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Report: School-based Support for Syrian Refugee Pupils in Northern Ireland

Posted on by Andrew McAteer


Over the past 5 years Northern Ireland has welcomed approximately 1,900 Syrian refugees, including almost 700 school-aged children and young people, through the Vulnerable Persons Relocation Scheme (VPRS). Many of these have experienced war and persecution, and a range of additional adversities during and post-migration. Alongside language proficiency, ‘trauma’ has been the most common challenge reported by school staff to the Education Authority’s (EA) Intercultural Education Service (IES). In response, during 2020-21 a new pilot referral service for schools, the Schools Trauma Advisory and Referral Service (STARS), was formed, with the overall aim of reducing the impact of trauma as a barrier to learning and managing the demands of a school day.

This independent research was funded by the EA and had the following aims: i: to better understand the educational experiences of Syrian refugee pupils and explicate the support requirements of teachers and schools; 2: to investigate barriers to accessing the educational environment which may have resulted from the sequelae of previous trauma; 3: to provide an evidence base to inform the service design and delivery of STARS.

A Review of International Evidence

The report contains three distinct strands. The first is a scoping review of international evidence relating to school-based interventions, practices and approaches that address trauma and other psychosocial difficulties among refugee pupils since 2010. This summarised the findings from 11 studies, covering a range of trauma-informed practice in schools ranging from CBT-based interventions to other informed by a TST model, to a wide array of alternative approaches that harness the beneficial effects of music, art and play. We paid particular attention to how these interventions had been implemented in their unique contexts, and with what outcomes, to identify effective, engaging and efficient modes of working.

Consulting with Syrian Refugee Pupils and their Parents

The second strand is a pair of surveys with Syrian parents and pupils to identify barriers and difficulties experienced in school, including those relation to experiences of trauma. Given the exceptional school closures at the time due to the Covid-19, direct engagement through focus groups or interviews was not an option. Survey responses nonetheless covered a significant proportion of Syrian refugee families in Northern Ireland (~20%) and bring their vital voices into the research.

Gathering teachers to share experiences

Finally, a set of online focus groups with teachers investigated the support requirements of teachers and schools, and any barriers to education resulting from the sequelae of previous trauma amongst refugee pupils. 16 teachers representing a range of statutory educational settings were involved in the focus groups, and highlighted a desire for more widespread and available training and support for teachers educating multilingual, trauma-affected children and young people.

The report ends by identifying six major findings and makes six associated recommendations for consideration by EA colleagues and other related agencies.

1. Language acquisition is the main challenge

The first is that language issues were highlighted by all research participants as the main barrier to education and a major area where support is perceived to be lacking. We conclude that language as a barrier needs to be re-visited in terms of commissioning of services as there is not enough capacity in terms of either resourcing or teacher expertise/capacity. In addition, measures to address the impact of language barriers in accessing trauma support are greatly needed.

2. A strong evidence base exists for school-based interventions and practices

Our scoping review found a diverse range of potentially beneficial school-based interventions and practices that support refugee children and adolescents’ recovery from traumatic experiences worldwide. Where they converge is to demonstrate that it is vital that any interventions/practices are culturally sensitive and contextualised, taking into account the participants’ priorities, norms and values. Partnership with members of the Syrian community and other community organisations in the selection, adaptation, implementation and evaluation of interventions is vital.

3. Trauma has impacted some but not all

Our focus group results suggested that there is a default assumption among some school staff that all refugee pupils have experienced trauma and have barriers to learning as a result. However, while a third of Syrian parents reported that their children had experienced a traumatic event, this did not seem to be a barrier to accessing the educational environment according to most parents and pupils. A minority did report signs of trauma including attachment issues, avoidance, separation anxiety, and being quiet and withdrawn. There is a need for psychoeducation to develop understandings of trauma, and of mental health and wellbeing in general, both within the Syrian refugee community and amongst school staff.

4. Schools have a lack of information about refugee pupils

Schools reported a lack of knowledge about refugee pupils’ history and background. In the absence of this information, the biographical experiences that they relate to teachers may lead to the default assumption that trauma has impacted their wellbeing and learning. In the report we suggest systemic approaches through which professionals could gather information about prevalence and impact of previous experiences.

