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ABSTRACT
This paper examines the unintended consequences of emergency school closures during the COVID-19 pandemic and explores the impact of these closures on children and young people’s United Nations Convention on the Rights of the Child (UNCRC) and wider physical health rights. It addresses how States Parties should address and balance these rights during a crisis. It then contextualises the school closures, using global data mainly collated by the Royal College of Paediatrics and Child Health (RCPCH), exploring the direct health risk to children and young people from COVID-19 and the risk they posed to the wider community, finding both low. It then draws on findings from the Children and Young People’s Commissioner, Scotland’s COVID-19 Independent Children and Young People’s Rights Assessment (ICRA) and wider literature identifying numerous unintended rights breaches, focusing on the rights breaches experienced by three particularly vulnerable groups of children and young people, namely those (i) at risk of physical or sexual violence; (ii) with additional support needs; and (iii) experiencing poverty and deprivation. Recommendations are made as to how to avoid breaching children and young peoples’ physical health rights in future emergency school closures.
Disclosure statement
No potential conflict of interest was reported by the author(s).
Notes
1 UNESCO, UNESCO Figures Show Two Thirds of an Academic Year Lost on Average Worldwide to COVID-19 School Closures (2021).
2 WHO, European Technical Advisory Group on School during COVID-19, Recommendations, June 2021.
3 Committee of the Rights of the Child, ‘General Comment No.15 (2013) on the right to the enjoyment of the highest attainable standard of health (art 24)’, United Nations, CRC/C/GC/15, 17 April 2013, para II A.
4 Mental health rights are address [insert details of relevant paper in special journal].
5 UN General Assembly, ‘Convention on the Rights of the Child’, 20 November 1989, United Nations, Treaty Series, vol. 1577.
6 UN General Assembly, Convention on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities, United Nations, adopted by the General Assembly 24 January 2007.
7 Council of Europe, European Convention for the Protection of Human Rights and Fundamental Freedoms, as amended by Protocols Nos 11 & 14, 4th November 1950.
8 HM Government, The Equality Act 2010, C.15.
9 Committee of the Rights of the Child, ‘General Comment No.15 (2013) on the right to the enjoyment of the highest attainable standard of health (art 24)’, United Nations, CRC/C/GC/15, 17 April 2013.
10 Committee of the Rights of the Child, Statement: ‘The Committee on the Rights of the Child warns of the grave physical, emotional and psychological effects of the Covid-19 pandemic on children and calls on States to protect the rights of children’, United Nations, 8th April 2020.
11 Committee of the Rights of the Child, ‘General Comment No.14 (2013) on the right of the child to have his or her best interests taken as a primary consideration (art 3)’, United Nations, CRC/C/GC/14 (2013).
12 C. Stokel-Walker, ‘What We Know About COVID-19 Reinfections so Far’, BMJ 372, no. 99 (2021), https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nihm.gov/33468457/ (accessed March 30, 2021).
13 Royal College of Paediatrics and Child Health, Research evidence summaries (RCPCH, 2020), last updated 12th March 2021, https://www.rcpch.ac.uk/resources/covid-19-research-evidence-summaries (accessed March 30, 2021).
14 O. Irfan and others, Risk of Infection and Transmission of SARS-Cov-2 Among Children and Adolescents in Households, Communities, and Educational Settings: A Systematic Review and Meta-analysis’, Journal of Global Health 11 (2021): 05013.
15 O. V. Swann, and others, ‘Clinical Characteristics of Children and Young People Admitted to Hospital with Covid-19 in United Kingdom: Prospective Multicentre Observational Cohort Study’, BMJ 370 (2020): m3249. doi:10.1136/bmj.m3249.
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21 L. Heavey and others, ‘No Evidence of Secondary Transmission of COVID-19 from Children Attending Schools in Ireland’, European Communicable Disease Bulletin 25, no. 21 (2020), https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/32489179/ (accessed March 30, 2021).
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23 J. Ehrhardt and others, ‘Transmission of SARS-CoV-2 in Children Aged 0–19 Years in Childcare Facilities and Schools after their Reopening in May 2020, Baden-Württemberg, Germany’, Eurosurveillance 25, no. 36 (2020), https://www.eurosurveillance.org/content/10.2807/1560-7917.ES.2020.25.36.2001587 (accessed March 30, 2021).
24 S. A. Ismail and others, ‘SARS-CoV-2 Infection and Transmission in Educational Settings: Cross-sectional Analysis of Clusters and Outbreaks in England’, The Lancet Infectious Disease 21 (2020): 344–53, https://www.thelancet.com/pdfs/journals/laninf/PIIS1473-3099(20)30882-3.pdf (accessed March 30, 2021).
