Exeter study on lockdown learning

Parents, children and teachers asked to take part

Parents, children and teachers in Exeter are being asked to share their experiences of lockdown learning in a new survey.

Education experts at Exeter University hope it will help them develop support for pupils in the city this summer.

The study, led by Professor Justin Dillon from the university's graduate school of Education, will shed light on the impact of lockdowns and changes to schooling over the last year on Exeter children, their parents and teachers in the EX1 to EX4 postcodes.   

The anonymous survey is open until 5 May to parents, guardians and carers and young people up to the age 18 and teachers. It takes 10 minutes and asks how confident people have felt about online learning, what would help young people over the summer, and what support would help them catch up with learning.

Professor Dillon said: “The last year has been a time of great change for everyone, and young people, their families and their teachers have had to adapt to a very different way of working. We want to hear about their experiences, and we hope the results will help us develop effective support this summer. By listening we can begin to think about what can help to give children a better future."

Teachers can give details of how they have dealt with changes to their work, their feelings about changes they have had to make since March 2020, and how confident they feel about the online education of their pupils since then. The survey also asks about provisions made for young people with special educational needs, and how many pupils they estimate were not in classes online when schools were closed. Teachers can also give details of how they managed the return of children to the classrooms.

Pupils can give details about their working environment at home, how much they feel they’ve learned, how supported they have felt by their school or college, and how changes to their learning have affected their lives. They are asked to rate how they feel now generally compared to a year ago.

Parents are asked about the impact of school closures on their children, if they are concerned about their learning, how schools have met the needs of their son or daughter, and what support has helped best. They can also discuss the impact of online learning on family life, and their children’s wellbeing and health.