Ellen Crushell News Today

The full impact of schools’ lockdown on children is laid bare in a briefing document from HSE paediatric experts.

Their evaluation was based on loss of education up to early January but pupils have missed another five weeks in school since then and it will be several weeks before most are back. The HSE experts questioned whether the rates of Covid-19 pertaining at the time and related risk to children’s health was sufficient to justify a second round of school closures. They warned then “a further period away from school will have an additional effect on their current and future education prospects. It...

Paediatricians and Public Health Doctors pressing for reopening of schools Reopening special needs schools urged to support developmental needs Paediatricians and Public Health Doctors at the Royal College of Physicians of Ireland are calling for the reopening of schools, in particular special needs schools, to be prioritised to support developmental and mental health needs. Today (February 1), the Faculties of Paediatrics and Public Health Medicine at RCPI welcomed the publication of a new re...

The Action to Address the Impact of the COVID-19 Pandemic on Children Experiencing Marginalisation and Homelessness report, written in collaboration with the RCPI, underlines the urgent need for schools to reopen. Dr Louise Kyne, Dean of the Faculty of Paediatrics at the RCPI, said the Covid-19 crisis had exposed and amplified existing inequalities and risks of harm facing vulnerable children. “This report underlines how important it is to consider these vulnerable children, particularly the ...