Lightnews — Scholar-powered news

Prof Cat Davies @catdavies.bsky.social · 7d

My written report and hearing transcript are at: covid19.public-inquiry.uk/documents/tr...

Hearing recording (day 2, 4:42-6:53): covid19.public-inquiry.uk/hearings/chi... (/end)

Transcript of Module 8 Public Hearing on 30 September 2025 UK Covid-19 Inquiry Archives

Transcript of Module 8 Public Hearing on 30 September 2025

covid19.public-inquiry.uk

Prof Cat Davies @catdavies.bsky.social · 7d

🫶 Keeping essential services open, such as early years education, health visiting, and safeguarding, with protected funding, access to PPE, testing, and ventilation
💰 Enhanced support for the most socioeconomically, developmentally, and clinically vulnerable families. (10/)

1

Prof Cat Davies @catdavies.bsky.social · 7d

In the event of a future pandemic or comparable national emergency, we recommend:

📊 Balancing the risk of infection against the risk to children’s welfare and development, monitoring metrics for both and adjusting policies accordingly (9/)

1

Prof Cat Davies @catdavies.bsky.social · 7d

❤️‍🩹 Funding long-term research into children’s development after the pandemic. (8/)

1

Prof Cat Davies @catdavies.bsky.social · 7d

❤️‍🩹 Equal access to high-quality early education, supported by a professionalised early education workforce (7/)

1

Prof Cat Davies @catdavies.bsky.social · 7d

❤️‍🩹 A long-term cross-government early years strategy backed by sufficient, secure funding, effectively targeting the social determinants of educational inequalities (6/)

1

Prof Cat Davies @catdavies.bsky.social · 7d

To help children and families recover from the long, inequitable shadow of Covid-19, we recommend:

❤️‍🩹 Targeted, integrated support for the communities hit hardest, e.g. for socioemotional development and early speech, language, and communication (5/)

1

Prof Cat Davies @catdavies.bsky.social · 7d

We need to think differently about the under-fives due to their vulnerability to the environment, dependency on adults and quality interactions, and their critical window for development. (4/)

1

Prof Cat Davies @catdavies.bsky.social · 7d

This was due to multiple, simultaneous risks, including social isolation, stress at home, and restrictions to children’s services such as early education, health visiting, and social care – services which were already under extreme pressure before the pandemic. (3/)

1

Prof Cat Davies @catdavies.bsky.social · 7d

Covid-19 restrictions had significant, quantifiable, and lasting detriments on the development of the youngest and most vulnerable children, and intensified attainment gaps between advantaged and disadvantaged groups in the UK. (2/)

1 2

Prof Cat Davies @catdavies.bsky.social · 7d

Yesterday I gave oral evidence at the @ukcovid-19inquiry.bsky.social, based on our report 'Little Lives, Big Changes: How Covid-19 Shaped Early Years Services and Children’s Development from Birth to Five Years'. (1/11)

UK Covid-19 Inquiry @ukcovid-19inquiry.bsky.social · 8d

Prof Catherine Davies (Expert in Child Development) is giving evidence to the Inquiry today. You can view it on the live stream (and via playback) through our YouTube channel 📺 now 👇

www.youtube.com/@UKCovid-19I...

1 2 2

Reposted by Prof Cat Davies

Warren Pearce @warrenpearce.bsky.social · Jul 4

After two really enjoyable days at #Metascience2025, I wrote about how one 🌶️ moment encapsulated the controversy over metascience's issues 📑, inclusivity 🤗and future public value 🔮 #STS #AcademicSky

All feedback welcome on here, or by email 😀

warrenpearce.pika.page/posts/what-i...

