The Growing Up in New Zealand COVID-19 Wellbeing Survey. Part 2: Education.

This report details findings from the online COVID-19 Wellbeing Survey delivered in May 2020, at which time, Aotearoa New Zealand was experiencing strict COVID-19 pandemic restrictions. This survey was completed by 2,421 children aged 10–11 years who are a part of the Growing Up in New Zealand longitudinal study. The survey provided the opportunity to: 1) understand the children’s experiences during lockdown, both positive and negative, by hearing directly from the children themselves and 2) ascertain the likely level of engagement by the cohort in an online digital data collection process.

This report focuses on findings related to COVID-19 ‘bubbles’, lockdown activities, family life, school satisfaction, device use and screen time, and connectedness. Findings are compared with responses from when the children were approximately eight years of age where possible.