A Cambridge professor says the interests and voices of children and young people should be respected after they were “dropped down the agenda” during the Covid lockdown. An article by Prof Tamsin Ford in the British Medical Journal said efforts should be made to bring children and young people on board, even during an emergency like the pandemic.

It followed findings that 200,000 research studies on mental health impacts were carried out at the height of the pandemic, but only 35 concerned children. Prof Ford said big decisions were made about children and young people, but they were barely involved.

The peer reviewed article also described how experiences diverged. Some families enjoyed additional time together, but children in abusive households, and young carers, faced isolation and extra threats to their mental wellbeing.

Co-author, Ann Sabu, 18, from Cambridge, who is studying to be a doctor, said when schools reopened, she noticed some of her peers struggling with anxiety. She called for better access to mental health support for children and more research as to why some struggled during the pandemic, while others did not.