Some young teenagers are ‘falling through the gaps’ and are at risk of educational failure and unemployment, or crime or exploitation, it is claimed by the Children’s Commissioner for England. In numbers, that is put at 123,000 teens in England falling through gaps in mainstream provision and becoming invisible to services in 2017/18 – that is, before the coronavirus pandemic.
Anne Longfield said: “Even before the lockdown, one in 25 teenagers in England were falling through gaps in the school or social services systems. This puts them at increased risk of unemployment or of exploitation by gangs and organised criminals. This summer I am particularly worried that teenagers who have finished year 11, who have seen their apprenticeship collapse, or have simply lost their way through lockdown will simply fall off the radar. Teenagers in colleges have so far been left out of catch-up funding.
“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.
“We need to identify these children quickly and do whatever it takes over the summer to stabilise their lives and get them prepared for the structure of school again.
“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.”
In more detail, a report sets out an ‘urgent need for local agencies – councils, schools, youth workers and police – to focus resources on teenagers at risk of becoming ‘invisible’ to services or who have gone missing under lockdown. These teens are easy prey to criminal gangs and abuse’.
While the national rate of teens falling the gaps was around 4pc, in Liverpool, Medway and Blackpool it was over 7pc. The rate was below 2.5pc in Wokingham, Barnet, Kingston upon Thames, Westminster, Harrow, Richmond upon Thames, West Berkshire and Rutland.
Comment
For the Association of Police and Crime Commissioners, APCC Serious Violence Lead and PCC for West Yorkshire, Mark Burns Williamson said: “PCCs are working closely with many partner organisations to support the more vulnerable in society and help divert them away from a life of potential crime and exploitation. Indeed, our funding and establishment of multi-agency violence reduction units (VRUs) is providing a key strategic response to address and tackle the complex and long term issues of serious violence, which often blights the lives of victims and families in our communities.
