Exploring teachers’ perceptions of supporting children’s emotional health and wellbeing: a post-COVID-19 perspective

ABSTRACT

Attention to children’s emotional health and wellbeing (EHWB) has increased over the last decade due to a decline in children and young people’s mental health. COVID-19 escalated this need globally as children were subjected to immediate and drastic changes to their education and daily lives. This paper reports on a UK qualitative study exploring the perceptions of teachers working in primary schools and the level of support they require for children’s EHWB. Semi-structured online interviews were conducted with teachers during COVID-19. The findings highlighted four themes of professional support that were required: 1) funding support 2) support with pedagogical responsibilities, 3) external support and 4) home and parental support. Overall, teachers considered there was a lack of provision for their role, with additional pressures placed on them to support children’s EHWB. The paper concludes that more resources are required long term to support teachers in a post-COVID-19 education system.

KEYWORDS:

• Emotional health and wellbeing
• primary schools
• qualitative interviews
• COVID-19 pandemic
• human-centred design

Introduction

Attention to children’s emotional health and wellbeing (EHWB) has increased across educational settings over the last decade due to a decline in children and young people’s mental health (Clarke & Hoskin, 2022; O’Reilly et al., 2018). The COVID-19 pandemic escalated this need globally, as children found themselves subjected to immediate and drastic changes to their education and daily lives (Chaabane et al., 2021; Morgül et al., 2020; Orgilés et al., 2020; Shah et al., 2020). In England, schools went through a series of national lockdowns between March 2020 and May 2021, with many children unable to attend school in person and access education in the same way they had previously (Huang & Ougrin, 2021). Such disruption is now understood to be a factor impacting upon their EHWB, and hence on the current support necessary for children’s mental health and related educational service provision (Morgül et al., 2020; NHS Digital, 2017; Orgilés et al., 2020). Furthermore, the fallout of the pandemic is understood to have likely consequences on children’s mental health long term, with an already notable increase of anxiety, depression, impaired social interaction, and sleep disturbances present in many children and young people (Meherali et al., 2021).

The National Health Service (NHS) Digital, (2021a) conducted major surveys on the mental health of children and young people in England and found 39.2% of 6 to 16-year-olds felt they had experienced a deterioration in mental health between 2017 and 2021. Correspondingly, since COVID-19, 6 to 16-year-olds with possible mental health disorders increased from 11.2% to 16% (1 in 6) in 2020 (NHS Digital, 2020), and increased to 17.4% in 2021 (NHS, 2021a). These figures are supported by further data showing an increased demand for child mental health services, with an 81% rise in referrals from April to September 2021, compared to the same period in 2019 (NHS Digital, 2021b). During COVID-19, specialist educational support, such as educational psychologists (EPs), was also in high demand, resulting in a backlog of Educational Health Care Plan (EHCP) assessments for children requiring additional support in school (Jayanetti, 2021; Lyonette et al., 2019).

At the time of writing, only a small number of studies have started to emerge exploring the impact of COVID-19 on children’s EHWB in primary schools. This current paper aims to explore teachers’ perception of the need to support pupils’ EHWB in school, contributing to a growing, but limited, understanding from within the literature. This paper is timely as educators begin to navigate the longer-term impact of COVID-19 on children’s EHWB within their settings.

EHWB provision and resources available to teachers

All schools in England are responsible for fostering children’s EHWB (Department for Education, 2024; DfE, 2018; Krause et al., 2020). Prior to 2019 the Department for Education (DfE) published multiple documents of guidance positioning children’s EHWB in schools as a public priority, including documents such as “Counselling in Schools” (Department for Education, 2016), “Mental Health and Behaviour in Schools” (DfE, 2018), and “Promoting Children and Young People’s Mental Health and Well-being” (DfE, 2015). Since 2001, Emotional Literacy Support Assistants (ELSAs) have been introduced into schools to support pupils with their wider emotional needs (Burton, 2008). ELSAs complete a six-day training course provided by an EP, where they explore children’s emotional needs and how to deliver support programmes within their school (ELSA Network, 2017; Krause et al., 2020).

