of need being presented by children and families. Added to this, we know that early help and preventative services across the country are experiencing an increase in demand. The evidence is clear which demonstrates the mounting challenges children and families are facing and the difficulties local authorities have in meeting the level of need now present in our communities in the context of 50% real terms fall in our funding over the last decade. Now more than ever we need to work with children and families who are at risk of poor outcomes at the earliest possible stage, but only with adequate long-term national investment can we continue to provide this vital support.”

ENDS