Three-quarters of parents feel the coronavirus outbreak will affect their child's education, reveals poll

March 2020

Three-quarters of parents feel the coronavirus outbreak will affect their child's education: With schools across the nation closed due to the coronavirus pandemic, parents have been thrown into a world of 'homeschooling' and uncertainty, with many having to do so at the same time as working from home.

A recent survey by Parentkind has found that three-quarters (77%) of parents fear that the time their child will spend away from school will affect their education in some way, with 17% saying they don't think their child's education will be affected at all. 

Parents were asked to select their level of worry using a sliding scale, with 'one' representing the lowest level of concern and 10, the highest. Almost a quarter of parents (24%) selected '10' on the scale, showing they are 'extremely concerned'.

While 15% said they were 'not confident at all' in homeschooling their child or children, 43% said they were 'confident', and 19%, 'very confident'. More than one in five  (22%) said they felt neither confident nor unconfident.

Biggest concerns of parents

When asked about their biggest concerns owing to school closures, a quarter (25%) said they are worried about their child falling behind or missing out on learning. Ranking second was exams with 11% saying it is their greatest concern. However, this figure was much higher for those parents with children who were about to sit their GCSEs, with 81% saying it is their main concern, along with 76% of parents with Year 13 children.

Parents were also asked to think about how the closures might affect them, with 49% having concerns about their own working situation. Of those who had concerns around employment, 46% mentioned the financial impact the closures might have. Concerns over stress, worry and mental health was mentioned by 14% of respondents polled.

Nine in ten respondents who completed the survey after the school closures on Friday 22nd March (93%) reported that their schools have shared details with parents to support home learning.