the times | Friday August 28 2020 2GM 9News
No child who was not already pro-
foundly ill has died of Covid-19 in Brit-
ain, a large study has indicated, with the
researchers saying that the results
should reassure parents as a new school
term begins.
The study looked at 260 hospitals in
England, Wales and Scotland. Out of
the 69,500 patients admitted with prov-
en Covid-19 in the first six months of
the year, 651 — or 0.9 per cent — were
under 19 years of age.
Six deaths of minors were recorded.
Three were newborn babies with other
severe health problems. The other
three were aged 15 to 18 years old and
also had “profound health issues”.
Calum Semple, professor in child
health and outbreak medicine at the
University of Edinburgh, who is the
senior author of the study, said: “The
deaths that we did observe were child-
ren with what we would describe as
profound co-morbidities — not a touch
of asthma, not cystic fibrosis.”
These children’s underlying illnesses
would have been considered as “life-
limiting”, he said. “We did not have any
deaths in otherwise healthy school-
aged children.”
Professor Semple, who is a member
of the government’s Scientific Advisory
Group for Emergencies (Sage) but was
speaking in a personal capacity, said
that parents should be “confident that
the children are not going to be at direct
harm by going back into school”.
He added: “This is the data which
Chris Whitty [the chief medical officer
for England] has been relying upon
when he says that we can be quite sure
that Covid in itself is not causing harm
to children on a significant scale.”Virus ‘vulnerability gap’
harms traumatised pupils
Nicola WoolcockSchools will struggle to overcome a
“vulnerability gap” between children
traumatised by Covid-19 and those
happy to be back at school, a new report
claims today.
Even the government’s extra funding
will not be enough to help children to
catch up, according to research pub-
lished by the Institute for Public Policy
Research. It says mental health support
for the most vulnerable pupils must be
prioritised.
The polling, conducted for the think
tank by Teacher Tapp, found that 70 per
cent of teachers feel unable to close the
attainment gap without additional
support for pupils who have experi-
enced bereavement, mental ill health
or abuse during lockdown.
The government has put in place a
£1 billion “Covid catch-up plan” to pro-
vide extra tuition for struggling pupils.
However, this extra tuition does not
help address what IPPR calls the “vul-
nerability gap” — poor mental health,
neglect and domestic abuse, which can
form barriers to learning.
School closures during the pandemicare likely to have made the situation for
vulnerable learners worse, it says, as
emerging data suggests domestic abuse
and mental ill health have increased
significantly during the pandemic.
Fewer than half of teachers felt confi-
dent about knowing if their pupils had
experienced a bereavement during
lockdown and only a third felt they
would know which pupils had deterio-
rating mental health.
Just a fifth said they would confident-
ly know if their pupils had experienced
domestic abuse. The report said the
government should require schools to
identify and report data on students
they believe to be vulnerable as child-
ren return to school.
Harry Quilter-Pinner, associate
director at IPPR, said: “We must ensure
that the most vulnerable children get
the support and attention they need to
thrive.”
A separate survey of 1,500 teachers
by Place2Be, a charity supported by the
Duchess of Cambridge which provides
sessions in schools, found only a third
of teachers were confident in recognis-
ing mental and emotional problems
among pupils.The exams regulator is planning a
public relations drive to repair its repu-
tation after the A-level and GCSE
grades controversy.
Ofqual has advertised a contract
worth up to £80,000 for “supply of
media advice and strategy delivery” to
implement its “recovery plan”.
The spending has been criticised by
Conservative MPs, with some back-
benchers privately urging the govern-
ment to scrap the regulator.
Robert Halfon, Tory chairman of the
education committee, said: “I would
rather Ofqual spent any funds on mak-
ing their exam grades fair rather than
using taxpayers’ money to employ yet
more communications officers. It is not
PR that’s needed but good governance.”
Mr Halfon, a former education min-
ister, has questioned whether Ofqual
should be shut down, saying last week
that ministers in the Department forOfqual seeks PR help to save image
Education should have “proper control
and accountability”.
Ofqual’s request for media experts
says: “We are looking for a senior press
office service to provide media advice
and strategy to the chief regulator and
the board in a fast-paced and demand-
ing environment.
“The successful tenderer will be
expected to deliver the following: a
demand-responsive and resilient ser-
vice on a full-time basis, which will
include weekends, to develop and lead
media campaigns and to implement
Ofqual’s recovery plan.”
Ofqual already employs a team of ten
under its director of communications,
according to its website.
The chief executive, Sally Collier,
quit on Tuesday over the downgrading
of A-level and GCSE results and subse-
quent reversal. The Times revealed that
she is nevertheless in line to keep a
senior civil service role.
No one at Ofqual or the Cabinet
Office would confirm whether shewould receive a payoff after resigning
from her £200,000-a-year post.
Ms Collier was due before the educa-
tion committee next week to answer
questions about the results fiasco.
Ofqual said it would “ensure there is ap-
propriate representation” in her place.
Gavin Williamson, the education
secretary, had refused to express confi-
dence in her. He also declined to accept
that he was personally responsible for
failings by the government over the
debacle.
During a school visit on Wednesday
Boris Johnson acknowledged to pupils
that the situation had been stressful for
those awaiting results. “I’m afraid your
grades were almost derailed by a
mutant algorithm,” he said. “I know
how stressful that must have been for
pupils up and down the country.”
Another casualty of the affair was the
most senior civil servant at the Depart-
ment for Education, Jonathan Slater.
No 10 said it was time for “fresh official
leadership” at the department.Ross Kempsell
Special Correspondent, Times RadioNews
masks to avoid wrath of parents
All children who
died of Covid-19 were
already seriously ill
Rhys Blakely Science Correspondent Dr Olivia Swann, the study’s lead
author and a clinical lecturer in paedi-
atric infectious diseases at the Univers-
ity of Edinburgh, said: “Nothing is ever
risk-free, but for myself as a parent, as a
children’s doctor, and as a researcher, I
find this study and these numbers ex-
tremely reassuring. I hope that they re-
assure parents throughout the UK.”
The study, published today in the
BMJ, also shows that black children
were between two and three times
more likely than others to enter inten-
sive care because of Covid-19. Children
who were obese and infants under one
month old were also at a heightened
risk of developing serious complica-
tions. The absolute level of risk, how-
ever, was very low, the researchers
stressed.
The study also identified new symp-
toms of a rare but severe inflammation
syndrome — known as Multisystem In-
flammatory Syndrome in Children
(MIS-C) — that significantly increases
the risk of children with Covid-19 need-
ing intensive care. The symptoms pre-
viously associated with MIS-C includ-
ed conjunctivitis, a rash or gastrointes-
tinal problems such as abdominal pain,
vomiting and diarrhoea. The study
found that children with the condition
also experienced headaches, tiredness,
muscle aches and a sore throat.
The typical age of children hospital-
ised was five years old. About 35 per
cent were less than 12 months old and
42 per cent of patients had at least one
other condition. The most common in-
cluded neurological conditions and
asthma.
The study identified 52 patients who
had MIS-C. These children were five
times more likely to be admitted to in-
tensive care.Dowling, top (Elizabeth Pargetter) and Buffy Davis (Jolene Archer) are recording editions of The Archers together again at
the BBC Radio 4 soap switched to producing monologues, but has now responded to listeners’ pleas to return to normalBBC/PA