Survey shows two in five parents are not confident schools will remain open

NEARLY two in five parents are not confident that schools will remain open for the rest of the academic year, a survey suggests.

The majority (56 per cent) of parents are worried about their child’s mental wellbeing and 31% are worried their child has fallen behind during closures, according to a poll by Save the Children.

More than two in five (41%) children said they are happy about going back to class after months of remote learning, the report shows.

Primary schools in Scotland have already started to go back for P1 to P3 and secondary pupils will return part-time from March 15.

But many parents said they have struggled to stay positive (55%) and to cope emotionally (43%) over the past year.

The survey, of more than 1,000 parents of school-age children, also suggests that mothers are worrying about their child’s wellbeing more than fathers.

It found 46% of mothers are concerned that their child’s confidence/anxiety levels will not go back to normal over the next few months, compared to 34% of fathers who are worried.

Nearly two in five (39%) parents said that they were not confident that schools will remain open for the rest of the academic year. The poll, which also surveyed more than 1,000 children aged between six and 18, found that 69% of pupils believe they will be able to catch up on their education when back in school.

But anxieties are higher for low-income families – those who have an annual household income of less than £15,000 – where 39% of children reported that they feel they have fallen behind with their schoolwork and one-fifth said they did not have the right equipment to learn from home.

Nearly half of parents in low-income families have worried about paying bills (47%) and buying food for their family (43%) over the past year, the report suggests.

Tracy Jackson, head of early years at Save the Children UK, said: “The fact that so many are happy and excited to get back to school shows that the next generation really are ready to bounce back.

“However, we work with families across the country whose experiences reflect the more worrying results of this survey – parents are anxious about their children’s mental wellbeing after a year of lockdown and many don’t think their children will ever be able to catch up with their education.

“Most strikingly, these worries are affecting low-income families who are also having to think about making ends meet.”

The charity is calling on the Government to provide a long-term solution to ensure families who are struggling because of Covid-19 have the financial support they need to survive the crisis.

She said: “While the Chancellor’s decision not to cut Universal Credit for another six months will help families in the short term, extending support for at least a year would provide families with more certainty, especially given unemployment is set to rise.”