Mark Willis

WillisPalmer has long been concerned about the plight of vulnerable children during lockdown but fears were heightened when Ofsted stated in its annual report that child abuse could be going undetected.

When lockdown restrictions were announced in March 2020, WillisPalmer and its CEO, Mark Willis, raised alarm bells that a lengthy lockdown period could not be justified as it could cause more societal, health and wellbeing issues than the coronavirus itself. However, now approaching September, many children in England have experienced six months with no education, little routine, scarce social interaction and for the vulnerable children in society, a worse fate of witnessing domestic abuse, being neglected, experiencing emotional, physical or sexual abuse and not knowing where the next hot meal is coming from. In this article, Willis outlines the severity of the problem and presents WillisPalmer’s Children’s Charter, set up to ensure that all children impacted negatively during lockdown have access to help and support as soon as possible to address the problems and thrive.