Assessing the impact of covid 19 on

the education of early childhood

Introduction
The World Health Organization declared COVID-19 a pandemic on March
12th, 2020 (Viner, 2020); upon this declaration, nations world-wide began
instituting temporary school closures (Wang et al., 2020) as a part of
community-based public health measures (Wilder-Smith &
Fredmann, 2020).

Analysis of national data shows that between January 2020 and January
2021, there were large falls in the take-up of funded entitlement places for
disadvantaged two-year-olds, and, to a lesser extent, amongst three-year-
olds. This was especially marked in areas with large ethnic minority
populations and limited labour market participation.

Implications of COVID for Early Childhood Education

and Care in England
Most children missed out on some early education because of the
pandemic. But some children’s experienced longer or more frequent
disruptions. The research highlights the impact on areas with large ethnic
minority populations – these were particularly likely to experience
temporary setting closures during the first year of the pandemic.

Most children missed out on some early education because of the

pandemic. But some children’s experienced longer or more frequent
disruptions. The research highlights the impact on areas with large ethnic
minority populations – these were particularly likely to experience
temporary setting closures during the first year of the pandemic.

Disadvantages of this covid 19 to the early childhood

education

 Attendance was also lower than we could have expected in deprived

areas, and areas with low female employment and high
unemployment rates.

 The research shows the impact of this disruption on children. Speech

and language delays were reported across all age groups as children
had fewer opportunities to develop their communication skills at
home

 Children struggled to adapt to new situations and missed out on

opportunities to socialise and develop self-regulation skills.

 Children spent less time outdoors and more time in sedentary

activities, their physical development, including their motor skills,
were negatively affected.

 As disadvantaged children have missed more early childhood

education and care than their peers

Challenges of parenting

 Mothers were more likely to experience the strain of parenting, with

their mental health negatively affected

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  Fathers were more likely to report the benefits of being able to spend
more time at home with their children

 Lone parents and families with children with additional needs who
required considerable support found parenting particularly
challenging

 Additionally, some working parents (mainly mothers) experienced

reduced income due to disruption to childcare arrangements, forcing
them to take unpaid leave or reduce their hours of work.

Highlights a number of implications for policy and the

sector

 More funding from central government to build a better and more

resilient early childhood education and care system, with a focus
sufficiency and equity of access and quality, linked to clear policy
objectives and developed in consultation with stakeholders
 A stronger role for local authority early childhood education and care
teams supported by dedicated funding. A named early years lead in
all local authorities with responsibility for ensuring that high quality
and accessible early childhood education and care provision is a key
component of the local offer
 Supporting take-up among disadvantaged children, evaluating
current schemes, extending those that are effective and testing new
approaches.
 An increase in good quality local authority provision, for example
through school-based settings.

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  Ensure families are not excluded from early education and
childcare for cost-related reasons.
 Stronger partnership with parents to support parents engagement in
their children’s learning, including provision of home learning to
children who do not access early education and childcare.
 Local authority support to providers could be strengthened in three
key areas: advice and funding to support sustainability while
ensuring that services meet the needs of local families; development
of local early childhood education and care workforce strategies; and
advice and training to support quality improvement.

Impacts of early childhood learning loss

1. Looking at studies of pandemic periods prior to the COVID-19

pandemic, it is clear that there will be both short- and long-term
negative consequences for many children, who are particularly
vulnerable in early childhood, when their brains are developing
rapidly and are very sensitive [51].
When an article is cited.

2. The COVID-19 pandemic is transforming society in profound

ways, often exacerbating social and economic inequalities in its
wake. In an effort to curb its spread, governments around the
world have moved to suspend face-to-face teaching in schools,
affecting some 95% of the world’s student population—the
largest disruption to education in history (1). The United Nations
Convention on the Rights of the Child states that governments
should provide primary education for all on the basis of equal
opportunity (2). To weigh the costs of school closures against
public health benefits (3–6), it is crucial to know whether

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 students are learning less in lockdown and whether
disadvantaged students do so disproportionately.

