1/ The poor during lockdown;

In poorer, working class towns, the majority of jobs, when there are any, are in supermarkets and the care (mainly elderly) industry. This makes them “key workers”.

2/ It’s then of no surprise that poor schools, in poor areas are dealing with large amounts of “key worker” children

One local school has 150 “key worker” children, which, by the headmaster’s own admission, makes closing the schools utterly pointless and “defeats the object”

3/ Any other children in the local area are, more likely than not, the children of the unemployed.

In towns like Camborne, Pool, and Redruth, where house prices are extortionate, wages incredibly low, compared to the rest of the UK,

4/ Water rates and Council Tax higher than anywhere else in the UK outside of London*for decades, having a baby and getting a council property has been a career choice, as opposed to something to fall back on in a time of desperation.

5/In towns Like Camborne, there is little opportunity. There are few Doctors, Architects, Brain Surgeons, entrepreneurs, Solicitors, and various other successful people to inspire the next generation. Because, of course, people earning that sort of money,

6/...wouldn’t choose to live in towns like this.
So, the young, are forced through the education system, that imposes Pythagoras rule on them, and demands they know where Bolivia is on a map, iterating the narrative that anything less than academia is something to be sneered

7/ ...at and looked down upon. Gone are the days when Trades were seen as a good job to have and something to be proud of.

8/ When they are finally spat out at 15, they are left disillusioned by the world around them. They feel worthless, useless and thick. And now, they are expected to go out and work, and be a productive member of society.

9/In places like Cornwall, these opportunities are few and far between. Especially for young girls.

So how do they break away from home? They have a baby. Hey presto! Council flat & benefits.

10/ This is not a criticism of these young people. It is a criticism of the system.

Every single one of these young parents has something to offer the world.

11/ They may not use the right “their” or “your” when complaining about bin day on Facebook, but they’re good people, on the whole, with a god moral compass. Without doubt, these young mothers are the first to tell their kids to say “please” and “thankyou” whilst blue haired,

12/ middle class women, head to toe in Sea Salt clothes, that cost a fortune and look like they need an iron, allow their “Ophelia’s” and “Ezra’s” run wild about the place, the words “no” foreign to them, whilst demanding we all respect their children’s pronouns and vegan hummus

13/ But during lockdown, these mothers, not working in a job that affords them “key worker” status, are left dealing with their, often, many children, to school, for 3 hours a day each. Yes, many schools have provided laptops, yes, the schools have provided incredible online

14/ learning, but these mums are struggling.Let down by the school system themselves, they’re now having to do the job, with multiple children, from various age groups, as someone trained for 4 – 7 years as a teacher.

15/ Their child doesn’t give the mother the same respect as they would a teacher, and the mother doesn’t have the patience, training or skills to teach the child. Mothers are having to ask their children what various terminology means, and then try and teach their children…”it”.

16/ So, in poor areas like this, already lacking role models, wealth and a decent schooling system, these children are now lacking any teaching, any socialisation or any structure.

And these are the good mothers. Poor, not well educated, but good, loving mothers.

17/ However, in poorer areas like this, there is, of course, an abundance of crime, drug taking, sexual abuse, neglect and all sorts of other depravities.

Any children in homes like this, what happens to them?

18/ For children in homes like that, school was a rest bite. For 6 hours a day, they’re not raped, not beaten, not called names. They’re safe, they’re fed and are treated with respect. Over the last year, who will notice that a child has bruises, has lost weight, is withdrawn,

19/ ...or angry, or violent, or any other important markers of abuse?

In a normal year, 1 in 3 children in the UK experience some level of abuse in the home. For every classroom of 30 children, 10 of those will be experiencing some sort of abuse or neglect.

20/ But now, those children have absolutely nowhere to turn and nobody to notice.

There will be no food. No rest bite. No help. Nobody to notice the bruises and weigh loss. The nits, the neglect. The smell, the unbrushed teeth...

All signs of neglect.