Pandemic set back social and emotional growth of children in England, study finds

Half of all children suffered a setback to their emotional and social development during the first year of the pandemic, with younger siblings more likely to have been negatively affected than their older brothers and sisters, according to a survey of parents.

Children from all economic backgrounds in England were affected, the research found, though those aged four to seven were significantly more likely to have suffered a deterioration in their skills than 12- to 15-year-olds.

Related: Tory plan to expand free childcare is ‘undeliverable’, nurseries in England warn

Youngsters whose parents’ employment changed as a result of the pandemic, including those who were furloughed, were also far more likely to see their social and emotional skills worsen, the report by the Institute for Fiscal Studies (IFS) said.

In contrast, the social and emotional development of just one in six children improved over the same period, according to research by the IFS and UCL Institute of Education, funded by the Nuffield Foundation.

Much of the existing research on children’s experience of the pandemic and beyond has focused on the impact on learning and has shown that those from disadvantaged backgrounds have been most severely affected.

This latest study looks instead at the impact of parents’ experiences in the labour market on their children’s social and emotional development and finds that children from wealthier as well as poorer families have seen their social and emotional development adversely affected.

Researchers surveyed 6,095 parents living in England with children aged four to 16. Parents answered 13 questions about their child’s behaviour, including how often they appeared worried, how easily they lost confidence and had tantrums in February 2021 and, retrospectively, a year earlier.

Nearly half of parents (47%) reported that their child had more socio-emotional difficulties in 2021 than in 2020. Children aged four to seven were 10 percentage points more likely to have seen their social and emotional development worsen than 12- to 15-year-olds (52% compared with 42%).

Parents of girls, and those who were furloughed, were also more likely to report a worsening in their child’s socio-emotional skill than children whose parents had stable employment throughout the pandemic.

Andrew McKendrick, research economist at IFS and one of the authors of the report, said: “During the Covid-19 pandemic, children from all backgrounds saw their social and emotional skills worsen considerably.

“Children lived through many changes during these years: school closures, lack of contact with friends and family, and potentially devastating severe illness or death among loved ones.

“Our research shows that another important driver of children’s declining skills was the economic disruptions experienced by their parents, whether or not those disruptions led to a large income loss.

“With the cost of living crisis currently hitting many families’ budgets, our findings are a reminder that economic uncertainty can have multi-generational impacts.”

Early years experts have increasingly expressed concern about the impact of the pandemic on the country’s youngest children. Neil Leitch, chief executive of the Early Years Alliance, said it was concerning though unsurprising that such a high proportion of families had reported their children’s social and emotional skills worsened during the pandemic.

Leitch emphasised that while it was vital “all children are given the care and attention they need to make up for the ‘lost learning’ during this period”, the particular impact the pandemic had had on younger children demonstrated the need to start in the early years – something the government had failed to do.

“How can it be,” he said, “that at a time when young children need more individual and high-quality support than ever, ministers have chosen to take an approach to early years policy [that] will achieve the exact opposite?

“From the relaxing of ratios to the lowering of qualification requirements, the government’s insistence on prioritising increasing capacity in the early years over and above ensuring quality provision is the worst possible approach at the worst possible time.”

The Department for Education has been contacted for comment.