Kids most likely to be impacted by Covid-school closures revealed

Vulnerable groups of students are more likely to feel the impacts of Covid-related school closures than their peers.

Covid-related school closures are impacting more harshly on vulnerable groups of students, with the effect for some getting worse over time, not better.

Those hardest hit include younger children who started school behind their peers, which can be up to one in three students in disadvantaged areas.

Disengaged teens in years ten to 12 who don’t attend school more than 90 per cent of the time and young people involved with the child protection system are also more at risk according to the University of Queensland study.

Researchers assessed 69 Australian peer-reviewed articles about educational outcomes for at-risk young people to understand potential impacts related to Covid-19.

Covid-related school closures are impacting more harshly on vulnerable groups of students, a study has revealed. Picture: Kelly Barnes

They also found poor mental health — whether of the parent or young person — further exacerbates the risk factors these children face.

“All Australian students are likely to have been impacted by the Covid-19 pandemic in some way. However, some students are expected to be more affected than others,” lead author Dr Laetitia Coles said.

“While all Australian families were affected to some extent, our focus was children living in family circumstances who might experience adversity, with subsequent long-term impacts on their educational trajectories.”

She said the process involves “tracking the changes in these risk factors and guiding potential intervention to better support these vulnerable young people”.

“Children and young people experiencing social or economic disadvantage may be at even greater risk of poorer educational outcomes in the short and longer-term.”

Another area of concern is the children who stopped attending an early learning service before school. Attendance in preschool or childcare fell from 73 per cent pre-Covid to 42 per cent by May 2020.

Children who live with mental health issues were more likely to feel the impact the school closures.

“Therefore, we expect that lower rates of attendance at ECEC may result in an increase in the numbers of children starting school behind, both now and over the next few years,” Dr Coles said.

“The risks described above identify “pressure points” that may be exacerbated by the COVID-19 pandemic,” she said.

Dr Coles and her co-authors also found evidence to show the impact of Covid is deepening over time, particularly in terms of mental health.

Families in financial distress in 2020 had worse mental health in 2021 and the number of children and young people experiencing direct mental health effects is growing in 2022.

She said the sudden shift to digital technology was positive for some vulnerable children but children without adequate access to digital devices were likely to be more negatively impacted.