25 UK Gov, ‘Restricting Attendance During the National Lockdown: Schools, Guidance for all Schools in England’, Department for Education, Feb 2021, p. 6.
26 As education is a devolved matter the decision to close schools in Scotland, Wales and Northern Ireland were made by the devolved administrations in each of those nations.
27 Gov.UK, ‘SAGE 4–74 Minutes Coronavirus (COVID-19) Response,’ 4th February 2020–22nd December 2020, SAGE minutes, https://www.gov.uk/government/collections/scientific-evidence-supporting-the-government-response-to-coronavirus-covid-19#meeting-minutes-and-supporting-papers (accessed March 28, 2021).
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29 Gov. UK, SAGE 31 minutes Coronavirus (COVID-19) response 1st May 2020, https:www.gov.uk/government/publications/sage-minutes-coronavirus-covid-19-resonse-1-may-2020 (accessed March 30, 2021).
30 England, Scotland, Wales, and Northern Ireland.
31 Gov.UK, ‘Press Release Statement from the UK Chief Medical Officers on schools and childcare reopening’, Department of Health and Social Care, 23rd August 2020, https://www.gov.uk/government/news/statement-from-the-uk-chief-medical-officers-on-schools-and-childcare-reopening (accessed 30th March 2021).
32 As education is a devolved matter within the UK, the Westminster government, overseen by the House of Commons, decides education policy within England only.
33 House of Commons, ‘Education Committee Scrutinises the Science Behind School Closures’, House of Commons Education Committee Formal Minutes of the Committee Session, 2019–21.
34 Osama Rahman, Chief Scientific Adviser, Department of Education and Dr Douglas Hargreaves, Deputy Chief Scientific Adviser, Department of Education.
35 Children’s and Young People’s Commissioner Scotland, Independent Children’s Rights Impact Assessment on the Response to COVID-19 Scotland, (2020), appendix 1.
36 STV, ‘Key Dates in Scotland’s Covid Battle a Year on from First Death’, STV, 13th March 2021, https://news.stv.tv/Scotland/key-dates-in-scotlands-covid-battle-a-year-on-from-first-death?amp (accessed March 30, 2021).
37 Children aged 5–7 years of age.
38 Scottish Government, Childcare provision for key workers, 20th March 2020, https://www.gov.scot/news/childcare-provision-key-workers/ (accessed March 30, 2021).
39 Scottish Government, Advice and Guidance, Coronavirus (COVID-19) School and early learning closures – guidance about key workers and vulnerable children, 31st March 2020, https://www.webarchive.org.uk/wayback/archive/20200816084856/http://www.gov.scot/publications/coronavirus-guide-schools-early-learning-closures/pages/closures/ (accessed March 27, 2021).
40 It is only possible in a paper of this length to consider some of the health rights breached and the children impacted. Physical health rights identified early in the pandemic by civil society as having been breached and these breaches having significant impact on children are chosen for discussion.
41 P. Lanier and others, ‘Adverse Childhood Experiences and Child Health Outcomes: Comparing Cumulative Risk and Latent Class Approaches’, Maternal and Child Health Journal 22 (2018): 288–287, https://doi.org/10.1007/s10995-017-2365-1 (accessed March 30, 2021) & K. Moore and others, ‘Adverse Childhood Experiences & Adolescent Well-being: Do Protective Factors Matter?’, Child Indicators Research 9 (2016): 299–316, https://doi.org/10.1007/s12187-015-9324-4 (accessed 30th March 2021).
42 Scottish Parliament, ‘Aberlour Response to the Scottish Parliamentary Education and Skills Committee Inquiry, Vulnerable Children During the Coronavirus Outbreak’, 6th May 2020, https://archive2021.parliament.scot/S5_Education/General%20Documents/20200507Aberlour.pdf (accessed March 30, 2021).
43 Campbell and Cosans v The United Kingdom, ECHR 25, 25th February 1982, Application 7743/76.
44 Z and Others v The United Kingdom, 2001, Application 29092/95.
45 Family Fund, Impact of Covid-19 Research, UK Findings, May 2020, https://www.familyfund.org.uk/Handlers/Download.ashx?IDMF=0dcffffe-f803-41de-9a4a-ccc8fef282d4 (accessed March 30, 2021).
46 K. Horridge, ‘Equal Outcomes for All Disabled Children?’, The sixth Adam Bojelian Memorial Talk, March 2020, https://theadsfoundation.org/adam-bojelian-memorial-talks/ (accessed October 27, 2021).
47 BBC News, Reality Check, Free School Meals, How Many Children Can Claim Them?, 26th October, 2020, https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/54693906 (accessed May 17, 2021).
48 House of Commons, Library Research Briefing: School Meals and Nutritional Standards (England), 23rd June 2021.
49 Scottish Government, News, Free School Meals, 5th June 2021, https://www.gov.sot/news/free-school-meals-1 (accessed October 27, 2021).
