Ministers ‘hope to allow children’s team sports to restart in next month’ in bid to avoid ‘calamitous’ mental health impact of lockdown
- Schools set to reopen on March 8 according to plans to be revealed on Monday
- Ministers are planning to ease rules for outdoor exercise at end of next month
- Children ‘should be allowed to play team sports without social distancing’
Children could be allowed to partake in team sports from the end of March to avoid the ‘calamitous’ impact lockdown is having on youngsters’ mental and physical health.
Schools are set to reopen on March 8 according to Boris Johnson’s plans which he will publish on Monday.
Ministers are worried about children’s mental health in particular so they may be allowed to play team sports such as football without social distancing. But team sports for adults are set to be banned until summer.
Schools are set to reopen on March 8 according to Boris Johnson’s plans which he will publish on Monday
Children’s Commissioner Anne Longfield has urged the Prime Minister to allow children to join in sports and other activities when they return to school after spending the past year cooped up inside.
She added that Mr Johnson should lift draconian bans on children being allowed to play outside together and said they should be exempt from the rule of six.
Ms Longfield told the Sun that children’s team sports should be reintroduced as soon as safely possible.
Because ministers are worried about children’s mental health in particular, they may be allowed to play team sports such as football without social distancing
She said: ‘No one wants to put infection rates in jeopardy in any way. But as we progress and decisions are taken in terms of relaxation and outdoor space, I would want children to be in the first thoughts of the government.
‘Getting kids back to a place where kids can learn but also socialise is just so important.’
Prime Minister Boris Johnson said: ‘As this goes on and the lockdown continues, the stresses and strains are really, alas, I think, beginning to tell on people and it’s very important for everybody to realise that NHS mental health services are still there for you.
Children’s Commissioner Anne Longfield has urged the Prime Minister to allow children to join in sports and other activities when they return to school after spending the past year cooped up inside
Prime Minister Boris Johnson said: ‘As this goes on and the lockdown continues, the stresses and strains are really, alas, I think, beginning to tell on people and it’s very important for everybody to realise that NHS mental health services are still there for you’
‘You should use them if you need them. I hope that there isn’t that much longer to go now but, you know, clearly people have been under a lot of pres- sure and we’ve got to address that.’
Top paediatricians across the country have warned of the ‘calamitous’ impact lockdown may have on children.
Consultant in paediatric respiratory medicine, Claire Hogg, wrote a letter to The Times last month warning of the damage being done to children’s development.
It comes after Scotland’s first minister Nicola Sturgeon announced that children between the ages of four and eight and some senior pupils will go back to school next week.
Source: Read Full Article
