Under-6s not covered by law on absenteeism

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.

Figures from the Department of Education also show that nearly half of them may still not be covered by the Education (Welfare) Act going into the second term of senior infants in January 2013. Based on the ages of junior infants over the last five years, they would still only be five then but the National Educational Welfare Board (NEWB) only has powers to intervene in cases where children miss school regularly if they are aged between six and 16.

While parents appear to be sending their children to school later in recent years, the official figures mean the attendance of all but around 1,000 of this year’s junior infants can not be monitored by the NEWB until after Christmas.