CHILDREN from every school in Darlington have been invited to give evidence at an inquiry into the impact of the Covid pandemic on young people.

Darlington Borough Council’s children and young people’s scrutiny committee chair Councillor Cyndi Hughes said she was hoping to hear the experiences of scores of both primary and secondary school children at a hearing later this month.

A panel of councillors have recently heard evidence from council officers, academics, mental health practitioners, youth groups and charities about what has been on offer.

Cllr Hughes said she had a strong response from headteachers, who wanted the inquiry to feature “all voices, especially those that are seldom heard”. She said: “Councillors are interested in hearing directly from young people themselves in order to understand whether services are known about, being accessed equally across the borough and cover the full spectrum of need.”