Esmé Kenney

Image Credit: Taylor Flowe/UNSPLASH

Children from lower socio-economic backgrounds, those with special educational needs (SEN), and more surprisingly, girls, have been most adversely affected by the pandemic in their schooling, according to recent findings. 

Some Y7s are starting secondary school with a reading age as low as six. After years of lockdowns and restrictions on socialising, combined with an ongoing cost-of-living crisis, we are only just beginning to see the educational and social impact this has had on young pupils. Even though literacy rates are starting to return to pre-pandemic levels, the ‘disadvantage gap’ in children’s academic and social development has widened. 

I worked on this feature as part of my multimedia assessment, which received a distinction.

Click the link to read the full story: https://uosjournalism.shorthandstories.com/how-can-we-stop-disadvantaged-children-falling-further-behind-their-peers-after-covid/index.html