The literature has cited the positive impact ELSA interventions have had on children in schools (Krause et al., 2020; Wong et al., 2020). However, since 2020, only a small number of studies have been published on how COVID-19 has impacted upon levels of resources (see Hooper et al., 2024). Current government support to help schools recover from COVID-19 includes a variety of academic and emotional wellbeing support, including “Senior Mental Health Lead Training” (DfE, 2021b); the “Well-being for Education Return” (Ford and DfE, 2020); and the “Catch-up Premium” (DfE, 2021a). Funds were ring-fenced and therefore schools were subject to scrutiny if the funding from these initiatives was not used in line with government-level priorities, or curriculum expectations (DfE, 2021a). Even though additional economic support and guidance have been provided by the government in the form of funding and training, the effectiveness of these programmes on children’s EHWB is not yet understood.

Teachers’ perceptions of children’s EHWB in school

Globally, literature prior to COVID-19 has explored teachers’ perceptions of their roles, barriers and abilities in relation to supporting children’s EHWB in primary schools. Studies have found that teachers are committed to having an active role in supporting children’s EHWB (Askell-Williams & Cefai, 2014; Maclean & Law, 2022; Mazzer & Rickwood, 2015) despite multiple perceived barriers. Recurring issues include a lack of training (Maclean & Law, 2022; O’Farrell et al., 2023; Reinke et al., 2011; Shelemy et al., 2019), a lack of funding (Maclean & Law, 2022), time and workload due to competing priorities (Connelly et al., 2008; Spratt et al., 2006) and a lack of confidence, skills, and knowledge (Askell-Williams & Cefai, 2014; Maclean & Law, 2022; Mazzer & Rickwood, 2015; O’Farrell et al., 2023). A common perception from teachers has been the need for more training to improve their knowledge of how to support children’s EHWB (Askell-Williams & Cefai, 2014; Shelemy et al., 2019). Additionally, prior to COVID-19, the literature already signalled that teachers found the referral system a source of constant frustration, due to inflexibility and delay, preventing them from providing children with the expert support they needed (Connelly et al., 2008; Spratt et al., 2006).

Research aims

The aims of this paper are to share data on teachers’ perspectives on how they can support children’s EHWB in primary schools. The research specifically seeks answers to (1) what are the barriers for primary teachers in supporting children’s EHWB and (2) what would facilitate teachers to better support children’s EHWB in the future?

Methodology

Understanding professional needs for supporting pupils’ EHWB is determined by many complex and interrelated factors (Bazzano et al., 2017). A Human-Centred Design (HCD) influenced the research approach. Although the term HCD originates from ergonomics, computer science and artificial intelligence, the concept has evolved to provide a complete design paradigm based on human behaviours and meanings, including those in health (Bazzano et al., 2017). Giacomin (2014, p. 610) asserts:

Today’s human centred design is based on the use of techniques which communicate, interact, empathize and stimulate the people involved, obtaining an understanding of their needs, desires and experiences which often transcends that which the people themselves actually realized.

A qualitative method was adopted to allow for individual experiences to be explored in narrative form. Therefore, the experiences of participants were considered unique and not in the same way as with physical phenomena (Matthews & Ross, 2010). Rooted in a Human-Centred Social Constructivist lens, this paper considers reality as subjective (Matthews & Ross, 2010) and therefore posits that teachers have a personalised view of supporting children’s EHWB based on different experiences. Throughout the data collection and analysis process, the researchers remained open to different responses being presented, to reflect the unique context of the professional from within their setting. The researchers further position that the voices within this paper are essential to be heard, as they capture the experiences within a particular “moment” within education for children. Therefore, an objective of this paper is to gather and record the human experience, specifically that of the teacher, for future understanding of the impact and longer-term EHWB support for children.

The study used semi-structured interviews to collect participant data due to their functionality in gaining unique participant perspectives, and the capacity they afford to undertake this approach remotely. Interviews were conducted, audio-recorded and transcribed over the video conferencing platform “Zoom”. An interview schedule was used to provide a framework to guide the conversation, but the interview questions were open-ended to allow flexibility for new knowledge to arise. Example questions from the schedule included:

• How would you define EHWB? What does it mean to you?

• In your view, what are the best ways/practices to support children’s EHWB in school?

• Are there any challenges you face to support children’s EHWB? If so, what are they?

• Have you received any training on programmes or interventions to support children’s EHWB, if so, what? Have they helped?

