Coronavirus: Impact On Young People With Mental Health Needs

This report by YoungMinds investigates the mental health impact of the Covid-19 coronavirus on young people with mental health needs reveals the pressure that the crisis has put on young people and support services.

Although they understood the need for the measures taken in response to the virus, the report says, this did not lessen the impact. Many of those who took part in the survey reported increased anxiety, problems with sleep, panic attacks or more frequent urges to self-harm.

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      string(5582) "Renaissance quiz improves skills and confidenceSponsored ArticleOnline learning has played a key role in education for many years. The majority of schools have used technology to deliver parts of the curriculum, raise standards and often to support children and young people who need extra help above and beyond that provided during school hours. This year is different. With Covid, online learning was no longer just an option, it became an essential part of how we teach our children.Lockdown gave education technology providers a chance to reflect on how they deliver content and whether it meets the needs of children and teachers when they are operating at a distance.  Renaissance has a wide base with over 6,500 schools and 1.6million pupils in the UK using its products. The company has been workingclosely with teachers during lockdown. They ran knowledge-sharing webinarswhere teachers compared notes on what was working well and conducted a surveyto gather a clearer picture of learning during lockdown.  Theorganisation conducted online research with primary and secondary school seniorleaders and subject leaders across the UK and Ireland between 5th – 23rd June. Renaissance asked almost six hundred (598) senior school leaders, department heads and teachers about their experience of teaching during this period of blended learning.  More than half (56%) were head teachers. Respondents were asked about the issues they expected to deal with when schools reopened, plus the teaching methods and types of resources that were showing the greatest impact on pupil progress.The researchhas revealed that consistent communications (31%) and supporting the mentalhealth and wellbeing of pupils (23%) are the biggest challenges to teachingduring the phased return.Come September it is likely to be that most children will attend school full time while others continue learning remotely. Teachers need to give thought to how they ensure that all learners get the same level of communication and feedback regardless of where they are.  Assessing student skillsMany children have been impacted by disruptions to their education and the effects on their home circumstances and may need help to return to the classroom and school routines. Some children who are classed as ‘clinically extremely vulnerable’ may not be able to attend school while others may move to a blend of school attendance and home tuition.  Some schoolshave provided full time tuition during lockdown with excellent rates ofattendance but this has not been true across the board. Thegovernment has announced a Covid-19 catch up fund, and a number oforganisations have expressed concerns about learning inconsistencies duringlockdown. Some children have struggled to access technology during schoolclosures and others have found it hard to focus on school work while at home.Accordingto Renaissance’s research, when it comes to successful learning, over a thirdof teachers and school leaders (34%) believe that the input from parents hasthe biggest impact. This is followed by a quarter (25%) who say feedback fromteachers, and 16% who believe the ability to set tailored work, makes thelargest difference to learning achievement during lockdown.Increased confidence in using thetechnology Whileschool closures have caused many problems, teachers have used the time toimprove their skills. The Renaissance research shows that nearly two-thirds(65%) of teachers and senior leaders say they are more confident using edtechcompared to pre-Coronavirus.  MargaretAllen, Curriculum and Education Specialist at Renaissance, said: ‘We have beenso impressed by how quickly pupils, teachers, and schools have adapted to theseexceptional times. No technology can replace the role of a teacher in aclassroom but it can help teachers to enhance the educational experience fortheir pupils, and effectively and consistently track their progress.’ This isgood news as three-quarters of those surveyed (75%) believe online remote orblended learning will play a continued role in education after lockdown ends.How schools deliver online learning will therefore continue to be a keyconsideration. Renaissance’sresearch showed that during remote learning the online tool that teachers citedas the most effective was quiz-style formats with instant feedback (24%). Thecompany is well known for developing products rooted in research and with astrong evidence base from education professionals, psychometricians and datascientists. They also offer first rate support and professional developmentwhich increase teacher confidence. Flagshipproducts such as Accelerated Reader and Star Reading help teachers to track,monitor and improve their students’ reading both at home and in school. Many teachers will want to assess student progress at the beginning of the academic year when schools return and Renaissance’s formative assessment solutions provide teachers with invaluable data to track pupil development and guide future learning. Similarly, Focus Skills™ for literacy and maths are being made freely available to schools to provide a roadmap for closing learning gaps and can be used to support individual, group or class instruction.‘Ourtools are designed to help teachers stay on top of their pupils’ performance,and encourage their love of learning, wherever they’re doing it,’ said MargaretAllen. ‘Education technology can transform pupils’ outcomes now more than ever,and we’re committed to supporting schools to make the process as easy"
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Applications and Software

