Official Statistics

The People and Nature Survey for England: Children’s survey (Experimental Statistics)

Updated 7 October 2021

Applies to England

1. Main findings

Natural England commissioned research to understand the perspective of children and young people relating to nature during Covid-19. Asking children about their experiences directly is important to provide young people with a greater stake in and voice about the natural environment.

A total of 1,501 children, aged between 8-15 in England, participated in an online survey between 6th-18th August 2020 (inclusive). The main findings include:

• Coronavirus has had an impact on children’s mental health and wellbeing, with half (48%) of children interviewed reporting that being worried about catching / spreading coronavirus had stopped them from spending more time outside. More generally, one in five (19%) reported being worried the previous day and a quarter (27%) said they were lonely often/always or some of the time. One in five children (19%) reported that they were part of a household that was shielding.
• The survey demonstrates the positive role of nature in supporting children’s well-being, with eight in ten (83%) of children interviewed agreeing that being in nature made them very happy. Overall, four in five (81%) children reported being happy and just three per cent reported being unhappy.
• Children who reported spending more time outside (and more time noticing nature / wildlife) were more likely to report that ‘being in nature makes me very happy’ (91% and 94% respectively, compared to 79% of those who had spent less time).
• Six in ten children (60%) reported to have spent less time outdoors since the start of coronavirus, more than double the proportion that had spent more time outside (25%). These findings suggest that, when read alongside the results for adults in the same period , far fewer children are spending more time outside since coronavirus started than adults (45% adults report spending more time outside compared to 25% of children).
• Natural spaces are important places for connection – with the natural world and each other. However, since the lockdown, 81% of children stated that they had spent less time outside with friends. Seventy per cent of children said that, in the future when things start to get back to normal, they want to spend more time outdoors with friends, and 44% reported wanting more time outdoors at school.
• Local parks and private gardens were important ways of accessing green and natural spaces during lockdown. When asked where they had visited in the past week, three in five children (62%) had played in gardens (theirs or someone else’s) and the same proportion (62%) had visited a park, playing field or playground. Far fewer children had spent time in other natural places such as the seaside (27%), the woods (26%) or the wider countryside (24%). Park closures were felt more acutely by younger children, with over half (56%) of 8-11 year olds saying that this stopped them from spending more time outside.
• Children’s access to nature during coronavirus varied across the population. For example, 71% of children from ethnic minority backgrounds reported spending less time outside since coronavirus, compared with 57% of white children. Three-quarters (73%) of children from households with annual income below £17,000 spent less time outdoors, compared with 57% from households with an annual income above £17,000.
• Environmental concern was high among children in England. Eight in ten (82%) agreed that they would like to do more to protect the environment; 78% said that protecting the environment was important to them. There was very little variation in levels of environmental concern when analysing by age, region, ethnicity, social grade or annual household income.

Multiple supporting documents have been published alongside this report including a spreadsheet containing all the results, the respondent data-set and the survey questionnaire.

We welcome collaboration, sharing of analysis, and feedback from users of the data via the User Hub.

2. Other pages in this release

The People and Nature Survey for England, led by Natural England, is one of the main sources of data and statistics on how people experience and think about the environment. It began in April 2020, and runs continuously, in line with Government Statistical Service guidance on data collection during the COVID-19 crisis.

The People and Nature Survey includes questions asking adults about their children’s time in nature. This release contains some comparisons between the children results of this survey and the adults People and Nature Survey which ran in the same period (August 2020).

Further information about the People and Nature Survey for England (including monthly releases, information on methods, strengths and limitations, and Experimental Statistics) are available.

Data for this survey were collected between 6th-18th August 2020 (inclusive). Results from this survey therefore cover a period where restrictions on movement had been eased but some restrictions remained. This page summarises the latest advice on accessing green spaces safely.

3. Experimental Statistics

All initial releases from the People and Nature Survey will be released as Experimental Statistics. This status highlights to users that these Official Statistics are in the National Statistics testing phase and that Natural England is still working on further developing the methodologies used in their production whilst ensuring adherence to the Code of Practice for Statistics (the Code).