• Can you describe your level of confidence currently in supporting children’s EHWB?

Participants

In total, 13 participants were recruited and took part in the study (see Table 1) based upon availability at the time of the study; this included nine class teachers who had all completed at least one full academic year in education. To gain a broader insight into the role of teachers and schools in supporting children’s EHWB, three senior leaders and one EP were also included in the sample. The senior leader perspective was included, as their role was to implement strategies that promote a school’s ethos and values, which was considered important to promote a mentally healthy school environment. The EP perspective was included to give an “insider” perspective of the support for children’s EHWB in schools as a non-teacher. Teaching participants were recruited through convenience sampling through social media advertisements. Senior leaders and the EP were recruited through purposive sampling. Due to the participants being recruited from multiple areas of South England, this is not considered to be a representative sample, but provides a contextually rich data set.

Table 1. Overview of participants who took part in the study.

Participant	Sex	Years’ Experience	Job Title	Responsibilities
P1	Female	7	Teacher	Age 6–7 Teacher Maths Lead
P2	Male	14	Senior Leader	Head Teacher
P3	Female	12	Teacher	Age 10–11 Teacher Age 8–11 Phase Lead
P4	Male	6	Teacher	Age 10–11 Teacher
P5	Female	5	Teacher	Early Years Teacher
P6	Female	4	Teacher	Teacher in Social Emotional and Mental Health School
P7	Female	3	Teacher	Age 6–7 teacher
P8	Female	2	Teacher	Early Years teacher
P9	Female	26	Senior Leader	Special Needs Coordinator
P10	Female	33	Senior Leader	Executive Head Teacher
P11	Female	8	Teacher	Early Years Teacher Special Needs Coordinator
P12	Male	13	Teacher	Age 8–9 Teacher
P13	Female	16	EP	Member of National ELSA Network (a national educational psychology intervention in schools)

Ethics

Ethical approval was obtained from the lead author’s institution. Ethical decisions and proceedings were also conducted in line with two central ethical documents: the British Education Research Association (BERA) guidelines (British Educational Research Association [BERA], 2018) and the British Psychological Society (BPS) Code of Human Research Ethics (Oates et al., 2021). All participants received a participant information sheet before signing a participant consent form. Personal data were stored securely with password protection to uphold participant anonymity and confidentiality (BERA, 2018; Oates et al., 2021). All participants were given the right to withdraw from the research before data analysis commenced (British Educational Research Association [BERA], 2018; Oates et al., 2021).

Data analysis

Thematic analysis (TA) was used for the analysis of the interview data as it permitted flexibility when interpreting the data, allowing themes to be generated from researcher analysis of each participant’s individual experiences, and with an accessible and systematic format (Braun & Clarke, 2014); data analysis was also informed by Braun and Clarke (2021). To enable TA, interviews were audio recorded and an automated transcription tool via Zoom was employed. Due to automated transcriptions being tenuous, the audio recordings and automated transcriptions were listened to concurrently. The automated transcriptions were then corrected in areas that were not autonomously transcribed correctly. Additional notes were made throughout the interview to support “transcript context” of the conversation. To conduct TA, Braun and Clarke’s (2006) six phases of analysis were followed (see Table 2). Each of the six stages in Table 2 has been summarised to represent the process specifically for the purpose of this research.

Table 2. The process of TA influenced by Braun and Clarke (2006).

Braun and Clarke (2006) TA Phases	Description of phase utilisation within the study
Phase 1 Familiarising yourself with your data	The automated interview transcriptions were read alongside the audio recordings and misprints were corrected. Transcriptions were re-read multiple times and initial ideas were noted down by highlighting the transcriptions.
Phase 2 Generating initial codes	Using the initial ideas highlighted, recurrent phrases or prominent quotes from the transcriptions were selected and allocated to each research question. From the quotes, recurrent phrases and experiences generated initial codes for each research question where compelling quotes were assigned to each code.
Phase 3 Searching for themes	The codes were joined and compared to create initial themes and subthemes.
Phase 4 Reviewing themes	Tables and mind maps were created by theme and by research questions to review and refine the themes to see if they fit the dominant initial codes and phrases.
Phase 5 Defining and naming themes	The dominant themes were clustered from each research question to generate overall four theme names and subthemes were generated that applied to the different research questions.
Phase 6 Producing the report	The themes and subthemes were named, and an overall analysis was conducted. An overall mind map of all themes and subthemes was reviewed and generated (see figure 2). Supporting quotes from the transcriptions were selected and put into an individualised mind map per theme (see Figures 3-5).

