Children miss school due to financial crisis

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

The National Educational Welfare Board has seen direct evidence of the recession’s impact, with problems in households as much a cause of absenteeism as parents simply neglecting to send children to school.

Michael Doyle, who is the board’s manager overseeing more than 900 schools in Leinster North and parts of Dublin, gives a recent example of a second level student his staff were involved with who was often missing school two days a week.