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England's vulnerable teenagers at risk of 'falling off the radar'

<span>Photograph: REX/Shutterstock</span>
Photograph: REX/Shutterstock

Tens of thousands of vulnerable teenagers whose lives have been disrupted by Covid-19 are at risk of slipping out of education and becoming easy prey for criminal gangs, the children’s commissioner for England has warned.

Anne Longfield said more than 120,000 teenagers in England with a history of exclusion, persistent absence from school and periods missing from care could “fall off the radar” without focused intervention as the country comes out of lockdown.

Many more will struggle to adapt to normality after six months out of school, with young people who have finished year 11 – the final year of secondary school – and those whose apprenticeships may have collapsed of particular concern, she said.

The commissioner’s report looked at the number of teenagers aged 13-17 in each local authority in England who were on the radar of schools and social care in 2017/18. It found that 123,000 fell through gaps in provision, becoming invisible to services.

According to the report, teenagers in Liverpool, Medway and Blackpool were the most likely to fall through the gaps, while those in areas like Wokingham, Barnet and Rutland were the least.

“Even before the lockdown, one in 25 teenagers in England were falling through gaps in the school or social services systems,” said Longfield. “This puts them at increased risk of unemployment or of exploitation by gangs and organised criminals.

“Many of these children, and I fear many thousands of other vulnerable teenagers, have had very little structure to their lives over the last six months. School was often a stretch for them, and I am concerned we are never going to get some of them back into education.

“If we do not act now, this could result in a lost generation of teens – dropping out of school, going under the radar, getting into trouble, and at risk of being groomed by gangs and criminals.”

Longfield said it was vital to identify these young people and “do whatever it takes” over the summer to stabilise their lives, calling on councils, schools, police and youth workers to work together, and summer schemes to be made available to the most vulnerable.

“We must not look back in five years at a generation of vulnerable teenagers who fell out of society and ended up drifting into crime and unemployment. They need extra help now as we emerge from lockdown.”

The Local Government Association said children’s social care referrals had fallen by more than half in some areas during the crisis, from an average of almost 1,800 per day, raising concerns that not all young people were getting the support they need.

“The impact of the pandemic on some children will be far-reaching, and it will be essential that the right services are there to support them,” said Cllr Judith Blake, chair of the LGA’s children and young people board

The commissioner’s warning came as Amanda Spielman, the chief inspector of schools in England, conceded it might make sense for a “small minority” of students to drop a GCSE because of the amount of learning lost due to the coronavirus crisis.

Speaking on the BBC Radio 4 Today programme, the head of Ofsted warned against any “blanket” dropping of subjects. “It may make sense for a small minority of children perhaps to drop a subject they might otherwise have been doing, or for schools to decide that they will provide a curriculum with slightly less scope in some subjects in primary school, to make sure that the core English and maths do get fully back on track, but that’s very different from wholesale slicing out of chunks of curriculum.”

A government spokesperson said: “Schools and colleges have remained open throughout the pandemic to vulnerable children and those of critical workers, and we have worked across government and with the sector to make sure young people stay safe at this time.

“Ahead of a full return to school and college in September, we are expanding frontline charity support and helplines to reach more young people, working with local authorities and schools to ensure they have ‘eyes and ears’ on those at most risk, and supporting pupils leaving alternative provision this summer to stay engaged in education, employment or training.”