Findings and discussion

Four core themes were generated from the participant interviews. The themes have a dual function as they operate as both a barrier and facilitator for primary teachers to support children’s EHWB. The core themes are broadly captured under an umbrella theme of “support”, and were identified as: funding support; support for pedagogical responsibilities; external support; and home and parental support. These four themes were accompanied by 10 further sub-themes (see Figure 1). Each of the themes will now be discussed in turn.

Figure 1. Thematic map of core themes and related subthemes.

Funding

Funding was a dominant theme expressed both as a barrier to supporting children’s EHWB, and a solution to what would facilitate teachers to better support children. Figure 2 presents the sub-themes: catch-up funding, wellbeing support, and training, with supporting quotes from the data.

Figure 2. Quotes representing the theme of funding and related subthemes.

Catch-up funding

The so-called “catch-up premium” was a frequently mentioned source of frustration by teachers and senior leaders in the interviews, as the purpose of the funding was “to catch children up academically”. The DfE (2021a) stipulates the premium must be used for academic recovery with a perception that the funding provided would “be reclaimed” if it could not be evidenced through academic “catch-up”. One participant felt that EHWB catch-up “hasn’t been very good and it’s just landed on schools to do their own thing”.

Wellbeing support

The lack of funding for wellbeing support was a passionate discussion point. Participants expressed that funding was scarce to spend on specialist help in terms of EPs and internal pastoral care through ELSA provision, and they needed more to support children’s EHWB. One participant stated if they possessed “more money… [their school] could carry two full-time ELSAs and probably a psychologist”, but they do not have the assets; therefore, the school has to “deal with it”. The EP corroborated with a view that specialists are hard to access and felt the increase of children in need has had a ripple effect on the services allocated to support EHWB needs.

A DfE research report of Educational Psychology Services from June 2023 recognised the perception that EPs are spending more time on EHCPs due to high demand, and less time providing systemic work and early intervention (Atfield et al., 2023). The report signalled that 69% of Principal EPs felt they could not meet the demand for their services if funding was not improved. The EP in this study gave direct insight expressing that due to the increase in needs of children, EPs are stretched and cannot provide “therapeutic work”, so a strain is put on ELSAs:

I think one of the issues in meeting children’s emotional needs at the moment is the lack of resources… ELSAs have heavier caseloads and are working with more complex needs and the spin-off of that is that requests for EHCP assessments are sky high because that’s one way of accessing the funding, that’s a real difficulty for schools. It’s a massive difficulty for our service to meet that statutory need and deliver a more kind of early intervention and prevention service.

The current national picture depicted through child mental health statistics supports a perceived increase of children in need of support National Health Service (NHS, 2021a) and the participants’ views of ELSAs being stretched and a lack of funding towards this domain. Schools are required to fund ELSAs internally (ELSA Network, 2017); therefore, money to invest in more ELSAs and targeted support would need to be allocated from internal school budgets. Participant responses suggest that currently there is a misplacement between a perceived need from the Government, and where funding is allocating additional resources, to where schools internally recognise the need.

Training

All participants mentioned a lack of training as a barrier to supporting children’s EHWB. Multiple teachers and senior leaders felt “not very knowledgeable about… different areas of emotions” and perceived this to be “down to training”. Training was also perceived to be an element that would facilitate teachers in supporting children’s EHWB on how to “create a class where mental health issues are reduced, and wellbeing is high”.

All teacher participants said they had not received any extra training or provision on child EHWB since COVID-19 other than school funded in-service training days and continued professional development and felt there was a distinct lack of extra support. Although the government had offered a grant for the Mental Health Lead (see DfE, 2021b), all teachers were either not aware of someone within their school having this training or had not seen an impact from this new role. Previous studies provide evidence that teachers perceive a lack of knowledge to act as mental health experts in schools because of a limited training provision (Maclean & Law, 2022; O’Farrell et al., 2023).

