Uncertainty, disruption, increased screen use and crippling anxiety are some of the legacies since pandemic school closures

When it comes to disasters, children are habitually “ignored and mistreated”, according to the disasters expert Prof Lucy Easthope. So five years ago, when schools were told to close and lessons went online, a siren went off inside her.

“The lockdown terrified me,” she said. The government’s planning was focused on keeping children safe, but many were at increased risk from domestic and family abuse at home. The introduction of online schooling, meanwhile, broke the hard-earned social contract between schools and parents “for a lifetime”.