Schools seeing ‘alarming rates of absences’ in post-pandemic years

Schoolchildren often struggle to verbalise the anxiety behind their school-avoidant behaviour, leaving parents torn between getting them to school and being there for them

In 2024-2025, Tusla's educational welfare officers worked with 8,259 individual children around school avoidance. This is compared to 6,291 in 2018-2019 (pre-covid).  Picture: iStock 

Very often, Sharon’s 16-year-old daughter would get up, put on her uniform, ready herself for school, get to the front door — and be unable to go.

“One day, she got down the road to the traffic lights and had a panic attack. I had to come get her.”