Notably, participants commonly mentioned wanting more funding towards training on EHWB to facilitate better support for children in school. Literature spanning over 15 years has also recognised funding (and funding for training) as a persistent barrier to supporting children’s EHWB in schools (Connelly et al., 2008; Maclean & Law, 2022; Moon et al., 2017; Reinke et al., 2011). Moon et al. (2017) also found 85% of educators in their research indicated wanting more training to improve confidence in managing pupils’ mental health needs.

Pedagogical responsibility

Pedagogical responsibility was a prominent challenge discussed in relation to supporting children’s EHWB in school. Sub-themes included external pressure, such as standardised assessments and external inspections, and time and workload (see Figure 3).

Figure 3. Quotes representing the theme of pedagogical responsibilities and related subthemes.

External pressure

External pressure was a frequently cited barrier within this theme and often discussed concerning expectations around standardised assessments. Participants spoke widely about the lack of allowances made for children academically. Year 2 (ages 6–7) and Year 6 (ages 10–11) teachers, and senior leaders deliberated the reintroduction of standardised assessments after having been paused during COVID-19, putting pressure on the children and themselves and affecting children’s EHWB negatively. A teacher participant felt strongly that the pressure from standardised assessments in particular was “a very cut and dry reflection which can open wounds in terms of academic experiences and that can be detrimental to a child’s self-esteem”.

Previous literature has shown increasing trepidation surrounding children’s emotional wellbeing and national tests, even before the COVID-19 outbreak (Jerrim, 2021; Sach, 2012). However, at the time of writing, there was no evidence ascertaining teachers’ recent perceptions of standardised tests in relation to the aftermath of COVID-19, and how this has impacted the current educational landscape. Nevertheless, one participant stated, ‘There is no purpose of SATs at the end of the day… all tests are meaningless; they are for external purposes”.

Another idea that arose from the subtheme of external pressure was that external inspections also enabled barriers to supporting children’s EHWB in schools. Several participants discussed the added pressure and stress that external inspections from the Office for Standards in Education (OFSTED) put them under before and during COVID-19, causing an extra focus on getting academic levels back up to expected standards. Such perceptions are in line with previous studies and the media that indicated how expectations arising from external inspections can act as a further barrier to supporting children’s (and staff’s) EHWB (Bousted, 2020; Hopkins et al., 2016).

Time and workload

The subtheme of “a lack of time” and a “high workload” was mentioned by seven teacher participants and all senior leaders. The general message from participants was they lacked time to complete all their pedagogical responsibilities alongside supporting children’s EHWB. Multiple participants felt they struggled to allocate sufficient “time… to properly address all of these needs” that children have emotionally alongside the expectations of academic learning requirements. Even two decades ago, teachers felt time was a constraint they had to balance to complete their pedagogical responsibilities, alongside supporting the children emotionally (Connelly et al., 2008; Maclean & Law, 2022; Spratt et al., 2006). This was before the impact of COVID-19 had fully been realised and subsequent imposed “catch up” pressures.

The EP in this study expressed that the increase in pressure on teachers to support children’s EHWB has been a consequence of an increase in workload for EPs. Her perspective is there is an “increased need due to the pandemic” that is displayed through “more Social Emotional Mental Health EHCPs” and the “requests for EHCP assessments’ being “sky high””.

External support

A third core theme was linked to a lack of external support for teachers when supporting children’s EHWB in schools and that more external support would facilitate better support of children’s EHWB in school. The sub-themes that emerged within this theme were pastoral support, referral process, and government department pressure (see Figure 4).

Figure 4. Quotes representing the theme of external support and related subthemes.

Pastoral support

All participants discussed pastoral support in schools in terms of human resources; ELSA support and teaching assistants trained to support pupils with emotional and social needs. Every participant stated their school had an ELSA, and the general perception was how “invaluable” ELSA support was in relieving some of the pressure in supporting children’s EHWB. However, the strain on ELSAs, due to the increase of children with complex needs (see NHS Digital, 2021b), was a mutual barrier perceived between several participants. One participant felt there was “a recognition that ELSAs have heavier caseloads and are working with more complex needs” in light of COVID-19 and there is an acknowledgement that more ELSA support is required to bridge the gap between children in need and accessing external mental health services.

