Four-year-old children born during England's first COVID-19 lockdown demonstrated strong performance in language and reasoning tests, but researchers identified potential concerns with executive function skills, according to findings released on July 17.
The Born In COVID Year–Core Lockdown Effects (BICYCLE) study assessed the development of these children, focusing on whether they exhibited overall developmental differences or specific strengths and weaknesses. The preliminary report included 205 participants born between March 23 and June 23, 2020. Assessments at age four covered language, non-verbal reasoning, executive functioning, and motor skills using standardized tests and caregiver questionnaires. Most assessments were conducted remotely between May 2024 and June 2025.
Researchers found that many of the children performed as well as or better than expected for their age in sentence structure, expressive vocabulary, receptive vocabulary, and non-verbal reasoning. Word structure and motor skills were broadly in line with age-based expectations. "Rather than finding widespread developmental delays, the researchers found that many of the children performed as well as, or even better than, expected for their age," the report said.
However, caregivers reported more executive-function difficulties than typically expected—particularly regarding working memory, planning, organization, and self-control. More children fell into the below-average range for executive function compared to pre-pandemic norms; additionally, a higher percentage received very low scores for word structure.
Comparisons between each developmental skill and children's non-verbal reasoning ability showed that while sentence structure and receptive vocabulary kept pace with cognitive potential, expressive language abilities as well as executive function and motor skills did not. This suggests these areas are relative weaknesses compared to overall cognitive profiles rather than clear deficits.
The researchers recommend classroom interventions prioritizing behavioral regulation strategies focused on executive function along with explicit support for expressive language, instead of individual screening or specialist referrals. They note that ongoing research is needed to determine optimal strategies for supporting this generation moving forward.
