Thoughts From A Trainee: Impact of COVID-19 On Y10 Students

 By Tom Cooper & Najiyah Rahman

From September to early January we embarked upon a School Based Study research project that looked at the mental health and educational impacts caused by COVID-19 on Year 10 aged students within Westminster Academy. Our study sought to understand student mental wellbeing and educational development, as well as identify where Westminster Academy could potentially assist Year 10 students with mental health and attainment issues. 

This topic was selected after discussions about the unique challenges that teaching Year 10 poses. Year 6 (in 2019) was their last formal year of teaching, with Year 7 (2020) being disrupted by the pandemic lockdown restrictions. Our initial assumptions were that students would have faced distinct detrimental effects on their social and educational development, which could be seen through low level disruption and lack of attention in lessons.

Literature surrounding this topic suggested that our assumptions corroborated with published studies on such matters. For example, independent enquiries into the mental health and wellbeing of young Londoners (by the London Assembly Health Committee) saw that 85% had stated that the pandemic made them feel “down” or “very down”. UNESCO (2021) also noted that the lives and education of nearly 1.6 billion students were also adversely affected.

To investigate, we conducted a questionnaire, shared with all Year 10 tutor groups, gaining 112 responses out of a potential 200. The survey used a mix of qualitative and quantitative data, asking students to reflect on their mental health and schooling during and after the pandemic. The largest problem identified by the study was that 60.7% of students felt that the greater concern was the impact of the pandemic, and their lost learning, on their potential GCSE attainment. 

We also found that there was no obvious negative impact on mental health caused by COVID-19, with as many as 50% of the respondents disagreeing that the pandemic had a negative impact on their wellbeing, with only 23.2% of students saying that they were adversely affected. Of 112 students, only 19 students stated they received support for their mental health during the pandemic, with 52 stating they received no support at all, showing that while students were aware of what networks were available for support, they were not effective in accessing them. Students proposed changes to the school day, reductions in homework, school wide assemblies addressing the matter, and asked for more one-to-one sessions for support.

The study presented an interesting insight into the opinions and problems Year 10s have encountered during their schooling, as well as their judgement on how best they can be aided.