3. Whereas previous research examined the impact of summer

recess on learning, or disruptions from events such as extreme
weather or teacher strikes (7–12), COVID-19 presents a unique
challenge that makes it unclear how to apply past lessons.
Concurrent effects on the economy make parents less equipped
to provide support, as they struggle with economic uncertainty

4. Data on learning loss during lockdown have been slow to

emerge. Unlike societal sectors like the economy or the
healthcare system, school systems usually do not post data at
high-frequency intervals. Schools and teachers have been
struggling to adopt online-based solutions for instruction, let
alone for assessment and accountability

5. Survey evidence suggests that children spend considerably

less time studying during lockdown, and some (but not all)
studies report differences by home background (22–26). More
recently, data have emerged from students returning to school
(27–29). Our study represents one of the first attempts to
quantify learning loss from COVID-19 using externally validated
tests, a representative sample, and techniques that allow for
causal inference.

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Responsibility
Coronavirus pandemic has Proven that early education is
essential to a Child’s development and it solidified the notion
That early educators are indeed, essential to the
Workforce. Thus, it is the responsibility of Everyone in children’s
development to Advocate for improved supports for the child
care Community. “Governments, policymakers, and Educators
need to understand that the early years Are a critical
developmental period, a building
Block on which social learning, emotional well Being, and
academic achievement occur overtime. Additionally, ECEC
educators need to be Mindful that the social and emotional
needs of These young people may be qualitatively
Different as a result of the trauma experienced
During the Covid-19 pandemic”.

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Effects of the Global COVID-19 Pandemic on Early
Childhood Development
In just a matter of weeks, the COVID-19 pandemic has led to
huge societal public health And economic challenges worldwide. The
clinical effects of COVID-19 on young children are As of yet
uncertain when compared to older age groups, with lower morbidity
and mortality Rates and no conclusive evidence supporting vertical
transmission during pregnancy, on the one Hand, 1,2 but some
emerging evidence of rising rates of child shock, on the Other.3

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 Research on the effects of prior pandemics and disasters clearly
indicates that there will Be both immediate and long-term adverse
consequences for many children across the globe, With particular
risks faced during early childhood, when brain architecture is still
rapidly Developing and highly sensitive to environmental adversity4.
Estimates predict a rise in maternal And child mortality in low- and
middle-income countries services for non-COVID Related issues
become scarce. For example, a conservative scenario of 15%
reduction in Coverage of life-saving essential health interventions for
6 months in low- and middle-income Countries is associated with a
9.8% increase in under-5 mortality and an 8.3% increase in Maternal
mortality 5 Before the pandemic, 43 % of all children under 5 years
of age in the world Were estimated to be at risk of not achieving their
developmental potential.6 Unless there is a Commitment to support
coordinated, approaches in which low-and middle-income Countries
governments receive international support to scale up essential
interventions, a much Higher percentage of children are at risk of
devastating physical, and cognitive Consequences over the entire
course of their lives. We review the evidence base on short- and
Long-term risks for children during early childhood development
(ECD, defining this from Prenatal to 8 years of age). We also present
evidence-based mitigating program and policy .Actions that may
reduce these risks.

Immediate Consequences for Young Children

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 Maternal and child mortality and morbidity are predicted to increase
in the short run not Only directly from COVID-19 related illness, but
as critical resources are directed away from Primary care to respond
to the pandemic. Early results from a nationally representative phone
Survey in the United States show that over one-third of parents of
children under 6 years of delaying health care visits.7 Risks include,
for example, HIV-positive pregnant women And those in the
postnatal period interrupting their supply of antiretroviral medication,
placing Their infants at risk of vertical transmission of HIV. This has
the potential to begin to reverse the Enormous progress made by
prevention of mother-to-child transmission programs, especially in
Parts of sub-Saharan Africa where rates of maternal infection remain
high. Interruptions to the Vaccination schedule in early childhood
could have short- and long-term ramifications for Children’s health.
Furthermore, as has been experienced during the HIV epidemic,
illness, Hospitalization, separation, and loss of caregivers have
immediate harmful effects on young Children’s health, nutrition,
wellbeing, and learning. These effects can occur even in the
absence Of infection or symptoms among children.