5. Schools have had success, but clear guidance is required

Syrian parents’ and pupils’ reports on school experiences and support were overwhelmingly positive. The focus groups with school staff highlighted professional commitment, passion and creativity in using existing knowledge and understanding, and in a sourcing a range of external supports to support Syrian children and young people. However, some school staff stated that they often had to rely on instinct or personal experience, rather than expertise, which made them feel inadequate and worried about the quality of their provision. A ‘Best Practice Guide’ for supporting refugee and asylum seeking pupils could provide evidence-informed, best practice advice for schools. There are good examples from other areas, but a Northern Ireland-specific, contextualised, guide is needed. In the report we have made further suggestions for what this could include.

6. The EA’s Intercultural Education Service support is valued and should be extended

Existing support is widely seen as helpful and is appreciated by teachers and schools. Interaction with IES/STARS personnel was consistently described as positive and helpful, but there was a clear call for this to be more widely available and accessible. With the addition of Educational Psychology staff to IES there is potential for a joined-up, responsive team with diverse expertise to deliver a holistic service for refugee and other newcomer children and young people.
Trauma training should be available for all schools and all staff, regardless of a school’s VPRS pupil population or a staff member’s role. Further collaboration and integration of trauma-informed training and practice across the EA and beyond may better serve school staff. Finally, local training/networking events that bring together staff from neighbouring schools to connect, share best practice, exchange resources and insights, and build capacity were highly sought-after by teachers in our focus groups. These could be facilitated by IES/STARS through reflective practice groups or group process consultation, which would be an effective and efficient approach to supporting a large number of refugee pupils.

Click here to read the full report

Click here to register for the CREU webinar on June 23rd 2021

Report: Loyalist and Republican Perspectives on Educational Underachievement in Northern Ireland

Posted on by Andrew McAteer

This small-scale pilot project, conducted in collaboration with St. Mary’s University College, owes its origins to an informal conversation held between its Principal Investigator and the facilitator of a group of loyalist community activists including former prisoners. During the discussion, the facilitator made it clear that the members of his group felt strongly about issues of educational underachievement and would welcome a conversation about the challenges faced by the loyalist community and how those difficulties might best be addressed. An invitation was issued to come and meet the members of the group. During the ensuing meeting, it soon became clear that this group felt strongly that theirs was a story that needed to be told and that this was one of educational disadvantage which, they felt, was not being heard or listened to by government. Consequently, they believed, the educational achievement gap, which they fully acknowledged, between the working-class Protestant community and the respective working-class Catholic community was destined to continue and to widen still further.

Struck by the eagerness of the members of this loyalist group to talk and to seek to redress the imbalance of their community’s educational outcomes, a project design was drawn up to explore individuals’ educational journeys, and to consider how they felt educational underachievement could best be addressed. Increasingly, however, it became clear that there was a need to include the “other” story too, the story of working-class republicans, including former republican political prisoners, to provide perspective on the loyalist concerns, but also as a story of immense interest in its own right.

Over twenty years since the signing of the Belfast Agreement, the Troubles continue to cast a shadow over communities in many different respects. Cycles of disadvantage and poverty within the communities most affected by the conflict are reflected in low levels of educational achievement, high unemployment, entrenched criminality and continued paramilitary activity. This small-scale pilot study, conducted in autumn 2020, examines the links between educational underachievement and social disadvantage in the context of Northern Ireland’s loyalist and republican communities. It draws on focus groups involving loyalist community activists (including former prisoners) and members of Coiste Na nlarchimí, a coordinating body for groups and projects providing services to republican ex-prisoners and their families.

Using a Bourdieusian theoretical framework, the report unpacks the salient points of similarity and difference in the reported educational experiences of loyalist and republican interviewees, and in their perspectives on how best to address educational underachievement within their communities. In doing so, it provides a basis for further work to understand the educational experiences and perspectives of loyalist and republican activists, as well as young people most at risk of involvement in paramilitarism. Such work is vital if our society is to unleash the transformative ‘liberating force of education’ to create a truly equitable education system to benefit all our children and young people within a more peaceful and prosperous society.

Loyalist and Republican Similarities and Differences

Despite obvious differences of political allegiance between the loyalist and republican focus group participants, there emerged some striking convergences of childhood educational experience within the respective working-class communities. There was a strong sense in which, as children, their opportunities were severely limited. Most grew up in families where education was valued, and there were several examples recounted of inspirational parents whose lack of formal educational qualifications did not limit their practical intelligence or readiness to engage in often political discussion and debate. Participants recognised that access to grammar schools was a pathway to academic success leading to enhanced job prospects, but most never contemplated such an educational pathway and knew few if any other children from their communities who had passed the 11+.

