“The new normal isn’t normal”: to what extent has the Covid-19 pandemic affected secondary school children’s mental health and wellbeing in the North of England?

Abstract

ABSTRACT This paper reports on a study exploring the impact of the Covid-19 pandemic on secondary school children's mental health and well-being in the North of England. It explores three research questions: to what extent has the Covid-19 pandemic affected secondary school children’s mental health and wellbeing in England? What did students value most for their mental health and wellbeing in a secondary school context during the Covid-19 pandemic? What are the implications for the post-pandemic future? A qualitative multi-method research design was used consisting of an online questionnaire survey (n = 605) and follow-up focus group interviews (n = 16). The findings of the study show that the pandemic and associated restrictions had a detrimental effect on the lives of a very large proportion of the young people in our study, with greater impact on girls than boys. From the analysis the resilience and ability of the participants to “bounce back” from the upheavals caused by the restrictions was apparent. However, for a significant minority the adverse impacts on their mental health and wellbeing continue to affect their lives. The idea of returning to “normal” following a period of crisis and turmoil such as the Covid-19 pandemic, emerges as an unhelpful concept because of the implied associated expectation of a smooth return to the routines prior to the pandemic crisis. This assumption is problematic as this study’s findings demonstrate. The “new” normal is experienced differently by students, especially girls, to what was “normal” experience before the pandemic and this has significant implications for schools.