Lockdown damaged the emotional development of almost half of children, a major study has shown.

Parents said their children appeared more worried, had lost confidence more easily and were more prone to tantrums and low moods after the UK’s Covid lockdowns.

The findings emerged in the first study of its kind into the impact of lockdowns on children’s behaviour and emotional development, with the Institute for Fiscal Studies (IFS) and the UCL Institute of Education surveying more than 6,000 parents in England.

Just under half of parents said they believed their child’s social and emotional skills had worsened during the first year of the pandemic, revealing that the impact of lockdowns has extended beyond lost academic progress.