More than 1,500 paediatricians have signed an open letter urging the prime minister to make the wider reopening of schools a “priority”.

The doctors are calling on the government to “urgently publish a clear plan for getting children back to school” in order to mitigate risks to their physical and mental health during the coronavirus pandemic.

The letter, addressed to Boris Johnson, was signed by 500 paediatricians within an hour of being sent to UK-based members of the Royal College of Paediatrics and Child Health (RCPCH).

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It argues that interruption to schooling caused by the coronavirus crisis “risks scarring the life chances of a generation of young people” and warns that, without a clear forward plan from the government, “the effects of Covid-19 will linger far beyond the pandemic itself”.

“Clinically, most young people have been spared the worst effects of Covid-19 but the health and social impact will be severe,” it states. 

It continues: “The brunt of the impact of Covid-19 is and will continue to be borne by children and families who have the fewest resources and need the most support.

“The attainment gap was significant long before the pandemic. Children from disadvantaged backgrounds are twice as likely to leave school without national qualifications in English and maths compared with better off peers.

“Left unchecked, Covid-19 will exacerbate existing problems and deepen structural social and health inequalities.”

The letter adds: “We recognise the efforts of school leaders, local authorities, teachers and other professionals, who have worked tirelessly to facilitate learning for our children and young people.

“They deserve decisive leadership from the top of government.”

Professor Russell Viner, president of the RCPCH, said: “The response to this letter in such a short time shows the very real concern paediatricians have for the mental and physical health of children who have now missed many months of education and the broader benefits schools bring.

“Children need their schools. Every child deserves to have an uninterrupted education and teachers, school leaders and local authorities have worked tirelessly to provide that before and during COVID. But teachers do so much more than teach and schools provide so much more than education.

“Schools are vital to the wellbeing of children and young people, providing a range of services from vaccinations to mental health support.”

He added that it is difficult to know how some of the country’s most vulnerable children are faring while they are “outside of the safety net that school provides”.

“Schools are also where at-risk children are looked out for and supported,” he said. 

“Right now, we don’t know how some of the most vulnerable children in our society are faring because they are outside of the safety net that school provides.

“And, of course, schools are also where our children run around, play and laugh and argue with each other.  They need to return to that sort of a healthy normality as soon as possible.”

Liz Marder, a consultant community paediatrician working in Nottingham who signed the letter within two minutes of it being sent out, said: “Up until now, very few children have been directly affected by Covid-19.

“But, indirectly, many children and young people have suffered enormously from the impact that the pandemic has had on their daily lives. It is our most vulnerable children, such as those from disadvantaged families or those with additional needs, who may suffer most.

“Getting children safely back into education as soon as we can has to be a priority if we are to avoid further damage to the health, well-being and life chances of so many of our young people.”

A government spokesperson said: “This week, secondary schools have begun welcoming back Year 10 and Year 12 pupils as part of a phased plan, and we announced that primaries can bring back more children if they have capacity.

“We are working to get all pupils back in the classroom by September because we know being in school is vital for their education and wellbeing.

“We have placed significance on mental health in our planning framework for schools and launched a new training module to support schools to teach about wellbeing issues as part of the health curriculum as children go back.”

Read the open letter in full below:

As paediatricians we are increasingly concerned by the continued absence of millions of children from schools. This interruption is without precedent and risks scarring the life chances of a generation of young people.

Clinically, most young people have been spared the worst effects of Covid-19 but the health and social impact will be severe.

The brunt of the impact of Covid-19 is and will continue to be borne by children and families who have the fewest resources and need the most support. The attainment gap was significant long before the pandemic. Children from disadvantaged backgrounds are twice as likely to leave school without national qualifications in English and maths compared with better off peers. Left unchecked, Covid-19 will exacerbate existing problems and deepen structural social and health inequalities.

School is about much more than learning. It is a vital point of contact for public health services, safeguarding and other initiatives. This includes access to mental health support, vaccinations, special therapies, free school meals, physical activity and early years services that help children get the best start in life. For many children and their families, these interventions are the difference between surviving and thriving. In their absence our already frayed safety net cannot function, and we risk failing a generation.

We recognise the efforts of school leaders, local authorities, teachers and other professionals, who have worked tirelessly to facilitate learning for our children and young people. They deserve decisive leadership from the top of government.

We note that plans have been published for children to begin returning to school in Scotland and Wales. We call on the UK government and the Northern Ireland Executive to urgently publish clear plans for getting children back to school; and for all UK governments to deliver recovery plans for children and young people.

Without such action, the effects of Covid-19 will linger far beyond the pandemic itself and will limit the life chances of children and young people for years to come.