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Covid-19 worries & parent stress (July 2020)

Co-SPACE Iran

Focus of this report

This report provides cross-sectional data from the approximately1,100 parents/carers who have taken part, and completed the survey between 10/04/20 and28/06/20. We aimed to report some preliminary findings from the first 1,100 participants who completed the survey1and this was reached on 28/06/2020 by when 1,110 parents/carers had taken part. In this report, we focus on the following outcomes:

  1. Parent/carer reported child worries related to COVID-19
  2. Parent/carer sources of stress
  3. Support and disruptions
  4. Child educational needs (SEN)and disruptions
  5. Parent/carer need for support
  6. Parent/carer preference for the medium of delivery of support

For questions related to sources of stress and support, we have also looked at responses for:

  1. Parents/carers whose child has special educational needs(SEN/ND)
  2. Parents/carers by different, current working status

Key findings

  • Among our sample, most of the parents reported that their child thought that Covid-19 was a very serious issue.
  • Nearly a third of parents/carers reported that their child was worried about missing school and afraid to leave the house.
  • Child’s wellbeing is the most frequent source of stress for Iranian parents, followed by their child’s future.
  • 39.4% of children and adolescents with SEN/ND are struggling with cognitive and learning problems followed by communicating and interacting needs
  • 61.2% of those who were previously receiving support from services have had this stopped or postponed during the pandemic.
  • Parents particularly want support around their child’s behavioural problems, child’s emotional wellbeing and educational demands.
  • Parents of children with SEN/ND would also like support around managing their child’s behaviour and emotional wellbeing.
  • Parents/carers would value online written materials and TV programmes, while parents with children with SEN/ND would also like online support from professionals.