Children with Attention Deficit Hyperactivity Disorder (ADHD) are more at risk for academic underachievement compared to their typically developing peers. Understanding their greatest strengths and challenges at school, and how these can be supported, is vital in order to develop focused classroom interventions. Ten primary school pupils with ADHD (aged 6–11 years) and their teachers (N = 6) took part in semi-structured interviews that focused on (1) ADHD knowledge, (2) the child’s strengths and challenges at school, and (3) strategies in place to support challenges. Thematic analysis was used to analyse the interview transcripts and three key themes were identified; classroom-general versus individual-specific strategies, heterogeneity of strategies, and the role of peers. Implications relating to educational practice and future research are discussed.

Schools often provide structure and safety to students but particularly for vulnerable children and young people. The Covid 19 pandemic has caused unprecedented upheaval across society as a whole but it is clear that the effects are uneven and that some groups have been more directly and negatively impacted, both in the UK and globally. While there are now much helpful quantitative data on the effects of Covid 19 on education, there has been little in-depth qualitative study which examines the experiences and attitudes of young people as students and specifically the effect of school closures and exam cancellations on their mental health and wellbeing. This paper discusses findings from online group interviews with a total of 45 young people and aims to understand the impact on mental health and wellbeing and what young people, themselves, suggest would help mitigate the effects of the global pandemic on their mental health and wellbeing in school.

Recent research has suggested that particular content of television programmes, such as watching fantastical scenes, can have negative consequences on cognitive functions in young children. We examined the effects of watching fantastical programmes on executive functions measured at both pre‐ and post‐television viewing. Eighty 5‐ to 6‐year‐old children participated and were randomized into either fantastical or non‐fantastical conditions. They completed inhibition, working memory, cognitive flexibility, and planning tasks both before and after watching either the brief fantastical or non‐fantastical television clip. Whilst there were no differences between the groups at pre‐test on any of the cognitive measures, children in the fantastical condition were poorer on inhibition, working memory, and cognitive flexibility tasks at the post‐test session. Watching fantastical television content, even briefly, seems to disrupt cognitive function performance in young children across a broad range of aspects of executive function. Statement of contribution: What is already known on this subject? Exposure to fantastical content within a television programme may impair executive functions in young children. What does this study add? Exposure to fantastical content within television programmes impairs executive functions in children of early primary school age. Impairment extends to all three core aspects of executive functions. Watching fantastical clips slows down planning performance without improving accuracy.

Evidence suggests that cognitive and literacy difficulties are common for children with Attention‐Deficit/Hyperactivity Disorder (ADHD). The current systematic review and meta‐analysis investigated the relationship between cognition and literacy in children with ADHD. Ten thousand and thirty‐eight articles were screened against the inclusion criteria and six eligible studies were retained for final review. Where two or more studies used comparable measures of cognition and literacy, a meta‐analysis of the relationship between these measures was undertaken. A narrative synthesis of all included studies was also completed. There were medium effect sizes between working memory and aspects of reading, and small effect sizes between processing speed and reading. Inhibition and attention had differential relationships with aspects of literacy with varying effect sizes. This systematic review demonstrates differential relationships between aspects of literacy and cognition in children with ADHD. Further examination of these relationships is warranted to support intervention development.

Increasing evidence has shown that the Covid-19 outbreak, and subsequent school closures and exam cancellations that followed, has impacted adolescent mental health. The current cross-sectional study examined rates of depression, anxiety and Post Traumatic Stress Disorder (PTSD)-like symptoms about Covid-19 in adolescents and whether current or past mental health support, additional support in school, keyworker status, poorer household relationships since the outbreak of Covid-19 or reduced physical activity were associated with elevated levels of depression, anxiety or PTSD-like symptoms. Lastly, it examined perceived changes in mental health due to the Covid-19 pandemic, school closures and the cancellation of exams. A total of 899 adolescents (14–18 years) took part in the ’in isolation instead of in school’ (INISS) project. Findings indicated that older adolescents, females, those who currently or previously received mental health support or additional support in school and adolescents who reported poorer relationships at home since Covid-19 were more likely to meet clinical threshold levels for their mental health. Adolescents highlighted worsening of their mental health due to Covid-19 and school closures with mixed positive and negative impact of exam cancellations. Adolescents experiencing clinical threshold levels of depression and anxiety uniquely reported worsening of their mental health since the Covid-19 pandemic, school closures and exam cancellations. Understanding the rates, perceptions and factors associated with increases in depression, anxiety and PTSD-like symptoms in adolescents during the Covid-19 pandemic will inform national policy in supporting adolescent mental health and recovery from the Covid-19 pandemic.