50 A. A. Parnham and others, ‘Half of Children Entitled to Free School Meals Did Not Have Access to the Scheme during COVID-19 Lockdown in the UK’, Public Health 187 (2020): 161–164, ISSN 0033-3506, https://doi.org/10.1016/j.puhe.2020.08.019 (accessed March 28, 2021).
51 M. Aceves-Martins and others, ‘Child Food Insecurity in the UK: a Rapid Review’, Public Health Research 6, no. 13 (2018): 1–162, https://doi.org/10.3310/phr06130 (accessed March 25, 2021).
52 Fuel poverty is defined by Liddell having to spend more than 10% of the family income to heat the living room to 21°C and bedrooms to 18°C.
53 C. Liddell, Policy Briefing-The Impact of Fuel Poverty on Children (Belfast: Ulster University), https://pure.ulster.ac.uk/ws/files/11789864/The_Impact_of_Fuel_Poverty_on_Children_Feb_09%5B1%5D.pdf (accessed 11th May 2021).
54 NHS Health Scotland, Child Poverty: Scale, trends and distribution in Scotland, June 2019, www.healthscotland.scot/publications/child-poverty-scale-trends-and-distribution (accessed March 30, 2021).
55 The Scientific Advisory Group for Emergencies (SAGE) provides scientific and technical advice to support UK government decision making during emergencies.
56 Gov.UK, SAGE 4–74 Minutes Coronavirus (COVID-19) response, 4th February 2020–22nd December 2020, https://www.gov.uk/government/collections/scientific-evidence-supporting-the-government-response-to-coronavirus-covid-19#meeting-minutes-and-supporting-papers.
57 Gov. UK, Transparency data. List of participants of SAGE and related sub-groups, updated 22nd February 2021, https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/scientific-advisory-group-for-emergencies-sage-coronavirus-covid-19-response-membership/list-of-participants-of-sage-and-related-sub-groups (accessed March 30, 2021).
58 Seven participants of the Children’s Task and Finish Working Group have not given the UK government permission to name them, so potentially one or more of these seven could have relevant expertise.
59 Scottish Government, COVID-19, Advisory Group, undated, accessed 27th March 2021, https://www.gov.scot/groups/scottish-government-covid-19-advisory-group/ (accessed March 30, 2021).
60 Scottish Government, Coronavirus (COVID 19): Advisory Sub-Group on Education and Children’s Issues minutes: 23 June 2020.
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62 Office of National Statistics, Public sector finances, UK: January 2021, Gov, UK, 19th February 2021, https://www.ons.gov.uk/economy/governmentpublicsectorandtaxes/publicsectorfinance/bulletins/publicsectorfinance/january2021 (accessed March 28, 2021).
63 Committee on the Rights of the Child, General Comment No.5 (2003) General Measures of Implementation of the Convention on the Rights of the Child, United Nations, 27th November 2003, CRC/GC/2003/5.
64 Scottish Government, Impact Assessment Coronavirus (COVID-19) Closure and reopening of schools- children’s rights and wellbeing impact assessment, 30th July 2020, https://www.gov.scot/publications/childrens-rights-wellbeing-impact-assessment-closure-reopening-schools-part-covid-19-recovery-process-scotland/ (accessed March 30, 2021).
65 X Hong, ‘China’s state council extends spring festival holiday’, China Daily, 27th January 2020, https://www.chinadaily.com.cn/a/202001/27/ws5e2e0f0ea31012821727356b.html (accessed March 29, 2021).
66 UNESCO, 290 million students out of school due to COVID-19: UNESCO releases first global numbers and mobilises response, 4th March 2020, https://en.unesco.org./news/290-million-students-out-school-due-covid-19-unesco-releases-first-global-numbers-and-mobilizes (accessed March 27, 2021).
67 Scottish Government, Publication- Advice and Guidance, Coronavirus (COVID-19) guidance on reducing the risks in schools, 24th March 2021, https://www.gov.scot/publications/coronavirus-covid-19-guidance-on-reducing-the-risks-in-schools/ (accessed March 30, 2021).
Additional information
Notes on contributors
Zoe Picton-Howell
Zoe Picton-Howell is a tutor of medical education at University of Edinburgh Medical School, a solicitor and healthcare law academic and director of the Adam Bojelian Foundation which works directly with NHS organisations and staff to help improve their understanding of healthcare law and ethics. Zoe has a PhD from University of Edinburgh Law School which explored health professionals understanding of law and ethics when making end-of-life decisions for disabled children and a LLM in Human Rights from the Glasgow Graduate Law School. Zoe has severed on numerous national child health and rights advisory, investigative and professional guidance drafting committees.