Section 7: How the pandemic affected children’s mental health and wellbeing
26% of children who identified as non-binary or
other stated that they preferred remote learning
rather than face-to-face. This is higher than the
general sample (16%):
can
because I
it
d
e
k
o ple
li
I
o m the pe e.
r
f
y
a
w
a
ecur
keep
e feel ins
m
e
k
a
m
o
wh
llies
en the bu
It has tak e who use d to
m
y
away fro m
cho ol. The
s
t
a
e
m
disturb
na
imes g ive
are so met
sto p.
ut never
b
n
io
t
n
e
t
de
as
es
ho identifi
—Child w
d 14–15,
other, age
r
o
ry
a
in
or ethnic
non-b
c cultural
ifi
c
e
p
s
a
nd, SA
from
backgrou
I felt more
co mfortable
,
less ju dge d
an d less
anxio us.
(c) Experiences when returning to school
At the time of the survey, many schools had
just returned to face-to-face classes. However,
depending on the jurisdiction, a number of
restrictions and requirements remained,
including mask wearing, regular COVID-19
testing of students and teachers, and limits
on school excursions and social activities.
There were also concerns about the spread
of the Omicron strain of the COVID-19 virus
throughout the school population, with an
increasing number of children and teachers
catching the virus and being forced to isolate
at home.
Both children, and parents/guardians and
grandparents expressed anxiety and concerns
that children would catch the virus and spread it
to others. They also suggested that schools take
better measures to protect children including
using air purifiers and mask wearing. Many
children complained about the requirement that
children wear masks when returning to school,
with some saying they were uncomfortable
and gave them headaches. This was a policy
decision enforced by education departments in
many Australian jurisdictions in Term 1, 2022.35
Some educators at our roundtables indicated
that school attendance was impacted by parent
anxiety about their children being infected with
COVID-19 by attending school.
—Child who
identifies a
s
non-binary
or other,
aged 14–15
, NSW
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‘Mental health shapes my life’: COVID-19 & kids’ wellbeing • 2022 | 75