I was shocked to read that, according to a poll conducted by the Office for National Statistics, 52% of parents thought their child had struggled to continue learning during the lockdown, and 77% said that the main reason was a lack of motivation. A staggering 43% also put the blame for their child’s poor academic progress on the lack of guidance and support from schools!

I realise that these were exceptional circumstances, and the COVID-19 pandemic and resulting worldwide lockdown hit us all like a ton of bricks. But some schools managed fantastically well and their students did not experience that many adverse effects. So why did some children fare so badly?

Sadly, 64% of those in the 16-18-year bracket felt that continuing their education at home would negatively affect their future plans. Even more frightening is the effect homeschooling had on people’s wellbeing. Around 34% of women said it negatively affected their own wellbeing and 43% of parents thought homeschooling negatively affected the wellbeing of their children. Also, many parents who were in employment stated that homeschooling negatively affected their job.

When we stop to think about it, school is a relatively new phenomenon. Before schools, children were taught at home, either by parents or tutors (if they had the money) or they were sent away to study under somebody capable of training their children. Teaching our children should be a wonderful and rewarding experience, but the reality is very different. I think much of this is because parents have so many demands on their time. How can a mother or father successfully plan, draft, teach, mark and motivate their children’s schoolwork when they have very little time. Most households have two parents working – and if they are not working full time they are working part time.

I think the government should have paid a daily allowance to parents of children over a certain age – say 5 years – to encourage them to stay at home to teach their children. We had financial support for staff on furlough, support for the self-employed, business loans, tax reprieves etc – so why not financially support those trying to teach the next generation?