What We Can Learn from Sweden’s Covid Strategy: The Importance of Keeping Schools Open
The pandemic disrupted education worldwide, with school closures leaving a profound legacy. In the UK, children faced learning loss, mental health challenges, and social isolation. But Sweden took a different path, keeping most schools open throughout. This decision provides valuable insights into how we might prioritise school attendance in any future crisis.
Sweden’s Covid policy focused on balancing risks: minimising deaths from the virus while avoiding the wider societal harm of lockdowns. While upper secondary schools shifted to remote or hybrid learning, primary and lower secondary schools stayed open. This allowed younger children to maintain routines and social interactions, mitigating some of the negative impacts seen elsewhere.
The results were mixed but insightful:
- Educational Outcomes: Research found that Swedish primary students maintained reading comprehension levels, showing the benefits of keeping schools open.
- Mental Health Challenges Persisted: Even with open schools, Sweden didn’t escape the broader mental health crisis. Upper secondary students experienced social exhaustion and anxiety, as they too faced isolation and disrupted routines.
- Absenteeism Issues: Sweden saw a rise in school aversion, with “home-sitters” — students with high absence rates — becoming a growing concern, mirroring trends in other countries.
What the UK Can Learn
The Swedish example isn’t without its flaws, but it provides valuable real-world data to inform our strategies. Here’s what we should consider:
1. Prioritise School Attendance in Crisis Response
The UK’s prolonged school closures may have been driven by initial uncertainty, but hindsight and evidence show that children were not significant vectors of the virus. Schools could have reopened sooner, as seen in Denmark and Sweden. Keeping schools open should be a priority in future crises to protect children’s education and mental health.
Recommendation: Build contingency plans that make school closures a last resort, with clear guidelines to balance public health concerns against the long-term impact on children.
2. Address Long-Term Mental Health Impacts
Even in Sweden, where schools largely stayed open, children have faced ongoing mental health challenges. Social exhaustion, anxiety, and delayed emotional development are common issues. In the UK, where closures were longer, the effects are even more pronounced.
Recommendation: Expand access to mental health services in schools. Early intervention can help children process pandemic-related trauma and address issues like school aversion before they escalate.
3. Combat School Aversion
Sweden’s rise in absenteeism, despite open schools, highlights a critical challenge: once disrupted, attendance habits are hard to restore. The UK has seen a similar trend, with chronic absenteeism increasing post-pandemic.
Recommendation: Develop attendance strategies that go beyond enforcement, focusing on re-engaging students and families. Programmes that provide emotional support, tailored interventions, and clear communication can help rebuild trust in the school environment.
4. Strengthen School-Home Partnerships
Sweden’s experience underlines the importance of involving parents in education. “Curling parents” — those who remove obstacles from their children’s paths — may have inadvertently compounded developmental delays by not fostering independence during the pandemic.
Recommendation: Equip schools with resources to involve parents in supporting children’s learning and independence. Regular communication, workshops, and resources for parents can foster a collaborative approach to education.
5. Use Real-World Data to Shape Policy
The pandemic forced every country to make difficult decisions with limited information. Sweden’s strategy, despite criticism, provides a wealth of data showing the trade-offs between keeping schools open and minimising health risks. This evidence can help refine future policies.
Recommendation: Governments should invest in long-term studies of pandemic impacts, focusing on both education and health outcomes. Data-driven decision-making will ensure that lessons from the past guide future strategies.
The Lasting Legacy of School Closures
The fallout from prolonged school closures is undeniable. Premature ageing of adolescent brains, spikes in mental health issues, and significant learning loss have all been documented. Former education secretary Gavin Williamson’s upcoming questioning in the Covid Inquiry underscores the need for accountability and forward planning.
Moving Forward: A Commitment to Keeping Schools Open
As the Children’s Commissioner for England, Rachel de Souza, has stated, “I would not close schools.” The evidence supports this sentiment. While public health risks must be managed, the impact of closures on education, mental health, and social development is too great to ignore.
Sweden’s pandemic approach offers valuable insights: keeping schools open supports educational outcomes and mitigates some long-term harm, though challenges like mental health and absenteeism remain. For the UK, this real-world data is a powerful reminder of the importance of school attendance. By putting children’s needs at the forefront of policy decisions, we can ensure that future generations are better protected against the disruptions caused by global crises.