Experiences of remote education during COVID-19 and its relationship to the mental health of primary school children

The aim of the present study is to describe how parents and primary school children dealt with the rapid and significant changes to their schooling experience during COVID-19 and how this correlated with children's mental health. A cross-sectional study comprising an online survey was completed by 797 parents of children from 4–12 years, (M = 9 years). School variables explored included school expectations for schoolwork, how much time per day spent on schoolwork, how able parents were to support their child with schoolwork, whether a child had support from an adult at school and whether the child had support from a friend. Child mental health was measured by the Strengths and Difficulties Questionnaire (SDQ). Regression analysis indicated that parents’ ability to support their child with schoolwork was correlated with child mental health status. Further analysis indicated the association between ability to support their child with schoolwork and child mental health status was mediated by parental psychological distress. These findings reinforce the importance of parents as a link between schools and students during the pandemic. Implications for educational policy are discussed.