Nonetheless, significant differences began to emerge when discussion turned to the value and purpose of education at that time. Several of the loyalist participants spoke of how employment opportunities in Belfast’s heavy industry sector depended on family or community connections, rather than educational qualifications. The republican experience was markedly different, as forced displacement during the early years of the Troubles and greater involvement in street protests led to a much stronger identification with political struggle. A further significant distinction emerged in how education was perceived in prison by the respective groups. While the loyalist former prisoners spoke of their realisation of the value of education and of their engagement with Open University courses (e.g. Maths), these were on an individual level, and were unrelated to the external circumstances of the Troubles. For the republican prisoners, by contrast, education played a key role in developing greater cultural awareness and identity, but also provided an opportunity to instil political principles (including radical socialism) and to prepare for a longer republican political struggle following release from prison.

Addressing current challenges

Discussions around the current challenges of addressing educational underachievement again raised many similarities of perspective, with both groups speaking of the importance of a relevant, engaging curriculum which aimed to prepare children and young people for employment but also to develop a broader set of skills for life within broader society. Both groups agreed the need to abolish academic selection and transfer tests, which were universally seen to favour middle-class children and discriminate against children from their working-class loyalist and republican communities. Both groups were also clear that the problem of educational underachievement in their communities was complex and would require a range of solutions at different levels, including tackling poverty, housing and hunger, the problem of drugs (mentioned solely by loyalists), investing in early years provision in their communities and developing more extensive opportunities for community education and life-long learning. Both groups felt that there was a need for stronger links between schools and families/communities, but this seemed to be most acute among the loyalist participants, who spoke of a general disconnect between schools in their areas and the surrounding community.

This feeling of disconnection fed into an overriding impression from the loyalist participants of marginalisation, disenfranchisement and abandonment by the education system, the churches and mainstream Unionist political leaders. Participants spoke repeatedly of “closed shops”, “closed doors” and a lack of opportunity to exert a positive influence on children and young people’s educational futures, despite their best efforts. In contrast, the former republican prisoners enjoyed greater levels of acceptability within their own communities, easier access to schools, and a clear line of communication to political leaders, many of whom had similar life experiences to themselves as former prisoners or relatives of former prisoners.

The report ends by asking the following questions:

  • How do we, as a society, address effectively the underlying causes of educational underachievement (e.g. income poverty, unemployment, poor housing, hunger), exacerbated by the current pandemic and within a resulting context of financial constraints?
  • How do we create a more equitable education system in which no child is disadvantaged as a result of their social background?
  • How do we address the increasing political, social and educational marginalisation of the loyalist working-class community?

Link to the full report

Educational Underachievement in Northern Ireland: Review of Research 2021

Posted on by Andrew McAteer

This updated review seeks to build on the Evidence Summary published by CREU in January 2020. In the year since then, the significant and complex challenge of educational underachievement has been thrown into fresh relief by the coronavirus pandemic. This updated review adds more recently published research in the field of Educational Underachievement in Northern Ireland, to provide an up-to-date account of the research literature. It also considers this evidence in the light of the upheaval caused by the pandemic in our education system through school closures, home learning, and exam cancellations.

The review includes 62 original research articles and reports in its qualitative synthesis, highlights core themes and gaps in the existing research evidence, and recommends several priorities for future research and policy in this area:

1.

The overall assessment that in Northern Ireland, socio-economic inequalities in education lead to wider disparities in educational achievement based on wealth and class remains unchanged since Gallagher and Smith’s report in 2000. Since then, and despite policymakers’ repeated calls for progress in this area, only one substantial academic research project (Leitch et al., 2017) has fully focused on educational underachievement.

2.

It appears to be widely accepted that boys underachieve in relation to girls, but little research has attempted to explain why this might be the case in Northern Ireland. More research in this area is needed to identify ways in which boys can be more equally served by the curriculum in place here.

3.

Several statistical analyses point to inequalities between and within religiously defined groups in Northern Ireland. However, no recent research has evaluated the impacts of faith-based education on educational attainment and inequality or the role of the churches in addressing educational underachievement.

4.

Further research on the fairness of assessments, whether related to academic selection or public examinations, must be prioritised post-pandemic. Two key foci should be a) how curricular choices can be widened and access/inclusion improved through the use of educational technologies, and b) what adaptations are needed following a year with no transfer test, and what changes to the transfer process could enable greater social mobility.

5.

The impacts of Covid-19 have been wide-ranging and will continue to affect children and young people well into the future. Research is urgently required both to help understand the pandemic’s effects, and to rapidly identify and evaluate any new interventions introduced to mitigate these effects or to retain valuable elements of pandemic school practice, for instance around blended learning.

