Secondary school children becoming "feral" while primary school pupils are dramatically falling behind where they should be.

These are just some of the reports of classroom problems in Kent which span right back to the original Covid lockdown three years ago.

Having received scores of calls and emails about the issue, KentOnline spoke to affected educators and a top child psychologist to understand what is happening.

One under-pressure teacher told us the behaviour of some teens was so bad there are times they battle to control them.

And although there have always been trouble with some youngsters, it has definitely got worse since the end of lockdown.

The Medway area teacher, who asked to remain anonymous, said many pupils returned from the pandemic with a "somewhat feral attitude".

He says colleagues at other schools also complain about experiencing similar problems.

Some learners refuse to come to lessons, have been caught chanting "vile" abuse at staff, setting off fire alarms and disappearing from the premises for hours.

He said: "Sometimes we have no idea where they are. They make it clear they do not want to be here and just get away with it. The police are often called.

"There have been times when teachers have locked themselves in the staff room rather than face the abuse.

"There have also been cases when some children have not come into lessons for weeks, even months. It has got out of control."

At the primary school end of the system, staff also face problems but more to do with the slow development of children.

Head teacher at Shears Green Junior School, Northfleet, Matt Paterson said: “Since the pandemic, we have seen an increase in the number of children who require additional support.

“We have set up an early years learning hub to support those in Year 3 who require this. They are provided with a curriculum that meets their needs and includes daily phonics, basic number work, hands on multi-sensory activities, cooking and arts and crafts.

“Some children seem to have less resilience and can give up quite soon into a task.

“We are also seeing a big increase in the number of children showing distressed behaviours. We have a number who are struggling to stay in class for sustained amounts of time and require smaller provisions.

“We have also seen an increase in the number of suspensions we have had to make, mostly because of children showing distressed behaviours and hitting staff.”

Courteney Coutinho, reception teacher at The Robert Napier School in Gillingham, says due to being kept indoors, some youngsters have not developed motor skills as they usually would.

She said: "Lockdown has had a huge impact on our children's writing because they have not had as much opportunity to develop their gross and fine motor skills.

"We have noticed a huge area of concern with regards to this since Covid as they were kept inside and not able to develop their core muscles.

"This means they have poor fine motor skills and handwriting. They are just not ready to write."

Gravesend resident Aimee Olrod, who has worked as a classroom teacher in Key Stage 1 for four years, said: "It is clear Covid has had a huge impact on children.

"There is a noticeable difference in terms of their academic abilities, which is expected, because of chunks of their learning being done at home, in some cases not at all.

"I think it has resulted in the gap between high attainers and lower attainers becoming even further apart. Many schools have put interventions in place as a solution.

"However, this often removes children from subjects they excel at or are passionate about and can even have the opposite effect that results in them lacking motivation to improve on those key skills.

"Many children recognise if they are 'behind' and are having to learn the same thing over and over again.

"But the main difference I have noticed is their resilience. Children seem to need more support to solve conflicts with their peers and remain motivated to complete learning activities.

"This has had a huge impact on children's behaviour in and out of the classroom, making learning as a class more difficult."

University of Kent child psychologist Dr Lindsey Cameron says some of these changes, particularly with development, have to do with missed opportunities and interaction with peers.

Although experts expected there would be some kind of impact from the pandemic, she does not think they realised what the long-term effects would be.

She explained: "Children missed out on opportunities for social interaction in crucial preschool years, meaning they missed the chance to develop key social skills that are important for getting along with peers, for initiating and maintaining friendships.

"The same is also true for children transitioning into primary school, and secondary, where their peer interactions were restricted, this impacted their social, emotional and cognitive development.

"Children not only have had to deal with severely restricted social interactions in lockdown, but on return to school they also had limits and rules on who they could play with and when, and reduced time to interact with same-age peers in safe but informal settings.

"These are important because time to socialise in informal and unstructured play, provides a safe testing ground for pushing the boundaries of friendship, and developing children’s skills in interaction."

Peer interactions are important as they help to improve children's learning as they can share and discuss ideas together, learn how to get along with each other and develop social skills.

Dr Cameron added: "Among young children, preschool, reception and Year 1 provide a safe testing ground for pushing the boundaries of friendship, for testing the limits of interactions, for making mistakes. They also get a chance to make up and resolve conflicts themselves, or with help from an adult.

"Children who do not get a chance to do this at an early age will lose out on developing these important social skills, and emotion regulation, which are essential in managing social situations and friendships in later childhood."

But do children stand a chance of getting back on track? Dr Cameron thinks they do but said it requires a change in our expectations of what children should be doing at their age.

"Since schools reopened they have had an impossible task," she said. "Without even getting a chance to catch their breath they have had to launch into catching children up on the curriculum.

"Many have realised the need to step back and refocus on developing key social skills children have missed out on.

"I think it is possible to get these kids back on track, but it requires us to change our expectations of the social skills we would normally expect our children to have at set stages, and provide support and opportunities to develop these.

"Families are facing significant financial hardship, schools are under tight budgets and increasing pressure, but what I have seen is a recognised need to create joyful moments in the classroom, that bring young people together."

And that is what schools are trying to do. Mr Paterson, who has been head teacher at the school in White Avenue for a year, said they have shifted to focus more on the well-being of children.

He said: “We are trying to fill the void in the gap in services. Every service is over stretched so schools are being asked a lot.

“There are a wide range of issues regarding the wellbeing and mental health of children and we are having to offer a wider range of interventions to support them.

“There is also lots of catch up the children need to do and this has required us to employ extra staff to provide the interventions such as phonics to support them. We have been tutoring the children who need the most amount of help to ensure they have the phonetical knowledge to read.

“As a whole school, we have supported children with their well being through regular yoga sessions, time with the learning mentors and thrive sessions. Regular interventions are planned to fill the gaps in the learning of our children with this being reviewed on a regular basis to ensure support is pertinent.”

Kent County Council is also helping to support schools by working with Nurture UK to promote healthy outcomes for children, focusing on social and emotional needs and development alongside academic learning which have been impacted by the pandemic.

A spokesman said: “This accredited programme has a sound research evidence base which gives schools access to a wide range of resources, training and a nationwide network of professionals. The aim is to support schools, however they need it, so that every child will have access to an education which allows them to thrive both academically and socially.”

Nurture UK is a registered charity working with local authorities, schools and academies across the country.