Lost before Lockdown – the Hidden Generation Let Down by Compulsory Schooling

The closing of UK schools to most children during the Covid 19 outbreak on an unprecedented scale, not even witnessed during the World War conflicts, caused ripples of panic across the UK. The risk to the future life chances of children and young people caused the nation to respond, from celebrities teaching children online to footballers influencing government policy. The risks associated with inaccessible school proved an unbearable thought to many. Yet the last decade has witnessed thousands of children and young people being unable to access school. These children and young people have special educational needs and disabilities (SEND), despite harrowing media stories about children being socially isolated with their future unknown, the country did not respond. Policy interventions by successive UK governments, since the late 1970’s have continued to be embedded with the intention of inclusion and reaching potential – yet many of the children at the centre remain invisible and forgotten. This research considers how policies, politicians, and educational professionals speak of children as a collective, yet fail to see the generation lost before lockdown.