YOUNG PEOPLE are demanding action from politicians to tackle mental health issues, as a survey from children’s charity Barnardo’s reveals that many feel ignored by the government during the COVID-19 crisis leading to increased levels of emotional distress.

Working with Barnardo’s, children and young people from the charity’s services in Bristol, Buckinghamshire, London and Plymouth carried out surveys to find out the impact of the pandemic on young people.

And the charity also carried out a nationwide survey of children and young people it supports to see how they have been coping during the lockdown.

Lack of information

A key theme running through the surveys, published in a report called In our Own Words, was children and young people feeling they were being ignored by decision makers during the pandemic.

Many said they were concerned about the level of information they had received and said a lack of information had contributed to their anxieties and fears around the virus. 

In the national survey, more than half said they were unhappy with the information available to them, citing reasons such as sources being confusing, negative (exacerbating their mental health needs) and often untrustworthy. Only 17%  were satisfied. 

Isolation

Isolation was a big issue for all the groups surveyed, not just young carers. This included in Bristol where over a third (34%) of children and young people interviewed reported significant isolation and in Plymouth where isolation was identified as a key issue.

The report also says  COVID-19 is having a disproportionate impact on the mental health and wellbeing of BAME children and young people. Kooth, one of the biggest providers of NHS online mental health support, also says it has seen a 26.6%  increase in BAME children contacting them with suicidal thoughts, compared to 18.1% for white children.

Among the recommendations made by the charity are involving children and young people in COVID-19 recovery planning, providing a programme of free summer resilience-building social activities and rebalancing the education system so that it prioritises child welfare and wellbeing alongside academics.

Barnardo’s Chief Executive Javed Khan said:“The coronavirus lockdown has felt like a lifetime for children and young people, and the negative effects could last a real lifetime if they do not have the right support for their mental health and wellbeing. 

“This is particularly true for the vulnerable children Barnardo’s supports including children in the care system, children at risk of abuse and children from BAME communities.

Profound effect

“Young people do not feel they have been heard by decision makers during the pandemic but the choices made today will have a profound effect on their future. That’s why for this new report we gave young people the opportunity to survey their peers and to co-produce the recommendations. 

“It’s vital we take immediate action – with programmes over the summer and when children return to school, and in the longer term we owe it to children to ‘build back better’ with a system that is radically better than the one we had before. 

“That means moving past tiers and thresholds towards an inclusive approach that embraces digital services, alternative therapies and community-based help, alongside clinical care. We must also end the ‘cliff edge’ facing young people when they reach 18.”