Conservative MP Miriam Cates has called for the Government to acknowledge failings in opting to shut schools during lockdown.
Speaking on GB News, Cates said the “social contract” between schools and parents was “shattered” as a precedent was set for education to be carried out at home.
She added that “horrifying” statistics are showing a worrying increase in children born during the lockdown period arriving at school not able to speak.
“I don’t see how we can credibly say we have got to get kids in school if we can’t acknowledge what went wrong”, she said.
Miriam Cates said lockdown saw the severing of a social contract
GB NEWS / PA
“If schools had only been closed for three weeks, we wouldn’t have been having this conversation now.
“Without evidence or thinking about the consequences, this is what happened.”
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It comes amid a concerning decline in school attendance, with 125,000 pupils being absent more often than they were present in autumn 2022.
This represents a hefty surge from the 60,000 in 2019.
Cates hit out at the Labour Party for their role in the crisis, arguing they failed to effectively oppose school shutdowns.
“They did not want to reopen schools, they wanted more masks, more lockdowns”, she said.
Miriam Cates spoke to Andrew Pierce and Bev Turner about 'horrifying' school statistics
GB NEWS
“For Bridget Phillipson to come out and say ‘we need to get people back to school’, she is right, but we had no opposition.
“That’s why these measures were able to get through unopposed.”
The Shadow education secretary set out Labour’s plans to get children back into the classroom, with free breakfast clubs for primary schools being a flagship measure.
"Every day our children are in school is so incredibly important," Phillipson told the BBC. "It damages their life chances when they aren't there.
"So it's about that partnership we need to see between parents and schools, but also between schools and government, because governments have responsibilities as well."
Cates said she is worried about the “severe absences” in secondary school, with concerns about issues like mental health being “put on steroids” by lockdown.
“Levels of anxiety and depression are quite significant reasons for children not going into school”, she said.
“I think there is a strong link with social media. If you look at the Anglo Sphere from 2010, teenage mental health has collapsed.
“The only obvious reason is social media. We need to address this key issue which is ruining children’s mental health.
“It’s meaning they can be bullied at home as well as school. We need to consider whether we ban social media for kids.”
