There's no place like home - except for school

Parents and children are feeling the strain of home education

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HmakingALF of all parents and almost two thirds of their children say homeschooling is them unhappy. Schools are set to reopen on March 8, and for many families sick of the tantrums about fronted adverbials and improper fractions, that date can’t come soon enough.

A government survey, which regularly assesses the social implications of the coronavirus pandemic on Britain, has found that the strain of homeschooling is taking its toll.

When asked about their experiences at the start of this year, half of homeschooling parents (50 per cent) said it was “negatively affecting” their wellbeing.

That compares with 28 per cent of parents who said homeschooling was making them unhappy when asked the same question during the first lockdown, in April last year.

Mothers appear to be most affected, with 53 per cent of women admitting to suffering under the strains of homeschooling, compared to 45 per cent of men.

But while parents are struggling, it seems their offspring are having an even worse time.

More than six in 10 parents (63 per cent) said their children were suffering from having to learn away from school and all their friends.

That has increased from 43 per cent who said their children were unhappy during the first lockdown, in April 2020.

Parents of high school students (aged 11 to 15) thought their children were most affected, with 70 per cent saying homeschool was having a negative impact on their child’s wellbeing.

That compares to 56 per cent of parents of primary school children (aged five to 10).

However, more parents of five to 10-year-olds admitted that homeschooling was causing themselves upset.

More than half (55 per cent) said teaching their children affected their own wellbeing, compared to 47 per cent of parents of high school students.

More than half of parents also said homeschooling was straining family relationships.

Meanwhile, almost half of working parents who were also homeschooling said the pressures of juggling a child’s education with their own employment was damaging their performance at work (47 per cent).

The survey also asked teenagers aged between 16 and 18 about their experiences of further education from home.

Nearly two thirds of them (65 per cent) said they were worried their future career prospects would be harmed by the pandemic and the loss of face-to-face contact with their tutors.

But despite all the pressures, seven out of 10 parents (73 per cent) said they had access to all the resources they needed to educate their children.

And while 38 per cent of parents said their children were struggling to keep up with their education at home; that was far fewer than the 52 per cent who were having difficulties when asked the same question in May 2020, just before the schools reopened towards the end of the first lockdown.

Parent Talk Adviser Jo Thurston, of family charity Action for Children, said: “‘The impact of the past twelve months on our young people will be far reaching and we have seen a steady rise in the number of parents contacting us worried about their children’s anxiety, changes in their behaviour and emotional wellbeing.

“When schools returned after the first lockdown, parents asking for help around their child’s refusal to go to school made up 10 per cent of the total chats to our digital advice service, Parent Talk, for three months from September to November.

“As a team we’re expecting to see the same happening from next week but at even greater levels this time around given that children have faced an entire year of upheaval going in and out of school, and the subsequent devastating effect that has had on their mental health.

“Even if home-schooling hasn’t been easy for them, or their families, with all of this change, it’s inevitable that some children will struggle with leaving home behind for an actual school environment.”