A rapid review of strategies to support learning and wellbeing among 16-19 year old learners who have experienced significant disruption in their education as a result of the COVID-19 pandemic

What methods of support could help 16-19 year olds progress their learning and improve their wellbeing during the pandemic?

The COVID-19 pandemic has caused significant disruption in education and affected all aspects of young people’s lives. Pupils from disadvantaged and vulnerable groups have been most affected. This review looks at how to support the learning and wellbeing of students aged 16-19 years who have experienced significant gaps in their education and who are at a crucial time in their lives as they move into further study or employment. 

The review found no evidence of how effective support has been for young learners during the pandemic and therefore looks at the evidence of how well different ways of supporting young people worked during periods of disruption before COVID-19.

Young learners (3-18 years old) were helped by:

• More one to one or small group support  

• More hours of teaching such as longer school day or during the holidays 

• Being helped to understand how they think and learn 

• Being helped to be able to control their emotions and focus on learning 

• Extra maths and English lessons 

In the USA providing financial assistance and information about colleges helped learners with high potential but from low-income families to go onto higher education. 

Taking students out of key lessons for additional English classes did not help. It is not known if providing extra teaching support for the whole group or online has any benefit. 

The following improved the wellbeing of young learners of all ages: 

• Counselling 

• Exercise  

• Taking action to improve sleep 

• Mindfulness (exercises such as controlled breathing and meditation designed to reduce stress) 

Identifying the need for and being able to easily access medical help was identified as being helpful for the 16-19 age group. 

It is unclear if therapy to prevent mental ill-health or lessons to develop social and emotional skills such as self-control and getting on with other people helped. It is not known what difference support from family and friends makes. 

Policy Implications  

The only available evidence of what type of support works for 16-19 years old learners comes from before the pandemic. We need to find out if these types of support will also work during and after the pandemic. 

Targeting support at learners from the most deprived backgrounds significantly improves their progress. 

Read the full report.