6.

Existing research and government monitoring of educational underachievement using GCSE and A-level attainment data skews our attention to post-primary education. However, there is a need for long-term evaluation of key policy interventions in Early Years introduced with the stated aim of raising attainment for disadvantaged children.

Click here to access the full report

On the 11th of May 2021 we held a webinar event to share the findings of the report and to stimulate discussion – you can catch up below:

Report: Second Northern Ireland Survey of Parents/Carers on Home-Schooling during the Covid-19 Crisis

Posted on by Andrew McAteer

The ongoing COVID-19 pandemic has once again forced the vast majority of parents/carers of school-aged children in Northern Ireland to engage in responsibility for ‘home-schooling’, with this second extended period of home learning extending from January to March/April 2021, with the exception of vulnerable children, the children of key workers and children attending special schools. In May 2020, the Centre for Research in Educational Underachievement (CREU) at Stranmillis University College, Belfast, published its first report on Home-Schooling in Northern Ireland During the COVID-19 Crisis (Walsh et al., 2020) which highlighted the often very different experiences of children and young people during the first six weeks of the first lockdown. Our report highlighted how home-schooling exacerbated existing inequalities: for instance, we found that less well educated parents felt less confident in supporting their children’s learning; we heard of particular frustrations expressed by working parents, especially key workers; and we learnt that digital poverty was presenting a challenge to many families with limited access to devices, printers and broadband. In the 2020 survey 31% of parents felt that their child(ren)’s emotional wellbeing had become ‘worse’ or ‘much worse’, 49% felt that it had stayed the same, and 20% felt that it had got ‘better’ or ‘much better’.

As we entered the second period of extended home-schooling, CREU launched its follow-up online survey which remained open from 9th-22nd February 2021. The survey had 2002 usable responses, which included data for a total of 3668 individual children, from every part of Northern Ireland. Our comprehensive report shares preliminary findings in order to inform policy and practice in the short- to medium-term as government, schools and society continue to confront the challenges of Covid-19.

Summary of Key Findings:

Home-schooling favours children with better-educated parents

As in 2020, parents with higher levels of education felt more confident in their home-schooling role, and were more likely to play an active role in supporting their child’s learning.

Digital accessibility at home is strongly related to household income

Although there was a slight increase from 2020 in the number of digital devices available to children, and a reduction in the percentage of parents reporting that they had no printer (18% in 2021, compared to 23% in 2020), children from households in the lowest income band were three times more likely to have no printer than children from households in the highest income band (30% vs 11%) and their parents/carers were considerably more likely to feel that the costs of printing (in terms of paper and ink) prevented them from using their printer (25% vs 3%). Children from low-income homes were also more likely to have to share a digital device and/or wait to be able to go online, and were less likely to report fast internet speeds. The geographical analysis also revealed that internet connectivity was worst in rural areas.

Parental experiences varied considerably by gender and employment

Once again the vast majority (96%) of respondents were female and there is a strongly gendered division of labour within most households in the sample, with women much more likely to be in the home, whether working or not, and responsible for child-care and home-schooling to a much greater degree than their male partners. Overall findings suggest that children spent longer on home-schooling activities in 2021 than in 2020, while those parents who reported finding time for home-schooling a challenge were most likely to be juggling work and home-schooling commitments, working either outside or inside the home. Additional questions explored the impact of home-schooling on parental mental health and highlighted that overall almost 80% of parents reported a negative impact on their own mental health and wellbeing, with the most acute impact felt by parents who were working from home.

The impact on children’s mental health and wellbeing, social skills, and behaviour was much more negative in 2021 than during the first lockdown of 2020

The majority of parents/carers felt that the current lockdown/school closures had resulted in their child/ren’s mental health and wellbeing becoming ‘worse’ or ‘much worse’ (51% in 2021 vs 31% in 2020). While 20% of parents in 2020 felt that their child’s mental health had become ‘better’ or ‘much better’, by 2021 this figure had fallen to just 7%. The more negative experiences in 2021 can also be seen in relation to parent/carers’ estimation of the impact of lockdown on their child’s social skills (49% ‘worse’ or ‘much worse’ in 2021 vs 29% in 2020), and level of behaviour (35% ‘worse’ or ‘much worse’ in 2021 vs 29% in 2020). In the current survey we also asked parents/carers about the impact on their child’s physical health and wellbeing and found that 47% felt that this was now ‘worse’ or ‘much worse’ than pre-lockdown with only 8% believing that it was ‘better’ or ‘much better’.   The survey did reveal, encouragingly, that where schools placed importance or high importance on nurture, safety and well-being (according to parents/carers) this had a highly significant, positive, impact on reported levels of motivation, mental health and wellbeing, social skills, and physical health and wellbeing, compared to those schools who were not reported to value these approaches.  Only a third (33%) of parents indicated that they were in favour of their child repeating the 2020/21 year due to the impact of school closures, with 54% opposed to the idea and 13% unsure. Parents of primary aged children were on the whole more likely to be in favour of their child repeating the school year than post-primary aged children, with the exception of the parents of P7 children where less than a quarter (24%) were in favour of their child repeating the year.

