Inquiry Told Schools Lost Track of ‘A Great Many’ Pupils in Lockdown

Scottish COVID-19 Inquiry hears that schools have seen an increase in ‘low level indiscipline’ and poor attendance since the restrictions ended.
Inquiry Told Schools Lost Track of ‘A Great Many’ Pupils in Lockdown
A five-year-old girl watches an online phonics lesson on a laptop in her bedroom on the second day of the nationwide school closures in Newcastle-under-Lyme, England, on Jan. 6, 2021. Gareth Copley/Getty Images
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Schools did not know where “a great many” young people were or what they were doing during the era of lockdowns and restrictions, the Scottish COVID-19 Inquiry heard.

Teachers and support staff were far less able to perform their duty of “social care,” in which they identified pupils experiencing problems outside school and put support in place when children were not attending class in person, the Edinburgh-based probe was told on Wednesday.

Rachel Roberts
Rachel Roberts
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Rachel Roberts is a London-based journalist with a background in local then national news. She focuses on health and education stories and has a particular interest in vaccines and issues impacting children.