A record number of court summonses and formal warnings were issued to parents last year over their children missing school — even though the conviction rate dropped.

A major reorganisation of child protection and family support services begins today with the establishment of the Child and Family Agency.

The Department of Education has been criticised by Children’s Ombudsman Emily Logan over enrolment appeals and home tuition after a teenager missed nearly two years of full-time education when up to 30 schools refused him a place.

WHEN a child misses 20 days of school in a year, a state body must automatically be notified and intervene with the family or guardian.

Almost 56,000 children are missing from school every day despite improvements in overall attendance levels.

There has been an improvement in the number of children attending school every day.

The problem of schools having more children seeking enrolment than it has staff or space to teach is a strong sign of the value that Irish families place on good education.

New school admissions regulations aim to make enrolment much more transparent for parents, following years of complaints about how principals and boards deal with applications.

Schools will no longer be allowed charge enrolment fees, open admissions years before students arrive, or give priority to children of past pupils under radical Government plans.

A judge has ordered gardaí to arrest the parents of a 12-year-old girl after hearing she has missed more than 80% of the school year.

The parents of a 15-year-old boy have been fined €1,200 after their son failed to attend school in what was described as a “chronic level of absenteeism”.

Children and their parents can bring complaints about an additional 180 bodies to children’s ombudsman Emily Logan from the end of this month.

A few times a week and at the end of every month, primary school deputy principal Paul Harrington complies with education law by writing pupil attendance figures from his computer into a book like those used by his 19th century predecessors.

A judge has threatened to jail the parents of a 12-year- old girl who has only attended 11 days of the current school year.

About 30 court convictions were secured against parents of children with poor attendance records at schools last year by the National Educational Welfare Board.

Dozens of schools did not meet a legal requirement to report pupil attendance figures in at least three years between 2007 and 2011 and five made no returns at all.

A growing number of children in most primary schools are showing the effects of family trauma and emotional disturbance, their principals have said.

Thirty parents have been taken to court and convicted so far this year for failing to send their children to school.

A school that racked up €500,000 debts on refurbishments with little educational benefit, and where teachers taught subjects they were not qualified to teach, has been slated by Department of Education inspectors.

One in seven children miss school for more than 20 days a year, it has emerged.

Some 56,000 students missed school every day in the period of 2009 to 2010, according to new figures from the National Educational Welfare Board published today.

The State has spent just under €1m in the past three years on hearing appeals from secondary school pupils who were either expelled or suspended.

ABOUT 15,000 childcare places that cost taxpayers €75 million to make available are not being used, largely because of low demand caused by unemployment and the recession.

CHILDREN’S Minister Frances Fitzgerald has asked for a report on the legal status of tens of thousands of children who are outside the law on tackling school absenteeism until they turn six.

ONE of the country’s most experienced school truancy officers believes closing a legal loophole that excludes intervention with younger children could help the battle against regular absences.

MORE than 98% of the 67,000 children starting primary school this week will be outside the law covering absenteeism for at least the first term.

AS parents know, the early days of a child’s education are important for their growing up and preparation for life.

A JUDGE has warned his entire district that he will “keep a tight rein” on parents who fail to send their children to school.

FINANCIAL difficulties are leading to children missing school on a regular basis, according to staff working with families to address poor attendance.

TEN people were jailed last year for failing to send their children to school, with the number of parents prosecuted hitting an all-time high.

A PROGRAMME is being drafted with the aim of keeping children in school and their parents out of the courts.

ONE of the most disheartening sights in our country is that of people who should be at school turning their backs to the opportunities offered by education.

THE parents of a 15-year-old girl have been given a suspended prison sentence for failing to send their teenage daughter to school.

TRAVELLERS will be disproportionately affected by the budget cuts, according to an analysis by Barnardos.

A COLLEGE building project went over budget by almost half and took almost twice as long as expected, a Comptroller and Auditor General (C&AG) probe has found.

SUPPORT services for schools face major cuts but teaching jobs will be protected from the chop in December’s budget, Education Minister Mary Coughlan has indicated.

CHILDREN attending special schools are missing twice as much time at school as other pupils – but staff feel greater medical support and links to home could help address the imbalance.

Almost 17,000 pupils are suspended every year with another 150 students expelled from schools, it emerged today.

THE number of children registered for home-schooling has more than trebled to almost 700 in just five years.

THE possibility that a €19,000 bonus given in error by a state board may never be recovered from an ex-employee has been condemned by the head of the Oireachtas spending watchdog.

THE Youthreach system, which offers second-chance education to early school leavers, is in crisis as most centres have at least one person is waiting for a place for every four students, their managers have claimed.

THE likelihood of special needs assistants (SNAs) being withdrawn from thousands of children in schools will be strengthened by a recommendation from An Bord Snip Nua to cut their numbers by almost a fifth.

CONCERNS have been raised by teachers and principals about the integration of a number of education agencies working with disadvantaged children into the National Educational Welfare Board (NEWB).

SCHOOLS should be allowed to allocate their staffing levels based on their needs rather than on a strict formula from the Department of Education, principals said yesterday.