A secondary school in East Yorkshire has reported a sharp increase in safeguarding cases, with numbers more than doubling compared to pre-pandemic levels. Hornsea Secondary School recorded 265 incidents since September, up from 102 during the same period before lockdown.
Headteacher Steve Ostler described the figures as "alarming" and told East Riding councillors that the school had seen a rise in pupils self-harming, eating disorders, and domestic violence at home. He said schools were increasingly having to address the fallout from the pandemic and the cost of living crisis.
Mr Ostler noted that the issue was not confined to Hornsea but was affecting all schools. "This is what school staff are dealing with now and education is almost being pushed to the backbenches," he said. He added that a "bulge of children" were in very difficult situations, and schools were facing significant financial pressures.
The council's Children and Young People Sub-Committee was also told that the number of children eligible for free school meals in the East Riding had risen from around 6,000 before the pandemic to 8,500. Schools Director Eoin Rush stressed the importance of early intervention and creating a climate of optimism for pupils.
"Headteachers are shot through with a determination to keep going," Mr Rush said, adding that the responsibility did not lie solely with schools. He noted that pupils' reactions to the pandemic were understandable and families were under intense pressure.