What *is* metascience? Issues, inclusion and future public value - Warren's blog: Publics, politics, science and technology

This week, the biennial Metascience Conference came to London’s “Knowledge Quarter” with around 800 participants from a wide range of roles, including researchers, librarians, research funders, publis...

warrenpearce.pika.page

7 35 97

Prof Cat Davies @catdavies.bsky.social · Jul 5

As people working in research, I'd argue that it's literally our job to critically analyse the field; to acknowledge and challenge power imbalances. The critical should be inherent in the movement/ self-styled discourse coalition. 2/2

1 4

Prof Cat Davies @catdavies.bsky.social · Jul 5

Thanks for amplifying this tension, apparently realised starkly on day 2 (I'd left just before). Along these lines, the session on critical metascience on day 1 was great but inadvertently set out a simplistic dichotomy of pro/anti MS (as called out by @cjcontarino.bsky.social). 1/2

1 3

Prof Cat Davies @catdavies.bsky.social · Jul 2

I had a thoroughly lovely time at #Metascience2025 but was struck by the lack of explicit mention of research culture or environment. What gives? And what’s the difference anyhow? Some train-journey thoughts on the symbiosis between metaresearch and research culture. www.linkedin.com/pulse/two-he...

Two hemispheres: Metascience vs Research Culture

Just back from Metascience2025 in London, its fourth global gathering and the first outside of the US (held online in 2021). 830 participants representing 65 countries, some better acclimatised to the...

www.linkedin.com

1 1 9

Prof Cat Davies @catdavies.bsky.social · Apr 13

My letter outlining some of the essential underpinnings of the rollout of 300 new nurseries as part of the opportunity mission:
✔️Workforce professionalisation
✔️Family engagement
✔️Research-to-policy routes, including a dedicated scientific advisory committee.

www.theguardian.com/education/20...

Good news at last for early years support | Letter

Letter: Dr Catherine Davies celebrates government funding for nurseries in England’s schools

www.theguardian.com

1

Prof Cat Davies @catdavies.bsky.social · Mar 31

Plus ickle.leeds.ac.uk looked at kids transitioning from YR to Y1 in 2020

ICKLE Project

ickle.leeds.ac.uk

1

Prof Cat Davies @catdavies.bsky.social · Mar 31

The SDDS project may also be of interest babylab.brookes.ac.uk/research/soc...

Babylab - Social Distancing and Development

The effects of social distancing policies on children’s language development, sleep and executive functions.

babylab.brookes.ac.uk

1

Prof Cat Davies @catdavies.bsky.social · Mar 31

Hi Jenny, sorry to come to this late. The @bicycle-study.bsky.social is looking at the cognitive and language skills of kids both before, during, and after lockdown bornincovidyear.co.uk Happy to discuss our work!

BICYCLE Study

bornincovidyear.co.uk

2 1

Prof Cat Davies @catdavies.bsky.social · Mar 17

Not just a retrospective, the programme scrutinises the continuing difficulties in accessing support services, and the widening of attainment gaps between advantaged kids and their disadvantaged peers.

Hugely relevant TV. (/end)

Prof Cat Davies @catdavies.bsky.social · Mar 17

Frontline professionals and families speak to the role of early education in children’s lives: their social, emotional, and language development, and the importance of family engagement in school. It highlights the deprioritisation of children’s wellbeing in policy decisions through Covid-19. (4/)

1

Prof Cat Davies @catdavies.bsky.social · Mar 17

It's a well-produced overview of longer-term effects of lockdown on the youngest in society, with insights from former children's commissioner Anne Longfield, Bridget Phillipson, and other policymakers. (3/)

1

Prof Cat Davies @catdavies.bsky.social · Mar 17

Tonight’s Panorama looks at how kids who spent their early years in lockdowns are doing now. Some amazing children, families, teachers, as well as us researchers contributed to this edition. (2/)

1

Prof Cat Davies @catdavies.bsky.social · Mar 17

Five years ago lockdown was coming, and families with kids facing what would be months of juggling work, family and illness, homeschooling, screens, and (at my homeschool at least) epic amounts of rolling around on the floor. (1/).

www.bbc.co.uk/iplayer/epis...

Panorama - Lockdown Kids: Five Years On

Branwen Jeffreys meets with families and teachers to find out how they are helping some of the youngest children impacted by lockdown to catch up on their education and social development.

www.bbc.co.uk

1 2

Prof Cat Davies @catdavies.bsky.social · Feb 19

Shoutout to this how-to paper, which is a nice complement to our own: van der Meer et al. (2024) The practicalities of a partial lottery to allocate research funding, Research Evaluation, rvae023, doi.org/10.1093/rese... (4/4)

The practicalities of a partial lottery to allocate research funding

Abstract. This article explores the practical dimension of organizing a partial lottery as an alternative funding allocation mechanism in academic institut

doi.org

2 3