Pressure of lockdown homeschooling damaging mental health of Leeds parents, study finds

Theta Global Advisors spoke to 2,076 people in the UK as part of the study, which looked at the impact of lockdown and homeschooling on working parents.

Although schools remain open during the second national lockdown, many Leeds schools have disbanded year group bubbles and sent pupils home due to Covid outbreaks leaving parents balancing teaching and childcare with working at home.

More than half of Leeds parents in the study said their mental health has suffered due to the responsibility of helping their child with homeschooling, higher than the national average of two in five parents.

Almost a third of working parents in Leeds said childcare responsibilities during lockdown set them back more than a year in their career, with the same proportion reporting their employer has been unsympathetic to them having to manage childcare around work.

Parents have been hardest hit by the pandemic, 70 per cent of people in Leeds agreed, as they are faced with juggling work and homeschooling.

Theta Global Advisors partner Chris Biggs said urgent intervention is needed to prevent the second lockdown "holding back" working parents even further.

He said: "Lockdown restrictions were bound to impact people across the country but for those who already look after children, the impact this period would have on their career has been significantly underplayed.

"Our research has shown that working parents do feel that they are under increased pressure and stress due to homeschooling during lockdown and the majority of Brits support this.

"Therefore, we must do more to help working parents to ensure this lockdown doesn't hold them back even further.

"If you are feeling stressed, it is crucial that you speak to your employer or manager. Stress decreases productivity, increases the margin for error and makes people less focused, so it is vital for both employee and employer to deal with it effectively.

"If you are struggling to balance work and home life, for example, especially during a second national lockdown, have a conversation with your manager and put in place workable deadlines that work for you and your employer.

"Many of my team can actually work more effectively after 7pm when they've settled their children down for the night so they can just focus on work, meaning that neither their work or home life suffer while the kids are at home.

"Try and be as accommodating with your boss as possible and all being well, they should demonstrate the same willingness back."

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