The UK Covid-19 Inquiry has today published groundbreaking research after hearing directly from 600 children and young people aged 9-22, revealing a multitude of profound, distressing and life-altering ways the pandemic affected them.
The report, a product of the largest child interview-led research exercise ever undertaken by a UK public inquiry, is published ahead of four weeks of public hearings for the Inquiry’s Module 8 investigation which start on Monday 29 September 2025.
The hundreds of children and young people’s testimonies captured in the brand new Children and Young People’s Voices research report reveal how the pandemic had a profound impact and long-lasting effect on their lives. Many describe both the devastating consequences of illness and lockdowns as well as unearthing remarkable examples of resilience.
The Inquiry has enabled 600 children and young people to share their experiences of living through the pandemic. Participants, now aged 9 to 22, were between 5 and 18 years old during that unique period. Many recalled living through an “empty time” of lockdown, when normal routines and young people’s fundamentally important milestones simply disappeared. Others described carrying a “weight of responsibility” as they took on extremely challenging caring roles and responsibilities within their homes.
Further experiences include:
- Some experienced arguing with family members or witnessed tension between adults, meaning home was not a safe or supportive place to be confined to during lockdown
- Limited device access and space to work at home made pandemic learning particularly challenging
- Some spoke of frustration or anger at missing out on milestones such as the end of primary school or post-exam celebrations
- Others recalled their experiences of exam cancellations, including frustrations about the grades they were awarded – the research includes instances where young people felt less able or inclined to go to university
- Secondary school-aged young people developed worries around body image and appearance, with some accessing mental health services for the first time
- Physically disabled children and those with health conditions described feelings of uncertainty, fear and anxiety about catching Covid-19 and its serious implications, particularly around returning to school and college environments where they felt vulnerable and exposed
- Those bereaved during the pandemic faced difficulties when restrictions prevented seeing loved ones before death or mourning normally
While many children and young people faced significant challenges, the research also captured resilience, positive experiences and things that helped them cope during the pandemic including:
- Children described how friends, family and wider communities helped them through the pandemic, with trusted conversations providing invaluable support during struggles
- Children described consciously protecting their wellbeing by doing positive activities like getting fresh air, exercising, spending time with pets, or escapist entertainment
- Being able to do rewarding activities helped children cope with boredom and feel motivated, including developing skills and discovering new passions
The research report will directly inform Chair Baroness Heather Hallett’s Module 8 investigation, shaping her report and recommendations to enable the UK to be better prepared for a future pandemic and to protect these young people as well as future generations.
The Children and Young People's Voices project marks a major milestone for the UK Covid-19 Inquiry. By listening to hundreds of children and young people from across different parts of the UK, we have uncovered the huge variation in the experiences they lived through. While some young people faced difficulties with their mental health, education and home life, many also told us about the positive aspects of spending more quality time with family or learning new skills. There was no one 'typical' childhood experience of the pandemic.
Hearing and learning from children and young people is invaluable to the work of this Inquiry. This research will help inform our public hearings as we examine the pandemic's impact on education, health, wellbeing and development. The findings will help the Chair reach conclusions and make recommendations about how the UK can better prepare and protect future generations.
The Inquiry is extremely grateful to all the children and young people who shared their experiences with our researchers, helping to ensure the pandemic stories of their generation are at the heart of this investigation. Their voices must be heard.