The EP had expert insight into the ELSA programme as part of the National ELSA Network. She believed the number of ELSAs being trained since COVID-19 had increased, reporting almost 100 ELSAs on a waiting list for training in 2022 in their regional county. An increase in demand is understood to be brought about by an increase in child need. Statistics show 20% of children under 18 years old who were referred to mental health services waited more than 12 weeks for a follow-up appointment between April 2020 and March 2021 (NHS Digital, 2021b), meaning internal pastoral care within schools, such as ELSAs, are required to support children with more complex EHWB needs for extended periods before they can reach clinical mental health services. A quote from a teacher participant summarised that school pastoral care is strained and requires more support and training if they are expected to provide interim expert interventions for children as “ELSAs are not trained enough for the whole weight of school SEMH”.

Referral process

A closely associated barrier to pastoral support was the referral process for external mental health services. In tandem with the increase in demand for ELSAs, participants suggested this was a consequence of mental health services, such as Child and Adolescent Mental Health Services (CAMHS), also being stretched (Huang & Ougrin, 2021; NHS Digital, 2021b). Multiple teachers, and all senior leaders, experienced issues accessing children the help they need due to CAMHS being in such high demand and struggling to access EPs (Atfield et al., 2023). One teacher commented on the level of need for a CAMHS referral for her child who was not attending school during the COVID-19 pandemic, but when the parent phoned the doctor [GP], they said “schools were sorting it out and schools were supporting children… and [her child] needed to…get back into school rather than contacting the GP who didn’t want to have anything to do with that”.. Additionally, a senior leader experienced a child threatening to kill him [the head teacher] and telling friends and family “what he would use”, but this “wasn’t deemed a big enough problem for CAMHS”. This participant wanted to make a plea “… to central government to seriously put in a workforce of people who can deliver specialised help” and stated that is “a big part of the problem” schools face when supporting children’s EHWB. These first-hand experiences show the “huge backlog” that mental health services, such as CAMHS, are facing and the consequences children in need of specialised support must endure.

The EP expressed that they had two terms where they had to cease delivery of work in schools to focus on EHCPs. She described that when the ELSA project began, it was supposed to “sit below CAMHS… nothing too complex”, but now, she comments, “your child needs to be in crisis to meet their criteria…CAMHS are so stretched… so there are children whose needs are perhaps more complex than the ELSA would be trained for”. Around 30% out of the 2.8 million people in contact with mental health services between 2020 and 2021 were under 18 years old (NHS Digital, 2021b) and 20% of children referred waited more than 12 weeks for a follow-up appointment between April 2020 and March 2021 (NHS Digital, 2021b). Between April and June 2020, the number of children and young people referred for urgent crisis care compared to the same period in 2019 increased by 81% (NHS Digital, 2021b), which echoes both the EP and other participants’ views that the increase in complex needs from children is putting a further strain on internal pastoral care and external mental health services.

Government pressure

Participants commonly discussed a barrier to support children’s EHWB as pressure from the government, and that relieving this pressure would facilitate better support. Teachers frequently expressed that pressure from the DfE and external inspections for meeting academic standards and expectations being relieved as an element that would facilitate them in supporting children’s emotional needs better.

Research shows a common cause of stress was external assessment and standards from OFSTED and the DfE (Bousted, 2020; Hopkins et al., 2016). The literature currently indicates that a school and teachers’ reputation are dependent on the inspection and is stress-inducing (Bousted, 2020; Hopkins et al., 2016). Participants in this study expressed a desire for academic pressure to be relieved by OFSTED and the DfE. Furthermore, several teachers implored for more recognition by government departments about the importance of EHWB, and how it should be a focus for schools at this time, not academic standards. A lack of understanding about the importance of EHWB is reflected in aspects of DfE policy, such as the catch-up funding being provided purely for academic purposes and ring-fenced (DfE, 2021a), suggesting a lack of priority has been placed on supporting and teaching children about their wellbeing.

Home and parental support

Home and parental support presented two prominent barriers articulated by participants. These were the effects of COVID-19 on the home and communication with home (see Figure 5).

Figure 5. Quotes representing the theme of home and parental support and related subthemes.