Parents/carers are broadly happy with both the quality and the quantity of learning resources provided by their children’s schools

Almost two-thirds (65%) of parents felt that the quality of learning resources was better or much better than during the first lockdown, with only 6% claiming that the provision was worse. The same majority (65%) were happy with the quantity of resources, an increase of 3% since the 2020 survey.

The number of parents who report that their child’s school engages in some live online teaching has doubled since 2020

Reports live teaching increased from 24% to almost 50%, while the number of schools not engaging at all in live online teaching has fallen from 77% to just over 50%. This is a significant shift, and represents a positive response to the most common recommendation given by parents in the May 2020 survey and in this survey. Nonetheless, this study has shown that the provision of live online teaching is still not universal, and is significantly skewed towards older, post-primary pupils and especially those attending voluntary grammar schools and Irish medium schools.

There are widely divergent experiences depending on the age and year group of the children

There were particular issues to emerge in respect of our youngest children who spent least time engaged in formal home-schooling activities and least time being taught live online. Their parents often reported that their children were missing opportunities to play and to be outside, but there are indications from the data that opportunities during lockdown to engage in play and in outdoor learning were associated with higher levels of motivation, mental health and physical health and wellbeing.

There was a focus on disrupted assessment for many parents

For instance, for parents of pupils in years 6-8, there was a strong focus on the transfer tests, including fear and anxiety expressed by parents of the current P6 cohort faced with the uncertainty of what might happen next year; anger and frustration by parents of the current P7 cohort whose year had been dominated by the postponement and eventual cancellation of the transfer tests, with a feeling among a majority that contingency assessment methods ought to have been planned earlier; and among year 8 parents a belief that their children had missed out on the normal preparation for transition to post-primary schools and that some were not adjusting as well as might have been expected as a result. For many parents of pupils in years 12-14, there was again a sense of frustration that the revised methods of assessment could disadvantage their children’s future.

Read the full report here

 

What’s the (gender) difference?: Views on male primary teachers from three Controlled primary school communities

Posted on by Andrew McAteer

Click here to access the free download of the report

The Centre for Research in Educational Underachievement, in collaboration with the Controlled Schools’ Support Council, have recently undertaken a pilot research project investigating views on male primary teachers.

Northern Ireland, like most developed countries, has experienced a long-term decline in the proportion of male primary teachers, to around 15%. The question of males in teaching has been connected in public discourse to the long-standing problem of underachievement lying particularly with working class, Protestant boys. According to existing research, this is mainly due to the joint assumptions of gender matching (the idea that boys will achieve better outcomes with a male teacher) and compensatory theory (the idea that male teachers provide role models that compensate for the lack (or shortcomings) of a father figure at home). However, these theories remain largely unexplored in the context of Northern Ireland’s school communities. This qualitative pilot research project investigated the perceptions of male and female pupils, teachers, parents and principals in three Controlled primary school communities in East Belfast and North Down, regarding the difference a male primary teacher might make.

Three key themes emerged from the project data. Firstly, it is clear that gender equality is a strong shared desire across all stakeholders in the primary school. This is both in terms of having a more equitable balance of male and female teachers and a balance in distribution across year groups, with parents in particular calling for more males ‘down’ the school, working with the youngest children in Foundation Stage and Key Stage 1 classrooms. Secondly, male teachers were seen as particularly ‘fun’ by pupils, parents and teachers alike. We suggest that this perception could be related to their rarity within the primary school environment, but is also counter-balanced by the similarly widely shared view that male teachers lacked ‘caring’, ‘nurturing’ styles of teaching. Thirdly, the theme of male teachers providing vital role models for children coming from disadvantaged and/or single-parent households was strong in parents’, principals’ and teachers’ interviews. This theme aligns closely with compensatory theory, demonstrating that this is a widely shared point of view amongst adult stakeholders in primary education.

