4 | COVID-19 concerns raised by children and young people ‘Ellie’, aged 21, rang Kids Helpline to talk about her relationship with a young woman that she met recently when travelling overseas. They got on very well, and then ended up developing feelings for each other. But then the coronavirus situation escalated suddenly, and she had to come back to Australia. Now it’s been over a month and Ellie is missing the girl very much and finding it difficult to cope with COVID-19 restrictions. She worries that the travel restrictions may be in place for years, and that she has missed an opportunity to have a relationship with someone she loves. Concerns related to the education impacts of COVID-19 were the third most frequently raised concerns of children and young people. Twenty percent (526) of children and young people raised COVID-19 in the context of education impacts. Although the education impacts of COVID-19 were raised as a significant concern by all age groups, high school-aged children were more likely to raise this as an issue than children aged 5-10 and young adults aged 18-25. It was the top concern raised by females aged 11-14, and females, males and transgender or gender diverse children and young people aged 15-17 years. Females were also slightly more likely to raise this concern overall than either males or transgender or gender diverse children and young people. 4.5 Education impacts • Children and young people were struggling with online delivery of their education, including some children and young people with disability. • High school students were feeling overwhelmed with the amount of work that had been assigned. Year 12 students had significant anxiety about falling behind in their studies. • Some children and young people preferred learning online to face-to-face learning and were worried about returning to school in April. • Some children raised limited access to technology needed for home learning. • Some children were missing the mental health and learning support provided by teachers and school counsellors. 22 Many children said that they were attending school online, studying from home using electronic devices. Most children who raised COVID-19 in this context said they were struggling with this form of delivery. The reasons for this included boredom, too many distractions at home, difficulty concentrating and feeling overwhelmed with the work. High school students in particular spoke about feeling overwhelmed with the amount of work that had been assigned when they were studying online. Year 12 students had significant anxiety about falling behind in their studies. This had led to stress – and conflict with parents as well. Some children with disability raised difficulties about learning online, particularly those with autism spectrum disorders. These concerns are also reflected in a survey on the impacts of the pandemic on children and young people with disability and their families, conducted by Children and Young People with Disability Australia (CYDA) in May 2020.6 Uncertainty about education was a prominent theme raised by children with disability and their family members in this survey, including the impact of school closures and challenges with learning from home, and concerns that progress gained by children and young people with disability would be lost during this period.7