Forgotten Children: Lasting Harms to Children in Clinically Vulnerable Families
- @cv_cev
- Oct 1
- 2 min read
Published 1 October 2025
This October, Clinically Vulnerable Families (CVF) is releasing our latest report capturing the voices and experiences of children and young people growing up in households at greater risk from Covid-19.
For the first time, we share national survey data alongside testimony from families to show the real impact of the pandemic on children in Clinically Vulnerable households.
What you’ll find inside
Our evidence reveals a hidden crisis in education, wellbeing and inclusion:
80% of children in CVF households were persistently absent from school in 2021–22.
42% of families were pressured to deregister or “off-roll” their children, often unlawfully.
46% of exam-age students missed at least one GCSE or A-level due to unsafe conditions.
Children who wore masks to protect their families were bullied, with 27% experiencing physical abuse.
Families faced safeguarding referrals not because of neglect, but because they sought to protect vulnerable relatives.
Voices from the report
“We were threatened with prosecution until our GP signed both our children off due to the safety risk… Both my children were unlawfully off-rolled in spring 2022.” - Nicky, 53, Parent
“My exams were taken in small, stuffy rooms… I knew I was at increasing risk as I watched sickness ripple through my year group.” - Mason, 21, CEV young person
“Our son was widely bullied for by children at school for wearing a mask.... Some even tried to remove it from him physically.” Gemma, Parent
These are not isolated accounts. They are common experiences repeated across hundreds of households.
Why it matters
Children in Clinically Vulnerable families were left to choose between education and lives. The harms they suffered - poorer attainment, exclusion, stigma, and mental health struggles - were not inevitable. They were the result of a system that failed to adapt to legitimate increased risk to life and health.
Read the full report
The injustices were preventable. Reasonable adjustments such as remote access, safe exams, and recognition of household risk could have protected children’s right to education.
Children in Clinically Vulnerable families deserve the same rights, safety, and opportunities as every other child.
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