Children need back-to-school plan urgently, doctors tell Johnson

Unprecedented letter from paediatricians says further delay will put life chances at risk

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More than 1,500 of the UK’s leading paediatricians and child health specialists have told Boris Johnson he needs to urgently publish the government’s plans for children to return to school, in an unprecedented warning that their absence “risks scarring the life chances of a generation of young people”.

The letter circulated by the Royal College of Paediatrics and Child Health (RCPCH) – the first time it has asked its members to sign a joint message to the prime minister – quickly attracted hundreds of signatures in support of its blunt message: “Left unchecked, Covid-19 will exacerbate existing problems and deepen structural social and health inequalities.”

Related: Four in 10 pupils have had little contact with teachers during lockdown

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from Children | The Guardian https://ift.tt/2BfmWaY