Bruce Adamson

Bruce Adamson said he has “grave concerns” over the impact of the pandemic on children.

Mr Adamson said the lockdown has had a “disproportionate impact” on children, particularly those “who were already at risk”.

He told BBC Scotland: “Those quarter of children in Scotland who were already experiencing poverty, those already with additional mental health support needs, and disabled children - the children we were already most concerned about are the ones I am really, really worried about.

“We changed all of their worlds really quickly, and supports like education and community-based support disappeared very quickly, and that really exacerbated the challenges a lot of children were facing.

“Children’s voices were really lost in our decision making about how to deal with the pandemic.”

He added that Scotland has a “reasonably good” record of including children in decisions about their future but that this was “almost seen as an additional afterthought” when the pandemic began.

He said: “For older children the changes to the SQA system and exams was particularly stressful, but also the discussions around virtual learning and how to reopen schools. Children should have had a seat at that table and been involved in decision making.”