Children at the heart campaign graphic

More than 150 charities, teachers and frontline services have issued a joint statement calling on the Government to make this generation of children as central to the nation’s Coronavirus recovery plans as health and the economy, ahead of the Chancellor’s mini budget this week.

The charities warn the Government that today’s children and young people are facing unprecedented threats to their childhoods and futures. As well as the disruption to their schooling, living standards and family lives caused by the crisis, they have been growing up at a time where services protecting children are at breaking point, school budgets under pressure and job losses soaring.

With family budgets taking a hammering from lockdown, organisations including Action for Children, Barnardo’s, National Children’s Bureau, NSPCC, The Children’s Society and many others, have joined forces to urge the government to prioritise and protect vulnerable children and young people, starting with the Chancellor’s mini-Budget.

As well as giving financial support to shore up family finances, the Prime Minister is being called on to protect the most vulnerable children and young people, including those with disabilities, mental health difficulties, children who have suffered abuse and those from minority communities.

Those working with children will be essential in getting the country back on its feet and investment in this must play a central part of the Chancellor’s plans, including funding for local authority children’s services that step in early to help children before families reach breaking point as well as mental health and wellbeing support for children returning to school.

The statement and the full list of 152 organisations supporting it are available at: www.ncb.org.uk/childrenattheheartofrecovery