ARU Final Report

24 Care leavers’ experiences of support during the Covid-19 pandemic A few respondents in our questionnaire experienced a severe lack of support with their education and expressed how useful this would have been: “Uni have been crap... it would have been nice to have a lot more support from that side of things.” (Q: Male, 21) “More support and understanding from college about how this whole situation can affect me and my health.” (Q: Female, 20) Cortina et al. (2020a; 2020b) conducted rapid reviews of emerging evidence from around the world to explore the impact of the coronavirus pandemic on children and young people’s mental health. They found that key school events such as exams and graduation ceremonies can act as anchors in a young person’s world, and the current uncertainty and disruption in relation to these can be a great source of worry. When asked about the impact of coronavirus on how they think and feel about the future, children and young people’s biggest concerns were school, missing out on teaching, falling behind, and what missing exams would mean for their future (The Children’s Society, 2020). Become (2020) reported similar findings and stressed that even without lockdown and missing education, care experienced young people are less likely to progress in education when compared to their non-care experienced peers. They further acknowledged that care leavers at third level education have a lot more to contend with in comparison to the general student population and are more likely to need support, particularly during the pandemic. This was reflected in the current research, as one young person reflected on her experiences of support from college: “Support from colleges was a bit iffy. I do an art course, the lecturers did not all understand that I did not have the same access to materials. My ceramics teacher tried to get me making clay with flour but I could not get any! As lockdown went on they got more supportive. They replied quite fast when I asked for help. But nothing I did after March got marked, which I did not find out til June.” (FG: Female, 17) In Scotland, the MCR Pathways Lockdown Survey (2020) with care experienced young people and those on the edge of the care system, found 68.2% did no schoolwork during lockdown because: it was too hard to understand (49.1%), they were too stressed and anxious (42.5%), or they had caring responsibilities (26.7%). Though most young people wanted to go back to school, 80.5% had concerns, including worries about contracting coronavirus (60.2%), not having seen friends for a long time (50.3%), and re-establishing relationships with teachers (46.7%). They suggested that meeting with their MCR mentor (82.1 per cent), having one-to-one time with teachers (75.4%), and extra support (66.6%) would make school or blended learning easier. Young people in our questionnaire reflected on how extra support with education has been helpful for them: “My teachers were very good at making sure we fully knewwhat to do with work. And would even spend time after class to help us if we needed it” (Q: Female, 17). “Teachers at college often check in on me to see if I’m okay and are aware of my situation.” (Q: Female, 17) 4.1.5 Support with children Finally, the questionnaire asked about experiences of looking after children during the pandemic, and 23.6% of respondents indicated that receiving support with this was applicable to them. Of these respondents, 31.8% did receive support while 68.2% did not receive support . The lack of support with children was also echoed in the focus group: “No help whatsoever, but he is only 3.” (Q: Female, 22)