15th March 2021

Study finds health and wellbeing is a priority for primary school pupils and staff after lockdown

Research into the impact of school closures during the pandemic has found health and wellbeing is a priority for pupils and staff in Wales who are returning to the classroom today (15 March).

Studies conducted by the HAPPEN Wales primary school network (Health and Attainment of Pupils in a Primary Education Network), asked more than 200 primary school staff for their views during school closures in the first wave of the COVID-19 pandemic.

Over 1,000 pupils aged 8-11 also completed the HAPPEN at Home survey to explore the impact of school closures on children’s health behaviours. Responses were also compared with data from the 2018 and 2019 HAPPEN survey.

Findings suggest the school environment helps to reduce inequalities in physical health for children from deprived backgrounds. During school closures, children on free school meals reported eating less fruit and vegetables (21% decrease), had lower self-assessed school competence (22% decrease) compared to 2019 data. Children on free school meals also reported spending less time doing physical activity (13% lower) and consumed more takeaways (16% higher) than children not on free school meals during school closures.

The perspectives of school staff shown in the survey suggest that inequalities in children’s health, wellbeing and education have widened. A key finding was the importance of prioritising the health and wellbeing of pupils and staff upon the return to school. School staff suggested that while pressure was likely to be placed on learning, this should be integrated with health and wellbeing throughout school activities.

However, the findings from both surveys also showed some positive impacts, especially relating to happiness with family and strengthened family relationships.

The HAPPEN network is part of the National Centre for Population Health and Wellbeing Research, which is funded by Health and Care Research Wales.

Dr Emily Marchant, Child Health and Education Researcher for the HAPPEN network, said: “The pandemic has affected absolutely everyone in the school environment and shone a light on the need for health and wellbeing to be considered throughout every aspect of school.

“Conducting this research has provided an overview of the experiences for staff and the pupils and will provide the evidence required to make small changes to help with the transition back into school life.”

Russell Dwyer, Headteacher at St Thomas Community Primary School in Swansea, co-authored the research. He said:

“It has been fantastic being able to work on such a pertinent piece of research, which provides useful insight into how schools continued to function during the pandemic. As a school we can relate to all findings and recommendations, as they were all key areas of focus during lockdown and beyond.

“For example, we made a point of using the statutory process of performance management to set a collective objective around wellbeing. Staff have been encouraged to pursue lifestyle choices that support their own wellbeing, while also considering the wellbeing of the whole school family. Such an objective makes it explicit where our priorities lie moving forward. An example of this in action is that a member of staff chose to train as a yoga instructor during lockdown and has since used that qualification to provide online yoga sessions to staff, parents and children alike.”

Brothers Bodhi and Nate shared their experience about lockdown as part of the HAPPEN at home survey. They said:

“When we were told that we’d be home schooling, we were a bit worried because we wouldn’t have teachers to help us if we were stuck, but having daily meetings and things like Class Dojo and Teams, meant that we were able to speak to them and check things with them all the time.

“We’ve missed our friends and being in class, so we’re looking forward to going back to school, but being home has been nice too.

“Our school lent us an iPad to do our work on, as the one we had was very old and we couldn’t access some of the apps we needed. This was really good and helped us to keep learning and in touch.”

The research used the Secure Anonymised Information Linkage (SAIL) Databank a national healthcare database managed by Swansea University to compare findings from the different years. The SAIL Databank is also funded by Health and Care Research Wales.

Professor Kieran Walshe, Director of Health and Care Research Wales, said: 

“It’s so important that we look at the impact COVID-19 is having – and will continue to have – on all parts of society in Wales. We know how well children do at school can affect their long-term health and job prospects. These findings and recommendations can help guide a safe return to the classroom for primary school pupils across Wales.”

Professor Sinead Brophy, Director of the National Centre for Population Health and Wellbeing Research and Professor in Health Data Research UK at Swansea University, said:

“It is important we learn from the good and bad aspects of lockdown; primary school children did report higher wellbeing having more time with their family and perhaps less focus on attainment. But findings from our surveys with staff and pupils show that the school environment does address inequalities in physical health and wellbeing and education, and gives children safe places to play and access to healthy food.”

Primary schools in Wales can sign up to the HAPPEN network to take part in future surveys.

“The impact of COVID-19 is something we will need to monitor very closely and to support schools in addressing areas of concern and ensuring the promotion of whole-school health and wellbeing,” added Dr Emily Marchant.

“We’ll be opening both the school staff and pupil surveys again soon so that we can continue to make real-life recommendations for schools to maintain and improve wellbeing in their classrooms.”