Anne’s daughter is just nine, but feels constantly overwhelmed by school. Like many children, she found the pandemic very difficult, her mother explains. “She would stop talking for periods of time – we’d find her curled up and feeling low. I don’t think she’s ever really recovered from that.”
The nine-year-old struggled with returning to her primary school, and Anne has become increasingly concerned about her daughter’s mental health. “In school holidays, she’s a different person – there’s a lightness and fun about her. But the shutters go down when it’s time to go back to school,” the 53-year-old from Bristol said.
Anne says she does not think “there’s been any real acknowledgment of the trauma” with which the pandemic burdened some children.
“This is a really large part of their lives and it’s been completely turned upside down. Then they are thrown back in and expected to get on with it.”
After the mother spoke to the school about her child feeling down and unable to concentrate, it agreed to allow her to spend Friday afternoon in a different environment. As a stay-at-home parent, Anne says she is “fortunate” to be able to provide flexibility, and her daughter now ends her weeks at a forest school: “She was absolutely thrilled. She was just relaxed – there was no pressure to do things and it was led by her.”