4. Children’s wellbeing during the pandemic

Children were asked, on a scale of 0 to 10, how worried they were the previous day (with 0 being not at all worried and 10 being completely worried). One in five (19%) children aged 8 to 15 in England reported being worried (a response of 7 or more out of 10). While the proportion that were worried did not vary by household income or social grade, it was higher among children from ethnic minority backgrounds (24%, compared with 18% of white children) and older children (23% for 12-15 year olds, compared with 16% of 8-11 year olds).

Almost half of children in England (48%) reported that being worried about catching/spreading coronavirus stopped them from spending more time outside. Four in ten children (41%) were worried about breaking coronavirus rules. One in five children (19%) reported that they were part of a household that was shielding. Children from ethic minority backgrounds were more likely to report being in families that were shielding (26%) than white children (16%).

When asked how happy they were the previous day (on a scale of 0 to 10, where 0 was not at all and 10 was completely happy), four in five children (81%) were happy (response of 7 to 10). Just three per cent were unhappy (response of 0 to 3). Children from households with an annual income below £17,000 were less likely to report that they were happy (72%) than children from households with an annual income of £17,000 or more (83%).

A quarter (27%) said they were lonely often/always or some of the time, which was slightly higher for girls (31%) than boys (24%). A further 28% were lonely occasionally.

There have been a number of studies that demonstrate the negative impact of the coronavirus pandemic on various aspects of children’s wellbeing, such as reduced happiness or heightened anxiety^{[footnote 1]}. These have shown that children are worried about contracting the virus, spreading it to their family members, and losing loved ones, and that they are reporting higher instances of depression, anxiety, and loneliness.

The mental health charity Young Minds conducted a study with 2,000 young people with a history of mental ill health in June-July 2020^{[footnote 2]}. Four in five (83%) respondents agreed that the coronavirus pandemic had made their mental health worse, including two in five (41%) said it had made their mental health “much worse”, up from 32% in the previous survey in March. This was often related to increased feelings of anxiety, isolation, a loss of coping mechanisms or a loss of motivation.

The recent Government second annual State of the Nation report also reports challenges for children and young people (aged 5-24) and indicates mental health difficulties have increased for some school-aged children over the months of the pandemic^{[footnote 3]}. Challenges identified include isolation from friends, learning from home and worries that family or friends might get sick. Despite challenges to mental wellbeing however, they report stable levels of happiness and only a slight reduction in satisfaction with their lives.

5. The role of nature in supporting children’s wellbeing

The link between natural environments and health and wellbeing outcomes is increasing well understood^{[footnote 4]}. This survey suggests the positive role of nature in supporting children’s wellbeing during coronavirus. For example, eight in ten (83%) of children interviewed agreed that being in nature made them very happy. This figure was higher for children who stated they had spent more time outside since coronavirus (91%) and even higher for those children who stated they had spent more time outside looking at wildlife/nature (94%).

Children reported wide ranging benefits from spending time outdoors. The most commonly reported things that children enjoyed about spending time outdoors during coronavirus were having a quiet/ relaxing time (47%), being able to exercise (46%) and having fun playing (39%) (Figure 1).

Figure 1: What children most liked about spending time outside during coronavirus. The most commonly reported things were having a quiet/ relaxing time (47%), being able to exercise (46%) and having fun playing (39%).

Figure notes Source: CS_Q7: What have you most liked about spending time outside during the coronavirus lockdown?
(1) Data collected between 6 - 18 August (inclusive).
(2) The sample for this question was 1,501 respondents.
(3) Error bars represent the 95% confidence interval of the mean (see Glossary).

It is increasingly recognised that engagement with the natural environment has wide ranging physical, emotional, social and cognitive benefits for individuals of all age groups^{[footnote 5]}. The importance to wellbeing of children spending time was also highlighted in the August People and Nature Survey where two in five (40%) adults agreed that their child seems happier when they have spent time outside.

The positive impact of being in nature was further explored in the Wildlife trust’s ‘Nature Nurtures Children’ study^{[footnote 6]}, which found 79% of children who had engaged in supervised outdoor activities reported that they felt more confident in themselves, or that they had better relationships with their classmates as a result. Similarly, 81% noted that their time in nature ‘made me feel calm and relaxed’.

6. Children’s time outside during the pandemic

Six in ten children (60%) reported to have spent less time outdoors since the start of coronavirus, more than double the proportion that had spent more time outside (25%) (Figure 2). Fourteen per cent of children reported spending about the same time outside since the start of coronavirus. These findings suggest that, when read alongside the People and Nature Survey results for adults in the same period, fewer children are spending more time outside since coronavirus started than adults (45% adults report spending more time outside since coronavirus, compared to 25% of children).