Teachers Prepare To Address Learning Loss As Schools Return This September

12 Aug 2020

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Digital Learning

Rise In Teacher Confidence Using Edtech - A Key Benefit From Lockdown

16 Jul 2020

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      string(3775) "Over 4,000 families of disabled children were contacted to ask how they had been impacted by the lockdown. Overwhelmingly, they felt locked out and abandoned by Government and by society, and are fearful for their own physical and mental health.In 76% of cases, the vital care and support they relied on had stopped altogether, leaving parents and young siblings taking on all care responsibilities around the clock.Just over two thirds (68%) said non–disabled siblings were also providing a lot more care. Prior to lockdown, many parents (62%) were managing without support such as short breaks.  For those who had previously received support, the majority have seen it stop (76%). Half of parents whose children had been received therapies or other extra support have seen this stop. The lockdown has led to some parents not seeking necessary medical health for their disabled children (44%), themselves or their partner (54%) or their non-disabled children (17%).The majority (70-80%) report worsening emotional and mental health for both their children and themselves; although a minority report improvements. The impact on physical health is less marked, but still nearly half (45%) say their disabled children’s physical health has declined; and just half say the same about their own (54%).Many parents whose children were eligible for a school place had not taken up places; mainly because of either concerns about their children’s health or because the right provision was not available.The majority (64%) of parents were worried about how much home school they were doing with their disabled child; and nearly a third (32%) said they were receiving no support specific to their child’s needs from school; on the other hand, a quarter were getting good support.The lockdown was impacting on statutory process – two-thirds going through an assessment process had seen it delayed; whilst approaching half (43%) of annual reviews had lapsed or been put on hold.Families are facing financial pressures, through either, or both, a reduction in income (39%) or increased costs (61%). One in five (21%) said they will go into debt as a result.Key Points:Parents reporting an increased caring load, both for themselves and for their disabled children’s siblings. Parents feel exhausted, stressed, anxious and abandoned by society. In many cases, the support families previously received has now stopped. Many families are seeing declines in both mental and physical healthParents are particularly concerned about the pressure of children’s behaviour and mental wellbeing; managing home-schooling; and what will happen to their children if they contract Covid19.the little support that had previously been provided for families has often stopped altogetherChildren’s friendships; learning and communications; mental and physical health; and emotions and behaviour have all been negatively impacted.The lockdown is increasing financial pressures on families.As the country begins to move out of lockdown, parents were greatly concerned about their child’s return to school. The return of their children to school needed to be contingent on it being safe; and needed to be well planned; and carefully managed; with clear communication with parents and children. Those children with the most complex health needs, and who are therefore shielding may continue to face these challenges for a considerably longer period of time and must receive additional support.   The right support – including mental health support – needed to be in place to support the transition back to school. Flexibility and understanding were key."
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Leadership

Parent Carers’ Experiences Of Lockdown

17 Jun 2020

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      string(4037) "The report revealed that 87% of carers are “worried about what will happen to the people I care for if I have to self-isolate or become ill”. Before the coronavirus outbreak, carers across the UK were already providing substantial amounts of care, valued at £132 billion a year.1The increased pressures carers are currently facing means many have changed the amount and type of care they are providing.The results show that on average, carers are providing 10 hours more care per week than they were before the coronavirus outbreak. The average figure is now 65 hours per week, compared to 55 hours before.Looking at the reasons why more care is being provided in detail, over a third (35%) of people said they were providing more care as a result of local services reducing or closing. This figure rose to 39% in Scotland, 36% in Wales and 45% in Northern Ireland. However, 9% of carers said they are providing less care for one or more reasons. 7% of carers are providing less care because they are following Government guidance and reducing their social contact. Those caring for a parent were most likely to have reduced the amount of care they are providing for this reason with 13% selecting this option. Key Findings:70% of carers are providing more care due to the coronavirus outbreak. Over a third (35%) of carers are providing more care as a result of local services reducing or closing.Carers are, on average, providing 10 additional hours of care a week.69% of all carers are providing more help with emotional support, motivation, or keeping an eye/checking in on the person they care for.81% of carers are spending more money at the moment. 72% are spending more on food and 50% are spending more on household bills.38% of carers agreed or strongly agreed with the statement “I am worried about my financial situation”.The majority (55%) of carers agreed or strongly agreed with the statement “I feel overwhelmed and I am worried that I’m going to burnout in the coming weeks”.87% of carers agreed/strongly agreed with the statement “I am worried about what will happen to the people I care for if I have to self-isolate or become ill”Recommendations:Increase awareness and recognition of the role of unpaid carers. Ensure that the impact of reduced services on carers and their families are closely monitored in terms of carers’ health and well-being, ability to care, in order to avoid burn-out. Support must be reinstated and restored as soon as possible. Raise the level of Carer’s Allowance.Ensure testing is increased and delivered quickly, including testing for unpaid carers. Ensure that local authorities have sufficient resources to carry out contingency planning with carers. Local government and local partners need to find a way to support carers in delivering this. This must also go hand in hand with effective risk mapping. Continue to place a high priority on guidance, information and advice for carers, that adapts to their needs. Increase the delivery of PPE to social care and ensure unpaid carers are also included where they are caring for those who are most vulnerable.  Ensure systems are in place for carers to provide access to food and reduce the challenges carers face in getting food.Ensure that if this crisis continues, those unable to work because of caring are continued to be supported to retain their jobs for as long as possible, as well as ongoing flexibility for carers to continue to juggle work and care.Increase investment in mental health and wellbeing support for carers. Continue to ensure that there are creative ways of supporting carers, through technology, through local communities and with the continuation of key support. Ensure that all national guidance aimed at service delivery that suggests carers take on more responsibilities also consider the risks to carers.Ensure that there is sufficient investment in end of life care, death and bereavement servicesLINK: Caring Behind Closed Doors"
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Leadership

Caring Behind Closed Doors

6 May 2020