THE lasting impact of the Covid pandemic on school children across Essex has been revealed as shocking figures show a drop in attendances and a rise in suspensions across the county.

One headteacher has raised concerns that exposure to social media while learning from home during the pandemic has had a knock-on impact on children’s education.

Stark figures show that the number of pupils persistently missing school in Southend and across Essex has jumped from 13.1 per cent in 2019-20 to 19.5 per cent last year.

The number of suspensions at schools in Southend has risen from 3.8 per 100 pupils in 2018-19 to 6.8 per 100 pupils in the 2022-23 academic year.

Similarly, in Essex the number of suspensions per 100 pupils rose from 5.2 to 9.3 per 100 pupils in the same period.

Sue Jackson, headteacher of Lee Chappell Primary School in Basildon, said many children have “grown up too fast” following exposure to social media while learning from home.

“Some of these children have missed out, it’s obviously had an impact on them,” she said.

“There will be children who have spent a lot of pivotal time in their bedrooms and on social media. I’m sure this has affected them.

“They are growing up too fast because of this.”

She added her school are addressing the issue of children being left behind by introducing more learning assistants into the classroom to help students catch up.

The pandemic has also harmed young children’s speech, reading and writing skills, with the proportion of children performing to the expected level falling from 68 per cent to 62 per cent in Southend.

In the wider Essex area, this figure fell from 66 per cent to 61 per cent.

Carolyne Goodall, a Southend mother of seven, questioned whether it was the level of teaching in some schools, or an overcrowding of pupils which had caused worse results for attainment and absences.

She said: “I think it’s a mixture of things really. It could be parents taking out their children in term time for school holidays.

“I do not know about the level of teaching in some schools. I do not know if it is because of too many students or the quality of teaching in certain schools.

“That is concerning. I think there was a fallout from lockdown. I think it will start to recover.

“Teachers are pigeon-holed a bit in how they can teach. They are told how to teach, and I think they are lacking a bit in disciplining students.

“Being firm with them is not wrong. Where discipline fails, education fails.”

Speaking to the Echo, Chris Webster, councillor for Southend’s Kursaal ward and a former headteacher, said children had really struggled with adjusting back to a school environment since the pandemic.

She said: “A lot of children have found it really difficult with being at home, working from home, not having that support, especially children with difficult family situations.

“Being at home for a couple of years, children have found it really difficult to manage.”

She called for additional funding for SEN and mental health provision at schools to help children who have been most affected.

“Education needs more money, that is for sure. I am hoping this Government will do that” she added.