What children need to flourish: insights from a qualitative study of children's mental health and wellbeing in the pandemic

This study explored the impacts of the COVID-19 pandemic on the mental health and wellbeing of primary school aged children in the UK, through the perspectives of teachers and parents through surveys and interviews. Results highlighted the heterogeneity within children’s experiences and the detrimental impacts of the lockdowns on social development. Importantly, many participants also drew attention to the benefits of the less pressurised schooling, which were perceived as having a positive impact on behaviour, wellbeing and academic progress. The paper applies insights from the findings to the reimagining of primary education to support children’s flourishing post-pandemic. It contends that prioritising children’s social and emotional development is key to supporting children’s flourishing in the recovery period and is a prerequisite for effective learning more widely. However, the paper argues for a critical ecological approach to wellbeing in schools: while individualised interventions such as counselling may be part of the solution, what is needed is a deeper and longer-term transformation of the system in which time and capacity for fostering strong relationships and children’s active engagement are placed at the heart of primary education.