Historic data from the Monitor of Engagement with the Natural Environment, shows that, of all age-groups between under 6 and 65+, children aged 6-12 spent time in nature most frequently^{[footnote 7]}. The People and Nature Survey will, over time, track whether this historic trend has been altered by coronavirus.

Children were asked whether they had spent more time, less time, or about the same amount of time outside by themselves, with friends, with people they live with, and time looking at wildlife / nature (Figure 2).

Eight in ten children (81%) had spent less time outdoors with friends than they did before coronavirus. They were more than twice as likely to have spent less time outdoors by themselves (52%) than more time (23%). Historic data from adults about their children’s time outside measured using the Monitor of Engagement with the Natural Environment shows that between 2013 and 2019 there had been a decline in proportion of children spending time outside without adults present^{[footnote 7]}. This latest survey data, with many children reporting less time outside by themselves, suggests that coronavirus may enhance the historic trend.

Figure 2: Whether children spent more time, less time, or about the same amount of time in nature since the start of coronavirus. Six in ten children (60%) reported to have spent less time outdoors since the start of coronavirus, with eight in ten children (81%) spending less time outdoors with friends.

Figure notes Source: CS_Q5, CS_Q6A, CS_6B, CS_6C, CS_6D: Since coronavirus happened, have you spent…?
(1) Data collected between 6 - 18 August (inclusive).
(2) The sample for this question was 1,501 respondents.
(3) Error bars represent the 95% confidence interval of the mean (see Glossary).

The Government’s 25 Year Environment Plan recognises that playing and learning outside in nature is a fundamental part of childhood and supports children’s mental health and wellbeing and highlights that some children have good access to natural spaces whilst others do not^{[footnote 8]}. This data suggests that in August 2020, there were key differences between population groups in how children spend time outside including by age, income and ethnicity. For example, 71% children from ethnic minority backgrounds reported that they spent less time outside since coronavirus, compared with 57% of white children. This may reflect that 26% of children from ethnic minority backgrounds were part of households that were shielding compared with 16% of white children.

There was also a negative impact on time spent outdoors for children from lower income households. Three-quarters (73%) of children from households with annual income below £17,000 spent less time outdoors, compared with 57% from households with an annual income above £17,000.

Older children spent less time outside overall and less time looking at wildlife than younger children (Table 1). Older children were more likely to report that not being able to go with friends stopped them from going out more (43%, compared to 29% for 8-11 year olds).

Table 1: Proportion of children that spent less time outside than they did before coronavirus by age.

Since coronavirus happened have you spent less time outside…?	Total (%)	Confidence Interval (%)	Age 8 to 11 (%)	Confidence Interval (%)	Age 12 to 15 (%)	Confidence Interval (%)
Overall	60	3	56	4	66	4
By yourself	52	3	46	4	57	4
With the people you live with	36	3	31	4	41	4
With your friends	81	2	81	3	82	3
Looking at wildlife / nature	44	3	39	4	49	4

Table notes Source: CS_Q5, CS_Q6: Since coronavirus happened, have you spent…?
(1) Data collected between 6 - 18 August (inclusive).
(2) The sample for this question was 1,501 respondents (763 for age 8-11 and 737 for age 12-15).
(3) Error bars represent the 95% confidence interval of the mean (see Glossary).

When looking at whether children had spent more or less time outside with people they live with since coronavirus began, a higher proportion of children had spent more time outside with people they live with (47%) than less time (36%). This suggests that while children are getting out less (because of less opportunities to get outside with friends, extended family and groups or schools), many children are getting outside more with the people they live with. However, this did vary across the population, with children from ethnic minority backgrounds more likely than white children to say they had spent less time outside with people they live with (51% compared to 31%).

7. The natural places children spent time in

In August, most children’s experiences of nature during coronavirus has been local – their back garden or local park. Far fewer children had spent time in nature further afield (Figure 3). When asked where they had visited in the past week, three in five children (62%) had played in gardens (theirs or someone else’s) and the same proportion (62%) had visited a park, playing field or playground. Around a quarter had been to the beach or the seaside (27%), the woods or a forest (26%), or to the countryside (24%).

