Question reference: S5W-34125
- Asked by: Iain Gray, MSP for East Lothian, Scottish Labour
- Date lodged: 16 December 2020
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Current status: Answered by John Swinney on 8 January 2021
Question
To ask the Scottish Government how it is complying with the World Health Organization (WHO) COVID-19 guidance regarding children and face coverings, which states that "If authorities decide to recommend mask-wearing for children, key information should be collected on a regular basis to accompany and monitor the intervention. Monitoring and evaluation should be established at the onset and should include indicators that measure the impact on the child’s health, including mental health; reduction in transmission of SARS-CoV-2; motivators and barriers to mask wearing; and secondary impacts on a child’s development learning, attendance in school, ability to express him/herself or access school; and impact on children with developmental delays, health conditions, disabilities or other vulnerabilities."
Answer
We are continuing to develop and implement plans for monitoring the impacts of face coverings on children and young people. These form part of wider arrangements for ensuring an understanding of the impacts of COVID-19 and risk mitigation measures in schools and on children and young people. We are developing these arrangements in a proportionate and adaptable way given the fast changing nature of the situation with the virus.
Our approach to understanding the broad impacts of all mitigations on levels of infection and transmission, which we will continue to build upon to cover issues around face coverings, includes the following key sources of information and evidence:
- Public Health Scotland currently collect and publish testing and case data for children and young people.
- The Scottish Government collects and publishes attendance and absence data.
- An infographic providing a weekly snapshot of current COVID-related data in relation to children and young people, such as the number of tests and positive cases reported, and the attendance and absence of both children and staff in childcare and school settings. This information is reviewed on a weekly basis by the COVID-19 Education Recovery Group (CERG).
We are also regularly reviewing the existing and emerging evidence base on face coverings and other restrictions for children and young people. We have commissioned or supported a number of surveys or focus groups to add to the existing evidence base. Some have reported, while others are forthcoming. They include the following:
- We are commissioning an omnibus survey of secondary school pupils running in January 2021 which will include questions on awareness of face coverings requirements, attitudes towards requirements and wellbeing impacts of face-covering requirements.
- Regular polling on COVID-19 has included questions on parents’ awareness of guidance for children and young people, as well as attitudes to restrictions and requirements.
- We supported the Scottish Youth Parliament, YouthLink Scotland and Young Scot to deliver Lockdown Lowdown 2, which included a number of focus groups with vulnerable groups that explored views on face coverings among other issues.
- We are working with Public Health Scotland on a second wave of COVID-19 Early Years Resilience and Impact Survey which will include questions around face coverings and children under 7.
We are also currently working with Young Scot to establish a national ‘learner - education recovery panel’ of 15 children and young people, ages 9 to 18. Young Scot will support the panel to meet on a monthly basis, feeding directly into the CERG.
The CERG considers stakeholder feedback, including from public health and educational experts, on the impact and effectiveness of risk mitigation measures in schools on a weekly basis. This supports our qualitative understanding of the experiences of children and young people, parents and staff. We have worked with the Scottish Youth Parliament to identify and support a young person to join the CERG and the current Scottish Youth Parliament vice-chair sits on the group to gather, represent and directly feedback the voices and views of children and young people.
As this evidence is collated and assessed over time, our expectation is that it will provide a useful basis on which to adjust or amend policy and guidance as appropriate.