‘They’re about two years behind’: fears for children born during lockdown as they start at school

Covid's world of masks and remote health visits has created a generation at risk of social and emotional difficulties

Babies born in 2020 started life in the strange world of lockdown in a small bubble of people with faces hidden behind masks. Social experiences, such as seeing extended family, trips to the playground or mother and baby groups, could not happen. And struggling public services meant infants were likely to miss out on face-to-face appointments with a health visitor who might have been able to spot developmental difficulties early.

Those babies are now four years old, and in England are arriving at school for the first time this week. Experts say teachers should be braced to encounter - and tackle - problems ranging from poor speech and language development to social and emotional difficulties.