Figure 3: Children’s favourite places to spend time, and whether they had visited any of these places in the last week. Most children’s experiences of nature during coronavirus has been local – their back garden or local park. Far fewer children had spent time in nature further afield.

Figure notes Source: CS_Q3: Have you visited any of these places in the last week?
(1) Data collected between 6 - 18 August (inclusive).
(2) The sample for this question was 1,501 respondents.
(3) Error bars represent the 95% confidence interval of the mean (see Glossary).

Older children were less likely than younger children to say they had visited parks or played in a garden (57% and 66% respectively). Children from ethnic minority backgrounds were more likely than white children to visit parks / playing field / playgrounds (66% and 60% respectively). This may be because children from ethnic minority backgrounds are less likely to have access to their own private garden than white children (80% and 91% respectively) and more likely to be living in urban areas (according to the August adults survey, 89% and 68% respectively). Children from minority backgrounds may therefore have a limited number of options available to access green and natural spaces and be more reliant on visiting parks.

Children were asked about their favourite places to spend time. The most popular places were parks (reported by 76% of children), the seaside (73%), a garden (52%) and indoors (50%). Smaller proportions of children reported that woods, countryside and rivers were their favourite places, which may reflect the smaller proportions of children who spend time in such natural places.

When asked about access to gardens, nine in ten (88%) children reported that they had access to a private garden with 5% reporting access to a shared garden. White children were more likely to have a private garden than children from ethnic minority backgrounds (91% and 80% respectively). Three quarters (75%) of children from a household with annual income below £17,000 had access to a private garden, compared with 90% for children with a household with annual income of £17,000 or more. Almost all children with a garden had spent time in it in the previous week (4% reported not spending time in it in the previous week).

In the People and Nature Survey, adults are asked how often their children spend time in green and natural spaces (not including gardens). In August, the majority of adults with children (84%) reported that their child was getting outside to spend time in green and natural spaces on average once a week or more. Seventeen per cent reported children getting outside every day. Ten percent reported children spending time in green and natural spaces less than once a month or never (largely consistent with previous months). A third of adults (29%) said they were worried that their child was spending too much time indoors.

8. Children’s reasoning on what has stopped them spending more time outside since coronavirus started

Children reported that fear of catching or spreading coronavirus was the main reason stopping them from spending more time outdoors (48%), followed by a local park or playground being closed (47%) and worries about breaking coronavirus rules (41%) (Figure 4). Over a third of children (36%) reported that there was no point spending time outside if they couldn’t meet their friends. Older children were more likely than younger children to say this (43% and 29% respectively).

Figure 4: Children’s reasons for not spending more time outide since coronavirus started. Fear of catching or spreading coronavirus was the main reason stopping them from spending more time outdoors (48%), followed by a local park or playground being closed (47%) and worries about breaking coronavirus rules (41%)

Figure notes Source: CS_Q8: Did any of the following stop you from spending more time outside since coronavirus started?
(1) Data collected between 6 - 18 August (inclusive).
(2) The sample for this question was 1,501 respondents.
(3) Error bars represent the 95% confidence interval of the mean (see Glossary).

Adults with children were asked, as part of the August People and Nature Survey, about the barriers to their children spending time outside. These barriers were different than those children voiced themselves in the Children’s survey, which shows the importance of asking children directly. For example, in August 17% of adults reported that they were worried about this child spending time outside due to the threat of catching or spreading coronavirus. The proportion of children reporting coronavirus as a barrier is almost three times this, suggesting that children may be more concerned than parents realise.

9. Children’s concern for the environment

Eight in ten children (82%) agreed that they would like to do more to protect the environment and a similarly high proportion of children (78%) said that protecting the environment was important to them. Forty two per cent of children felt that protecting the environment was very important, only 1% felt that it was not at all important.

There were high levels of agreement across a wide range of demographic groups including age, region and ethnicity although younger children were more likely to say that they would like to do more to protect the environment than older children (86% and 78% respectively).

Children were slightly more likely to disagree (39%) than agree (35%) that adults were doing enough to protect the environment (the remainder neither agree nor disagree).

The Office of National Statistics conducted a series of focus groups with children between September 2019 and February 2020 to better understand children’s perspectives on wellbeing and happiness^{[footnote 9]}. They found that “children expressed worry about the future of the natural environment, including climate change, deforestation and carbon emissions. These issues were described as damaging to children’s health.”

