By Local children face more inequality than kids in the South
A new report has revealed that child inequality in the North has widened, as a result of the pandemic.
The report, by Child of the North, has claimed that the inequalities would cost billions and increase poverty in the future.
Although inequalities existed prior to the pandemic, isolation made it worse as children in the North were “disproportionately affected” and were “experiencing mental health difficulties,” the report claims.
This was particularly felt by children aged between five and 10 in the Yorkshire and Humber.
Authors of the report fear that the educational deficiencies these children were facing now will hurt them in later life in finding work.
Researchers found that as well as educational differences, children in the North were lonelier than their Southern counterparts.
It found that 23 per cent of parents reported that their children were ‘often’ lonely, compared to just 15 per cent in the rest of the country.
School disruption also damaged those in the North much more than those in the South.
Researchers found that children in the North East and Yorkshire and Humber missed between 4 and 5.3 months of school, by the 2020 Autumn term, whereas those in London and the South West missed less than a month.
Budget cuts have been pointed to by the report, as it says that £412 per child was cut in the North, compared to £283 in the rest of the country.
The report has put forward recommendations for central and local government to follow, including a call for greater investment in welfare, health and social care systems that support children’s health.
A spokesperson for the Department of Education said that the government was investing £5bn in “high quality tutoring, world class training for teachers and early years practitioners.”
“We’re supporting the most disadvantaged, vulnerable or those with the least time left in education – wherever they live – to make up for learning lost during the pandemic,” they added.
