ESRI SURVEY AND THE IMPLICATIONS OF THE COVID-19 PANDEMIC STATISTICAL REPORT SERIES FOR POLICY IN RELATION TO CHILDREN AND NUMBER 94 YOUNG PEOPLE JULY 2020 A RESEARCH REVIEW MERIKE DARMODY, EMER SMYTH AND HELEN RUSSELL FO NCE R PO DE LI VI C E Y IMPLICATIONS OF THE COVID-19 PANDEMIC FOR POLICY IN RELATION TO CHILDREN AND YOUNG PEOPLE: A RESEARCH REVIEW Merike Darmody Emer Smyth Helen Russell July 2020 ESRI SURVEY AND STATISTICAL REPORT SERIES NUMBER 94 Available to download from www.esri.ie The Economic and Social Research Institute Whitaker Square, Sir John Rogerson’s Quay, Dublin 2 ISBN: 978-0-7070-0532-4 DOI: https://doi.org/10.26504/sustat94 This Open Access work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International License (https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/), which permits unrestricted use, distribution, and reproduction in any medium, provided the original work is properly credited. ABOUT THE ESRI The mission of the Economic and Social Research Institute is to advance evidence- based policymaking that supports economic sustainability and social progress in Ireland. ESRI researchers apply the highest standards of academic excellence to challenges facing policymakers, focusing on 12 areas of critical importance to 21st Century Ireland. The Institute was founded in 1960 by a group of senior civil servants led by Dr T. K. Whitaker, who identified the need for independent and in-depth research analysis to provide a robust evidence base for policymaking in Ireland. Since then, the Institute has remained committed to independent research and its work is free of any expressed ideology or political position. The Institute publishes all research reaching the appropriate academic standard, irrespective of its findings or who funds the research. The quality of its research output is guaranteed by a rigorous peer review process. ESRI researchers are experts in their fields and are committed to producing work that meets the highest academic standards and practices. The work of the Institute is disseminated widely in books, journal articles and reports. ESRI publications are available to download, free of charge, from its website. Additionally, ESRI staff communicate research findings at regular conferences and seminars. The ESRI is a company limited by guarantee, answerable to its members and governed by a Council, comprising 14 members who represent a cross-section of ESRI members from academia, civil services, state agencies, businesses and civil society. The Institute receives an annual grant-in-aid from the Department of Public Expenditure and Reform to support the scientific and public interest elements of the Institute’s activities; the grant accounted for an average of 30 per cent of the Institute’s income over the lifetime of the last Research Strategy. The remaining funding comes from research programmes supported by government departments and agencies, public bodies and competitive research programmes. Further information is available at www.esri.ie THE AUTHORS Merike Darmody is a Research Officer at the Economic and Social Research Institute (ESRI) and an Adjunct Professor at Trinity College Dublin (TCD). Emer Smyth is a Research Professor at the ESRI and an Adjunct Professor at TCD. Helen Russell is a Research Professor at the ESRI and an Adjunct Professor at TCD. ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS This publication was funded by the Department of Children and Youth Affairs through a joint Research Partnership with the ESRI. The views, opinions, findings, conclusions and/or recommendations expressed here are strictly those of the authors. They do not necessarily reflect the views of the Department of Children and Youth Affairs, which takes no responsibility for any errors or omissions in, or for the accuracy of, the information contained in this publication. It is presented to inform and stimulate wider debate among the policy community and among academics and practitioners in the field. The authors are grateful to members of the programme steering group and ESRI colleagues for comments on an earlier draft of the paper. The discussion of the potential use of the Growing Up in Ireland study to provide insights into the effects of the pandemic owes a good deal to the input of Dorothy Watson, Aisling Murray and Amanda Quail. This research programme has received funding through WHAT WORKS. This is an initiative led by the Department of Children and Youth Affairs, with funding from Dormant Accounts, to support a move towards evidence informed prevention and early intervention services for children, young people and their families. This report has been accepted for publication by the Institute, which does not itself take institutional policy positions. The report has been peer-reviewed prior to publication. The authors are solely responsible for the content and the views expressed. Table of Contents| iii TABLE OF CONTENTS LIST OF TABLES ........................................................................................................................................ v LIST OF FIGURES ...................................................................................................................................... v EXECUTIVE SUMMARY .......................................................................................................................... vii CHAPTER 1: Introduction ........................................................................................................................ 1 1.1 Background to the study ......................................................................................................... 1 1.2 The impact of COVID-19 on Irish society ................................................................................ 2 1.3 Approaches to studying the impact of COVID-19 ................................................................... 4 CHAPTER 2: Family and Peer Relationships .......................................................................................... 11 2.1 Introduction .......................................................................................................................... 11 2.2 The quality of family relationships and child outcomes ....................................................... 11 2.2.1 Parent-child relationships ............................................................................................. 12 2.2.2 The child’s relationship with other family members and peers ................................... 13 2.3 The indirect effects on child outcomes ................................................................................. 16 2.3.1 Economic and work-related challenges ........................................................................ 16 2.3.2 Time and division-of-labour challenges ........................................................................ 17 2.3.3 Overcrowding and living arrangements ........................................................................ 20 2.3.4 Domestic violence ......................................................................................................... 21 2.3.5 Parenting challenges and activities with children......................................................... 22 CHAPTER 3: Formal and Informal Learning ........................................................................................... 25 3.1 Introduction .......................................................................................................................... 25 3.2 Formal education .................................................................................................................. 25 3.2.1 Educational inequalities in Ireland ................................................................................ 25 3.2.2 School closures .............................................................................................................. 26 3.2.3 Participation in early-years education and care ........................................................... 28 3.2.4 Home-schooling and related challenges ....................................................................... 29 3.2.5 Home-school links to support student learning............................................................ 33 3.2.6 Parental satisfaction with support from schools .......................................................... 35 3.2.7 Learning resources in the home ................................................................................... 36 3.2.8 Further and higher education ....................................................................................... 38 3.3 Learning outside school ........................................................................................................ 39 3.4 Summary ............................................................................................................................... 40 CHAPTER 4: Physical and Mental Health and Wellbeing ...................................................................... 43 4.1 Introduction .......................................................................................................................... 43 4.2 Physical health ...................................................................................................................... 43 4.2.1 General health and long-standing conditions ............................................................... 43 4.2.2 Physical activity ............................................................................................................