10. Children’s hopes for the future

Children were asked to think about going back to school and things starting to get back to normal, and their hopes regarding activities they could do more of. Seventy per cent wanted to spend more time outside with their friends, 44% wanted to spend more time outdoors in general and at school. A third (32%) said that they wanted to spend more time outside with people they live with and 30% wanted to be allowed out more (on their own).

Overall, when asked where they would like to spend more time, children were most likely to say they wanted to visit parks, playgrounds and play fields (67%) and the beaches or seaside (66%). A third of children (34%) said that they wanted to explore new places.

11. Method strengths and limitations

This survey was conducted using an online panel. Consent for participation was obtained from both parent and child. Information about the survey’s methodology can be found on the methodology and technical details page, including links to the Technical Report and further information about the strengths and limitations of an online panel survey.

12. Glossary

95% confidence interval is a range of values around a calculated statistic (e.g. the mean) that you are 95% certain contains the true value of that statistic. For example, where there is a mean value of 49 with a 95% confidence interval of 2, we would be 95% certain that the true mean of the population was in the range of 47-51 (i.e. 49 -2 and 49 + 2).

Green and natural spaces are defined in this survey as green and blue spaces in towns and cities (e.g. parks, canals); the countryside (e.g. farmland, woodland, hills and rivers); the coast (e.g. beaches, cliffs) and activities in the open sea; visits of any duration (including short trips to the park, dog walking etc.). They do not include: gardens; outside spaces visited as part of someone’s employment; spaces outside the UK.

13. Contact

Natural England welcomes feedback on this survey and suggestions for analysis for future releases. Please contact the team by email: people_and_nature@naturalengland.org.uk.

If you would like to receive further information on the survey, including data releases, publications and survey changes, then visit our User Hub and sign-up to the mailing list at the bottom of the page (best viewed in Google Chrome). After signing up, if you do not receive a confirmation email please check your ‘Junk’ or ‘Spam’ folder.

The Senior Responsible Officer for this publication is Dr Rose O’Neill.

14. Pre-release access

This Children and Nature Survey is a set of Experimental Official Statistics, produced in accordance with the Code of Practice for Statistics and its key principles of Trustworthiness, Quality and Value.

Pre-release access was granted allowing a limited number of ‘eligible people’ access for a strict 24 hour period before the statistics were published. The pre-release access list for these statistics comprises the following:

• Natural England Chief Executive
• Natural England Head of the People and Nature Programme
• Natural England Stakeholder & Communication Lead for the People and Nature Programme
• Senior Press Officer for Natural England
• Senior Communications lead for Natural England
• Natural England Digital and Social Content Lead

15. Related links

Coronavirus – guidance on accessing green spaces safely: Latest government guidance on using green spaces and protecting yourself and others.

People and Nature Survey: Further information on the People and Nature Survey for England.

Monitor of Engagement with the Natural Environment: Further information on the Monitor of Engagement with the Natural Environment (MENE) Survey (predecessor to the People and Nature Survey).

1. https://view.publitas.com/the-childhood-trust/children-in-lockdown-the-childhood-trust-report-june-2020/page/1 ↩

2. https://youngminds.org.uk/about-us/reports/coronavirus-impact-on-young-people-with-mental-health-needs/ ↩

3. https://www.gov.uk/government/news/effect-of-pandemic-on-childrens-wellbeing-revealed-in-new-report ↩

4. http://randd.defra.gov.uk/Document.aspx?Document=14290_HealthandtheNaturalEnvironment_FullReport_29.08.18.pdf ↩

5. https://www.nhm.ac.uk/content/dam/nhmwww/about-us/visitor-research/Disconnect%20with%20nature%20Lit%20review.pdf ↩

6. https://www.wildlifetrusts.org/news/new-report-nature-nurtures-children ↩

7. https://assets.publishing.service.gov.uk/government/uploads/system/uploads/attachment_data/file/828838/Monitor_of_Engagement_with_the_Natural_Environment__MENE__Childrens_Report_2018-2019_rev.pdf ↩ ↩²

8. https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/25-year-environment-plan ↩

9. https://www.ons.gov.uk/peoplepopulationandcommunity/wellbeing/articles/childrensviewsonwellbeingandwhatmakesahappylifeuk2020/2020-10-02 ↩