The findings revealed a stark contrast to media reports from GB which have indicated that a large percentage of parents and carers are unhappy about the return to fulltime education this September. However, Northern Ireland parents and carers have confirmed that they, and the kids, are happy and hopeful of life after lockdown now that the new school year is well under way – but nevertheless the majority would like to see a bigger focus on mental health and wellbeing from schools, rather than on missed schoolwork.
The overwhelming majority of parents and carers (89%) were confident that they had received adequate information and reassurance from their child’s school about how they will safely operate the new school day under the guidelines from The Department of Education. While almost two out of three parents (64%) did say that they believed that the safety guideline changes in school due to COVID would cost them extra expense as a parent – with just over a quarter of parents (26%) estimating that amount at between an additional £10-£20 a month – the good news is that 73 per cent of parents had no concerns, or were only slightly concerned, about their children returning to the classroom again.
And while it was very evenly balanced when it came to how the children felt about the start of the new school term (with 45 per cent of parents saying that their child had expressed concerns to them but 55 per cent had not) over two thirds of respondents to the survey (68%) said that their child was either very confident, or confident, about their return to school.
For the children who did express fears about going back their biggest concern was:
COVID-19 (either personal safety about becoming ill or bringing it home to a family member) which accounted for 44 per cent, while almost a quarter (23%) wanted to stay at home as they were ‘out of the routine’ of going to school, a fifth (20%) were worried about catching up on schoolwork, and for 17 per cent it was separation anxiety i.e. missing a sibling or a parent.
Nadia Duncan, editor of Ni4kids said: “As a parent with a child at both primary and post-primary school, I too have concerns about what this new school year will hold in store for all of us in terms of the huge challenges now faced by schools with the responsibility of limiting the spread of infection while still delivering, not only an excellent academic education but also a high level of pastoral care to their pupils in these difficult times. However, from our research it does seem clear that despite their understandable concerns, parents here are overwhelmingly supportive of our children returning to the classroom and happy that the school gates are open once more.”
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