Women were significantly more likely than men to supervise home schooling for their children in this lockdown compared with in the one last April, according to figures released by the Office for National Statistics.
The study found that 67% of women and 52% of men were taking charge of their children’s education at home this time. More women reported that home schooling was having a negative impact on their wellbeing, with 53% struggling compared with 45% of men.
During the last lockdown, the ONS found that parents were dividing home schooling responsibilities equally but that women spent much more time feeding, washing and dressing children.
The data collected in England, Scotland and Wales sheds light on the worsening impact that home school is having on wellbeing, with an average of 50% of parents reporting a toll on their mental health, compared with 28% during the first lockdown in April. The picture is similar for pupils, with 63% of parents reporting their children were struggling, compared with 43% last April.
“While home schooling seems to be delivered more effectively now than it was last year, with more resources available from schools, it appears to be taking a greater toll on parents and children,” said Hugh Stickland from the ONS.
More than half (53%) of parents said home schooling was putting a strain on relationships, and more than a third (37%) said their jobs had been negatively affected.
Fewer parents reported a lack of resources as the reason for their child’s struggles than in the first lockdown, but about half (49%) of parents said they lacked time. Motivation was the main factor for three-quarters (74%) of parents who said their only or eldest child was having a hard time, a view shared by 89% of the 16- to 18-year-olds in full-time education who were also interviewed for the survey.
Two-thirds (65%) of the young adults interviewed said they were concerned that their future life plans would be held back by studying at home, while half (50%) reported lower overall wellbeing.
However, the study showed that schools are getting better at equipping their pupils with home schooling support, with more than two-fifths (45%) of parents saying their child had spent 21 hours or more learning using materials provided by their school in the past week, compared with under a fifth (18%) in May 2020.
More than two-thirds (69%) of parents said their child had accessed real-time interactive online learning this lockdown, an increase from a quarter in May 2020. Parents were less likely to say their child was struggling to continue their education at home (38%) than they were in May (52%).
Despite this, parents’ confidence in their abilities to home-school their children remains at the same low level as in April, with just under half (45%) feeling on top of their children’s education.
The pollsters interviewed more than 6,000 adults in surveys running between January and February, which revealed that many parents and children were struggling even more with the demands of work and education at home than during the first lockdown.
