THE silent advance of Covid-19 around the world has spared no part of society from its embrace. This virus cares not for wealth or background, nor geography. It affects us all, but the immediate and long-term impacts are being, and will be felt by those who can least afford them, most notably children.

It is estimated by Unicef that 90 per cent of the world’s school children have had their education disrupted by Covid-19. That’s 1,500,000,000 young people in real numbers.

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The UN Convention on the Rights of the Child, every article of which will soon be enshrined in Scots law according to the First Minister, states that “every child has the right to an education. Primary education must be free and different forms of secondary education must be available to every child. Discipline in schools must respect children’s dignity and their rights. Richer countries must help poorer countries achieve this.”

It is difficult to believe this is being upheld right now. From recent experience, in the outbreaks of Ebola in West Africa for example, those rights don’t mean much – not all of the missing children will return to education any time soon and some of them never do. Those who don’t are put firmly in harm’s way, at greater risk of sexual violence, early marriage and teenage pregnancies. Some will never find a way back to a normal existence and to learning.

In sub-Saharan Africa, 89% of children cannot read or understand a simple story when they leave primary school. That’s a sobering and heart-breaking fact from distant lands; hard for us to comprehend.

But what of the enduring negative impacts on our own children too? What does sustained social isolation do to the child who relies more than we know on contact with friends and teachers and the order, structure and discipline of a school day?

Schools provide much more than just education – they are often safe places, protecting children from harm. They shape characters, build resilience and improve mental and physical health. In some places, closer to home than you might think, they provide the only access a child might get to good food, clean water or sanitation.

There is much talk of reimagining life beyond Covid-19, and that thinking must now be applied to our schools and the education which is soon to be a legal right for all Scots children. Too many leaders live only in the moment – in this case battling the health crisis – and only occasionally looking up to glance at the social and economic catastrophe which is already well over the horizon.

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In that storm exists a crisis for the world’s children, on whose small shoulders will fall the heavy weight of Covid’s horrible legacy. We must urgently lift our eyes and think bold thoughts that go well beyond classroom layouts.

These are not straightforward issues but governments, trades unions and teachers have a real opportunity now to demonstrate that the wellbeing and education of children and young people are central to their thinking.

It is imperative that they grasp that and reimagine schools and education everywhere, including here in Scotland, demonstrating through their actions that they care about our children, not least the most vulnerable. New ways of teaching, better use of community spaces, remote learning, online, offline, new and old media, at school or at home. There should be no limit to the imagination applied to this most important job.

Malcolm Robertson is a founding partner of Charlotte Street Partners and chair of the Scotland Advisory Board for Unicef UK