{"id":61060,"date":"2022-01-12T04:30:24","date_gmt":"2022-01-12T09:30:24","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/world.edu\/?p=61060"},"modified":"2022-01-12T04:30:24","modified_gmt":"2022-01-12T09:30:24","slug":"what-young-people-want-to-help-them-recover-from-school-closures","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/world.edu\/what-young-people-want-to-help-them-recover-from-school-closures\/","title":{"rendered":"What young people want to help them recover from school closures"},"content":{"rendered":"

\"\"
\nChildren need help to recover from the disruption COVID has brought to their schooling. Much of the focus \u2013 and\u00a0government funding<\/a>\u00a0\u2013 has been on academic catch-up. Some schools are\u00a0beginning to trial<\/a>\u00a0adding an hour to the school day.<\/p>\n

But young people\u00a0weren\u2019t just missing out on study time<\/a>\u00a0during school closures. They also lost out on physical activity, extracurricular activities, school meals and social interaction.<\/p>\n

Working with colleagues,\u00a0I surveyed<\/a>\u00a0more than 6,000 young people in Wales aged from eight to 25 from the school setting to higher education (including postgraduate students) between September 2020 and February 2021. We wanted to explore what young people felt had affected their wellbeing during the pandemic. The results showed, in particular, the importance of social interaction and mental health support.<\/p>\n

Protect play<\/strong><\/h4>\n

The younger children we surveyed showed concerns around coronavirus. They told us that they wanted \u201cfor the virus to go away\u201d, and for \u201cno more COVID rules\u201d.<\/p>\n

For these younger children, social play was a key source of wellbeing. Those who said they often played alone also reported higher emotional difficulties during lockdown. The children told us that they wanted to \u201cbe with my friends more\u201d and be \u201cable to play places I want to with my friends\u201d.<\/p>\n

This chimes with what we already know about the\u00a0benefits of play<\/a>\u00a0from pre-pandemic research. Play helps to develop social skills, confidence and fundamental movement skills.<\/p>\n

If longer school days or greater pressure on children to study leads to less time playing with friends, this will be detrimental to children\u2019s wellbeing. Together with colleagues, I have also\u00a0conducted research<\/a>\u00a0on primary school teachers\u2019 recommendations for schooling after the closures caused by COVID-19. The findings show that teachers think wellbeing \u2013 both of pupils and staff \u2013 should be a priority.<\/p>\n

Our study suggests that children\u2019s emotional wellbeing could be improved if they are supported in socialising.<\/p>\n

Bolstering mental health<\/strong><\/h4>\n

The responses from participants aged 11 to 15 in our survey suggest that better communication about online learning, exams and mental health would have supported their wellbeing during school closures.<\/p>\n

These participants felt that they had lacked communication about how to get mental health support during the pandemic. Now students are back in the classroom, the provision of mental health resources in schools, as well as information on how to access available services, could help young people find the help they may have lacked during school closures.<\/p>\n

This is especially important for girls, who are more likely to experience\u00a0poorer mental health<\/a>\u00a0than boys. This gender gap increases as young people age. One girl told us: \u201cthe worsened depression and heightened anxiety caused by coronavirus has almost pushed me to drop out of sixth form\u201d.<\/p>\n

Secondary school pupils were particularly concerned about assessment and worried that they were falling behind in their education. One respondent to our survey explained their concerns as follows: \u201cexam cancellation, predicted grades changed, stress of university choices without having to visit them. Unsure of my future in education\u201d. They reported that they felt they had been left in the dark about changing assessment requirements during the pandemic.<\/p>\n

Online learning was a cause of anxiety for many secondary school pupils. As lockdown prompted a move to more independent learning and away from teacher-led classes, this may have proved difficult for young people at a time of uncertainty, particularly those in exam years.<\/p>\n

However, some survey participants told us that they were able to learn better at home and at their own pace. While it is important to learn from the negative impacts the pandemic has had, such positives are also instructive.<\/p>\n

Children and young people must be listened to. Protecting play, socialisation and opportunities to be active, as well as prioritising mental health support, is vital and should be essential to any COVID-19 recovery plans.<\/p>\n

Author Bio<\/strong>: Michaela James is a Research Officer at Swansea University<\/em><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Children need help to recover from the disruption COVID has brought to their schooling. Much of the focus \u2013 and\u00a0government funding\u00a0\u2013 has been on academic catch-up. Some schools are\u00a0beginning to trial\u00a0adding an hour to the school day. But young people\u00a0weren\u2019t just missing out on study time\u00a0during school closures. They also lost out on physical activity, […]\n… learn more→<\/a><\/p>","protected":false},"author":33,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_acf_changed":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[109017],"tags":[5155],"coauthors":[11733],"class_list":["post-61060","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-health-care","tag-mental-health"],"acf":[],"yoast_head":"\nWhat young people want to help them recover from school closures - World leading higher education information and services<\/title>\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"index, follow, max-snippet:-1, max-image-preview:large, max-video-preview:-1\" \/>\n<link rel=\"canonical\" href=\"https:\/\/world.edu\/what-young-people-want-to-help-them-recover-from-school-closures\/\" class=\"yoast-seo-meta-tag\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:locale\" content=\"en_US\" class=\"yoast-seo-meta-tag\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:type\" content=\"article\" class=\"yoast-seo-meta-tag\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:title\" content=\"What young people want to help them recover from school closures - World leading higher education information and services\" class=\"yoast-seo-meta-tag\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:description\" content=\"Children need help to recover from the disruption COVID has brought to their schooling. 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