Not safe for everyone.
Just like our lockdown here on our shores, our neighbours in the UK are also now facing into weeks and weeks of #lockdown2.
We are told lockdowns are to keep us all safe from the pandemic outside, but the reality is that home is not the safest place to be for many, many children globally.
According to the BBC, during the first UK lockdown, there was an alarming 20 percent rise in babies being killed or harmed, Ofsted’s chief inspector Amanda Spielman has revealed.
The latest statisitcs reveal that sixty-four babies were deliberately harmed in England – eight of whom died. Some 40 percent of the 300 incidents reported involved infants, which is up one fifth on numbers from the same period in 2019.
Ms Spielman believes a “toxic mix” of isolation, poverty and mental illness caused the March to October spike.
Due to restrictions, health staff and social workers were hampered and many regular visits could not take place, while others were carried out remotely, using the telephone or video links.
When schools were closed in March, children’s charities and teachers in the UK expressed fears that children at risk would be left even more vulnerable under lockdown.
Ms Spielman told a conference of local authority leaders on Friday: “Of course, babies can’t tell an adult if there’s a problem.
“Often, abuse is only uncovered when there’s a critical injury, or it’s too late.
“Another young life damaged, and in the worst cases, lost, before it’s really had the chance to begin… It doesn’t bear thinking about. But we must all be alive to this hidden danger.”
Every week, Ofsted is seeing more serious incident notifications about harm to under-ones – the youngest and most vulnerable of all children, she said.
‘Covid pressure cooker’
She added: “The pandemic has brought difficult and stressful times. Financial hardship, loss of employment, isolation, and close family proximity have put extra pressure on families that were already struggling.
“Poverty, inadequate housing, substance misuse and poor mental health all add to this toxic mix.
“You’ll be well aware of the increase in domestic violence incidents over the summer – just one symptom of the Covid pressure cooker.”
Over a quarter of all incidents reported to the child safeguarding practice review panel last year involved non-accidental injuries to babies.
This often involves children being abused by young parents, or other family or household members, who have very little social support, Ofsted says.
President of the Association of Directors of Children’s Services Jenny Coles said Covid-19 was exacerbating many of the difficulties that families face and putting more vulnerable babies at even more risk.
“The pandemic has seriously disrupted a key line of sight into the lives and homes of many families.”
As well as babies being intentionally harmed, Ofsted has seen a high number of unexpected infant deaths.
This includes preventable tragedies: babies not being put down to sleep safely, for example, sharing a bed or sofa with a parent who has been drinking.
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