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Schools must fully reopen with vaccinations for staff to avoid a “calamitous” impact on children’s mental health, some of the country’s top paediatricians have warned.

In a letter to The Times today, ten of the UK’s top experts in child health say that anxiety, self-harm and suicidal thoughts are at “frightening levels” among children and many parents are

on the brink of breakdown.

A group of experts including Claire Hogg, a consultant in paediatric respiratory medicine, Andrew Bush, a professor of paediatric respirology, and Ian Balfour Lynn, a specialist in child

respiratory medicine, warn that the lockdown is inflicting serious damage on children’s development and wellbeing.

“As in the first lockdown, we are witnessing an acute and rapid increase in mental health and safeguarding cases affecting children and parents alike,” they say.

“Anxiety, depression and self-harm are all at frightening levels. Parents are showing signs of psychological stress and even breakdown as a result of the pressures of trying to home-school

their children and sustain their jobs and businesses.”

The government ought to prioritise teachers and school staff for vaccination to prevent children becoming “long Covid casualties of the pandemic”, they add.

Pressure has been mounting to reopen schools to all pupils, especially in areas where coronavirus rates are low, even if that means tighter restrictions on the economy.

So far the government has not committed to reopening any schools before Easter. Anne Longfield, the children’s commissioner, has called for primaries at least to return to full, face-to-face

teaching after the February half term.

Mark Mortimer, head teacher of the independent Bryanston School in Dorset, said that there did not appear to be any urgency on reopening schools from the government.

He writes in a separate letter to The Times: “The impact on all young people over the course of the past year has been dire, not just in terms of lost teaching time but also everything else

that school and education offers, such as social development and extracurricular activities. For too many children, school also provides safety, emotional and even nutritional support.”

Emma Thomas, chief executive of the mental health charity Youngminds, said that during the first lockdown many young people lost their mental health support, and school closures meant a

significant drop in referrals to support services.

She said: “Over the course of the pandemic, young people have struggled to cope with social isolation, anxiety, a loss of structure and fears about their future.

“Evidence suggests that some young people are likely to be particularly affected, including those with existing mental health problems, with autism, young people of colour and those who were

already experiencing social inequalities.”

The government must ensure that support is adequate and accessible, to mitigate the impact of the crisis on children and teenagers, she added.

“For many young people, it was already too difficult to access support before the pandemic. Despite evidence that early support makes a huge difference, many reached crisis point before they

were able to access services.”

The warnings over children’s mental health come after an Ofsted study found that schools and parents were struggling to maintain children’s motivation for home learning. Forty per cent of

parents surveyed said that keeping children focused was the main challenge of home-schooling, while 38 per cent were worried they were missing friends. Similar numbers were struggling with

their children’s motivation.

Geoff Barton, general secretary of the Association of School and College Leaders, said that it was unsurprising that children were struggling to stay motivated amid so much uncertainty.

“Remote education, no matter how well it is done, is obviously never going to be a substitute for direct face-to-face teaching, particularly for pupils who struggle the most,” he said. “So,

that is why we need not just words about fully reopening schools, but practical actions and a timeline of how to do this in a way that is safe and inspires the confidence of education staff

and the public.”

A survey by Parent Ping for The Times found that the vast majority of secondary school children — 90 per cent — were having work set online, with 43 per cent having video calls with their

teacher. A weekly survey of teachers found that only 2 per cent thought none of their students had done any work, compared with more than 10 per cent in the first lockdown.

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