Deteriorating economic circumstances will further exacerbate

immediate health, nutrition, Care and education risks. It is estimated
that the pandemic can lead this year to an additional 42To 66 million
children who live in extreme poverty, and that the economic shocks
experienced By families because of the global economic downturn
could reverse the last 2 to 3 years of Progress in reducing infant
mortality.8 Families may lose wages and housing, and have to bear
The costs of increased health care and associated food insecurity.
Low-income households Quickly deplete savings and sell assets to
provide better food and treatment for ill household Members. As in
prior economic crises, widespread loss of employment and increases
in poverty Drive further migration, displacement, and family

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 separations, which severely affects early Childhood nutrition, care
and development. Factors are compounded by the stress
experienced by caregivers, undermining their Ability to provide
consistent nurturing care.10,11 Parents can be the buffer between,
and/or the Mechanism through which crises in the environment affect
young children’s experiences Thereof. Parenting and family factors
are the critical drivers of children’s early healthy growth And
development and are thus primary in determining the immediate
severity of pandemic Impacts on young children now and in the
future. In crisis situations, primary caregivers and Parents struggle to
keep up with providing health, nutrition, safety and care of children.
For Those household already living in conditions of adversity and
stress, this crisis may have Particularly harmful effects. And with
many childcare and early education facilities closed Worldwide, and
interactions with extended families disrupted, children are deprived
of both Social and cognitive stimulation beyond their homes, in
addition to the meals and other Resources provided by many ECD
programs. Early evidence shows increases mental health difficulties
as well as increases in child behavior problems since the Onset of
the pandemic.7 The challenges may be amplified for parents and
family for children with disabilities, or living with disabilities
themselves. Maternal mental health plays an important role during
pregnancy also. Research has Demonstrated exposure to prenatal
depression affecting DNA methylation in a gene related to The stress
response in the child. Prenatal maternal stress more generally can
lead to adverse Pregnancy outcomes such as preterm birth, and
increased perinatal complications. The Importance of supporting
parents during pregnancy and after birth cannot be emphasized
Enough.

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Mitigating Actions to Support Early Childhood and
Later Development

Evidence of the effectiveness of programs for families with

young children – particularly Those that assist caregivers, parents
and other household members – supports policies can Mitigate the
severe short- and long-term impacts on young children of the
COVID-19 pandemic. First, healthcare and economic relief are
critical and must occur together. Emergency food Provision should
be accompanied by sustainable economic support (e.g. through child

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 benefits, cash transfers), as transfer-based social protection can
benefit multiple domains of Children’s health and efforts must be
accompanied by support for Caregivers’ well-being, mental health
and capacity to provide nurturing care for young children as a family
support package, so that young children can thrive, not just survive.
Screening for Needs assessment (e.g. basic needs and symptom
checklists being implemented concurrently at Mass scale) could
integrate items measuring caregivers’ anxiety, stress and depression
as well basic and psychosocial needs of their young children.37
Under the current conditions of less Accessible childcare and
healthcare, cash transfer programs, such as child benefits, should
take Into account the heightened costs of raising young children, as
the Canadian child program does. Evidence suggests that
stimulation and nutritional support is particularly Important in early
childhood, and within early childhood, more important during the
perinatal Period and infancy when the brain is particularly plastic.
Successful national efforts to Integrate cash transfers/child benefits,
nutrition (including support for breastfeeding), and health
Interventions with support for parenting and early learning are
models to be considered closely.

Lockdown affects the child development

The youngest children have been most affected by lockdowns and

closures during the pandemic, with new research finding that the
educational progress and social development four- and five-year-
olds suffered severely during their first year such as biting and
hitting, feelings of struggling in class or being overwhelmed around
large groups of children were among the difficulties reported by
teachers during interviews.

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 For many children the experience of lockdown was made harder
by cramped living conditions, no access to green spaces, parental
mental health difficulties and financial hardship. On starting school,
they had to contend with the disruption caused by Covid-19
restrictions only to then go back into another lockdown after just one
term of schooling,” the researchers concluded.

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Conclusion
The pandemic has highlighted the pivotal role of childcare in
supporting children’s development as well as an essential
component of the economic infrastructure, enabling parents to work.
The pandemic has also further undermined equity of access as fewer
children are accessing childcare, with those missing out being the
children who are most likely to benefit from it. We need to learn the
lessons of the pandemic and use them to build a better and more
resilient childcare system that better meets the needs of children and
families.

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