Effects of COVID-19

Participants widely discussed “Parents struggling in lots of areas” since COVID-19 and their anxiety was being projected onto children causing those children to “struggle in school” which, in turn, has caused “a massive pressure” for teachers. Previous research has explored how a parent’s emotional state can influence children’s EHWB (Martiny et al., 2022), and may lead to a deterioration in both children’s and parents’ mental wellbeing as a result of COVID-19 (Gassman-Pines et al., 2020; NHS Digital, 2020).

Communication

Multiple participants articulated that communication with parents and carers had been a barrier in supporting children’s EHWB from two ends of the spectrum: lack of communication with teachers and being overly protective. One teacher participant gave an alternative perception that parents can be “overprotective” and that their children are “more able than parents think they are”, suggesting that parents’ overprotectiveness, in light of the pandemic, is harming children’s EHWB. Although the literature is scarce concerning parental involvement and communication with school affecting children’s EHWB, some research supports that overbearing parenting can have opposing effects on children (Wong et al., 2018), and excessive worrying and control over the child can lead to an increased risk of low self-esteem (Deci et al., 1991). Other evidence suggests that communication with parents can be a barrier for teachers in general but is often discussed more in terms of academic development (Rogers et al., 2009).

Limitations

Due to the ongoing effects of COVID-19, a limitation of this research was the sample size. The researchers are therefore clear that where contextualised responses have been given in this paper, generalised claims across a larger population cannot be made. However, the researchers argue that the data identified in this research are likely to have a wider application in UK schools more generally. A further limitation was in regard to the sampling approach. Convenience and purposive sampling were selected due to the connections that the lead researcher had with educators during the COVID-19 pandemic. It is acknowledged that this sample is unlikely to be representative or free from bias; however, interviews evoked authentic opinions which added a degree of integrity to the research. Moreover, multiple participants have been in contact since the interviews and expressed how “refreshing” it was to be asked for their perspectives. This reaffirms the importance of research framed within a human centred design (HCD), to allow space and time for teachers’ experiences to be shared and should be an essential part of evidence building to inform and implement policy.

Conclusion and implications for practice

The aim of this paper was to share data from teachers’ perspectives on how they can support children’s EHWB in primary schools. The objective was for human experience, specifically that of teachers, to be recorded to inform future understanding of impact and longer-term need. In doing so, this paper contributes to a limited but growing research base within this area that comes from a unique moment in education’s history. As the study took place immediately following the COVID-19 lockdown, many of the examples discussed were contextualised during the pandemic itself. This extraordinary event placed an immediate and intensive demand upon teachers to support children’s EHWB, within a system that was already under immense strain. The findings from this study present four core themes that had a dual role in illustrating both the barriers and support required for children’s EHWB in schools. The four themes were: funding support; support with pedagogical responsibilities; external support; and home and parental support.

Multiple implications arose from the exploration of these themes. Firstly, the ongoing pressure that CAMHS faces (Huang & Ougrin, 2021; NHS Digital, 2021b) has instigated a ripple effect causing schools to struggle to support children, and their families, with EHWB needs. A critical and urgent recommendation from this paper is for local and governmental systems to consider how external services for child mental health can be supported, including but not limited to, an increase in the level of pastoral support for schools around EHWB and support for school staff from EPs.

The study also identified a pressing need for whole school education and training on children’s EHWB, to which EPs might contribute their knowledge and skills, and which is in addition to a specialist EHWB workforce. Considering the rising level of EHWB need reported by the teacher participants, the researchers advocate for a long-term commitment to EHWB, rather than a reactive focus that tackles the need as it arises. Such a model would require a universal, whole school approach towards EHWB for all children, and one that is fully integrated into the school community and wider education system.

In the short term, a reprieve from academic pressures was expressed to give schools time to support the growing numbers of children with EHWB needs. Multiple participants considered that the impact of COVID-19 on EHWB will need to be repaired for many generations to come. Due to this research being conducted while COVID-19 was still a lived, “real threat” to life, there was limited current literature to corroborate these findings. However, early studies have shown persistent barriers that impede the level of support needed for children, including that of funding (Maclean & Law, 2022; O’Farrell et al., 2023). Finally, the authors would recommend that further research be undertaken into teachers’ perceptions of supporting children’s EHWB in schools, and this should be conducted on an ongoing basis. The authors suggest that this will help to better inform policy on current and longer-term trends of EHWB from a primary schooling perspective.

Disclosure statement

No potential conflict of interest was reported by the author(s).