By JADA BAS, REPORTER Published: 00:18 BST, 30 September 2025 | Updated: 00:35 BST, 30 September 2025
Children suffered 'grievous harm' from those who should have been caring for them in the pandemic, the Covid-19 Inquiry was told.Others became more exposed to violent pornography online or spent most of the day gaming instead of learning.The impact of the lockdowns that resulted in school closures disrupted the 'very fabric of childhood', the latest module of the inquiry heard on its opening day.Chairman Baroness Heather Hallett said Covid-19's impact on children and young people was 'severe and, for many, long-lasting' because they missed educational opportunities, social interaction and for the most at-risk they lost protection from abuse.Counsel to the inquiry Clair Dobbin KC claimed the closure of schools 'starkly highlighted' their importance as the agency that knows children and families best.Evidence will be produced to show a decline in the number of children referred to social services during school closures.Ms Dobbin added: 'The reality is there were children who suffered grievous harm at the hands of their carers during the pandemic. 'The carers of those children bear responsibility for the violence and neglect inflicted on children, and these children stand as the starkest examples of what adults are capable of doing to children behind closed doors.' Chairman Baroness Heather Hallett said Covid-19's impact on children and young people was 'severe and, for many, long-lasting' because they missed educational opportunities, social interaction and for the most at-risk they lost protection from abuseThe inquiry in London heard reference to evidence the Department for Education in England had not begun planning for school closures until after March 16, 2020, a detail described by Ms Dobbin as 'a cause for alarm'.The evidence of then-education secretary Sir Gavin Williamson is said to describe a 'discombobulating 24-hour sea change' from keeping schools open on March 16 to talking about closing them on March 17, and a decision the next day to shut them.Referring to differences in Sir Gavin's and then-prime minister Boris Johnson's evidence, she called it 'significant there should be dispute about whether planning for so seismic an event existed'.Ms Dobbin said schools are the 'early warning system' when it comes to safeguarding.Looking at time spent on the internet, Ms Dobbin said evidence from the National Crime Agency made the point 'school closures and furlough caused more children and child sexual abuse offenders to be online' and that increased time children spent online was identified 'as a threat'. She quoted one young person as saying: 'People would answer the remote lesson call in bed and would have the camera off and would be posting on their Instagram stories, literally watching The Only Way Is Essex.'Teachers, parents and educational psychologists in an impact film shown at the start of yesterday's proceedings spoke about the 'significant' effect on learning and the impact on the mental health of young people.Steve Broach KC, on behalf of organisations including Save the Children, claimed the interests of children and young people were 'routinely overlooked or deprioritised'. This part of the inquiry is expected to last four weeks.