While this small pilot study cannot claim to provide generalised conclusions, the rich qualitative data gathered here goes some way to supporting calls to work harder to change the prejudicial views in society which appear to discourage males wishing to embark on a career in teaching, especially in primary schools and, most acutely, working with children in Foundation Stage and Key Stage 1. Further research could explore the issue of the impacts of teacher gender in primary education across a wider range of schools of different management types and in different community settings across Northern Ireland and further afield.

 

 

Report: Home-Schooling in Northern Ireland during the COVID-19 Crisis

Posted on by Andrew McAteer

The past few months have been utterly remarkable. They have: forced parents/carers to assume a greater role than ever before in their child/ren’s education; tested schools and teachers to their limits in terms of adapting fast to providing (mostly online) resources for home learning; and thrown children into a new, confined online learning environment at home. All amid a broader context of fear and uncertainty caused by a global pandemic.

Despite the upheaval, it is vital that our children’s education and our families’ wellbeing is monitored and understood by policymakers, service providers, and the research community. It is likely that the shutdown is leading to widening educational inequality. The Centre for Research in Educational Underachievement ran an online survey on parents/carers’ experiences of home-schooling during the lockdown in early May 2020, which received over 2000 responses from across Northern Ireland. The survey asked how parents/carers were approaching home-schooling, how schools were supporting them, and what could be done to better support their households.

Click here to download the full report, and read below for a summary of the key findings.

1. Parental education and employment status make a big difference

The level of parental education and employment status appears to mediate a strong divergence in experience. Parents/carers educated to university level are over 4 times more likely to be working from home than parents/carers with no qualifications, who are much more likely to have been furloughed. Those with university-level education are the most likely to become directly involved in their children’s home-schooling through teaching them directly (26.7%) or actively supporting their children’s learning (52.6%). In contrast, parents/carers without a degree are more likely to report lower levels of confidence in managing home-education, and to report simply ‘monitoring’ their child’s learning.

2. Essential Workers are least able to devote time to home-schooling

This survey highlights the particular challenges faced by Essential Workers. They are least likely to engage directly in their child/ren’s home-schooling (e.g. least likely to teach or actively support their learning) and are most likely to encourage their child/ren to learn independently as a result of having to work shifts outside the home. Essential Workers are often working longer hours than before and are at greatest risk of becoming infected with the COVID-19 virus. While not universal among the group of Essential Workers, the strongest expressions of frustration and desperation came from within this group, struggling with physical exhaustion, fear of infection, an inability to spend as much time with their children to support their learning, and, in several cases, a resulting sense of guilt and anger.

3. Parents/Carers are calling for live teaching and pre-printed resources

Almost a quarter of respondents do not have a printer, and many expressed a desire for more printed packs of work to be provided and complained of the costs incurred in providing printer ink and paper. We also found that only half of children have their own device to access online resources for schoolwork.

When asked for a single recommendation to improve home-schooling, parents/carers’ most common call was more live interaction with teachers. This could be for as little as twenty minutes once a week, either to introduce new curricular topics, or (especially with younger children) to allow some peer or pastoral interaction to raise motivation levels. We acknowledge the valid concerns of teaching unions and school leaders around the safeguarding of children and teachers, and encourage creative thinking about how the benefits of teacher/pupil interaction may be achieved safely.

4. Lockdown is affecting each child differently

The study provides some insights into children’s experiences of the lockdown learning period. Older children tend to prefer learning at school (and miss school more) while younger children are more likely to prefer the home environment. Most parents/carers suggest that children’s social skills and behaviour haven’t changed since schools closed. The area where children are most likely to have benefited is in their emotional well-being, where around 1 in 5 claim that there has been an improvement. By contrast, 3 in 5 claim that their child/ren’s level of motivation to learn has become worse since home-schooling began. Overall, we observe a very broad range of experiences, from accounts of more relaxed children enjoying peaceful family time and playing outside or engaging in many different leisure activities within the home, to children who are missing their friends and their teachers, struggling to learn, and falling further behind their peers.

“It’s flipping hard work”

The purpose of this report is not to ascribe blame, to undermine professional reputations, or to expose individuals. We share a joint responsibility to improve the situation for everyone, especially those disadvantaged by this continued period of home-schooling.

To quote some respondents, it is clear that for many engaged in home-schooling, “it’s flipping hard work”. “The novelty has worn off”, and “Nobody chose this”. Let us hope that we can learn the lessons of the past eight weeks so that all children can learn more successfully, happily and equitably for the remainder of the lockdown period and beyond.