The new research recounts how children and young people experienced lockdown restrictions. While some found moments of closeness with family and friends, others faced new and difficult circumstances such as heightened tensions at home, disrupted education, and challenges with their physical and mental health:
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“We lived in a very high flat… it was quite challenging because we didn’t have any fresh air. If we wanted fresh air we’d just stick our head out of a window and just breathe in… it was not nice… not having a garden.” “That was, like, very difficult having my mum, my auntie, my uncle; my brother was there as well and my cousin. So it was a very crowded place. It was also very, like, emotionally draining with kind of like family stuff. So I did end up, like, developing anxiety… I was very sad a lot of the time… Making sure, like, the room was clean that we shared, making sure we didn’t argue. It was just, like – I was used to that before Covid but at least before Covid I could actually leave the house a little bit. During Covid I couldn’t leave at all.” |
Some children and young people describe how they took on new or increased caring responsibilities, with some finding themselves supporting vulnerable family members in ways they had never experienced before:
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“I did a lot more caring than I did before during the pandemic… I had to take care of [my brother] a lot more and just like keep him distracted and everything. It was nice because I got to spend time with him, but it was also draining.” “Being one of the younger people in the house, I kind of had to step up now both my parents were kind of incapacitated… There was no space and no time and no real ability to mourn in any of the ways that I had done previously.” |
Children and young people describe varied experiences of how the pandemic shaped their friendships and relationships:
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“I did not have a phone then, so it was really hard to communicate with friends… I think [the pandemic] was pretty big and influential on me because not really being able to speak or communicate with people… I was unable to go to school, so it was yes very trapped in the house… Tensions just kept building and being stuck with [my foster carers] was making it a whole lot worse because I couldn’t really avoid them or whatever. So just being there all the time wasn’t the best.” “I think it definitely made me appreciate just being at home more and enjoying time at home with my parents. Just doing simple things. Not always being busy.” |
Many children and young people describe how the easing of restrictions brought unexpected challenges, with some recounting the difficulties readjusting to life outside their homes and some still needing to take greater precautions to stay safe’:
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“Not leaving the house… and then having to try and get used to being in public again, and going to school… definitely contributed to, like, my anxiety being a lot worse.” “When we came out of [lockdown] but then we were still expected to shield… while everybody else was out and doing stuff, they seemed to have forgotten about people who were shielding, especially if they weren’t like old people.” |
Children and young people explain how the pandemic changed their school experience and learning:
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“I learn best when I have a physical thing in front of me that I can see someone doing, so, having to sit at home trying to learn all this brand-new information about all these subjects that are just new to me… without being able to see anybody do it was very difficult. ” “I preferred it at home because in the classroom it’s sort of like, not cramped, but there’s like lots of like other kids there… [at home] you could like, go to your own like space and you could like, you could, you could like have more breaks, because [at school] you can’t take it all in and then, it’s like, oh, let’s move to the next lesson now, like in two seconds… At home it was better… because then it’s not all jumbled up in your brain, all the stuff, like all of it at once. But when you’re at home, then… your head can take it in, yes.” |
This research will provide crucial evidence for Module 8 public hearings. The hearings will examine how the pandemic affected children and young people with disabilities or other health conditions, including those with special educational needs, physical disabilities and those living with post-viral covid conditions, including but not limited to Long Covid.
Module 8 examines the impact of the pandemic on children and young people across England, Wales, Scotland, and Northern Ireland. Alongside expert reports and hearing from witnesses who made key decisions, including former Government ministers and officials, the Chair requested two distinct pieces of evidence to provide a rounded view of experiences; the Children and Young People’s Voices research and the Module 8 Every Story Matters Record.
Through Every Story Matters, the Inquiry will also hear the perspective of children and young people who are now over 18 but who were under 18 during the pandemic, those who were aged 18-25 and adults that were caring for or working professionally with children and young people at the time.
About the research
The research employed a trauma-informed approach, with extensive safeguarding procedures put in place to ensure a safe and supported experience for all children and young people taking part. Interviews were designed to be participant-led across a sample broadly reflective of UK demographics, alongside targeted groups of those who were particularly impacted by the pandemic.
It is vital that the experiences of children and young people, particularly those suffering with Long Covid, are heard, respected, and taken seriously. This report reflects a broad range of voices and offers valuable insight into how the pandemic has affected young lives. We hope it will help ensure that the long-term health and wellbeing of children and young people are fully recognised and prioritised in future policy and planning - and that their lived experience is meaningfully included in shaping those responses.
Babies, children and young people suffered deeply during the pandemic, not just from the virus, but from the decisions made around it. From maternity wards to empty classrooms and locked playgrounds, their worlds were turned upside down. The most vulnerable felt it the hardest. Their voices have always mattered but they haven’t always been heard. The Inquiry must hear them now, so we learn from past mistakes, and they are never repeated
The Inquiry works with many groups and organisations and is extremely grateful for their support in either consulting on the research design or helping us connect with children and young people they work with. They would like to acknowledge the following for their invaluable contribution to this research. They include:
- Save the Children
- Just for Kids Law, including the Children’s Rights Alliance for England
- Coram Voice
- Alliance for Youth Justice
- UK Youth
- YoungMinds
- PIMS-Hub
- Long Covid Kids
- Clinically Vulnerable Families
- Article 39
- Leaders Unlocked