Over 9,500 students suspended in Irish schools last year 

Meanwhile, the percentage of primary school pupils who were absent for at least 20 days increased greatly from 2019-2022, jumping from 5% to 40.3% of all pupils. Picture: Danny Lawson/PA

More than 9,500 students were suspended in primary and secondary schools last year.

The figure represents a sharp increase on previous years and has prompted questions from children's rights advocates, who say clarity must be given as to why suspensions are being imposed with such regularity.

The data, released to the Irish Examiner by Tusla under the Freedom of Information Act, shows that there was a significant drop in the number of students suspended during the 2019/2020 academic year, during which time schools were closed for nearly five months.

The data shows that in 2019/20, 741 primary students were suspended. This increased to 701 in 2020/21, and 979 in the 2021/22 academic year.

The number of suspensions at second level is much higher. In 2019/20, 7,263 pupils were suspended. This declined to 5,269 in 2020/21, but increased to 8,658 for the 2021/22 academic year, the most recent figures provided.

Children’s Rights Alliance chief executive Tanya Ward reflected on these rising suspension figures, adding that work is needed to establish the reasons behind the “sharp increase” in numbers.

“There is a need to get behind the figures and understand why there has been a sharp increase. We need to understand if a pattern is emerging in a particular region or school,” she said.

Ms Ward also addressed whether any of the suspensions were preventable and ensuring that both children and teachers were given the necessary support to manage these rising figures. She added:

Suspension has a big impact on children and young people’s education and development. It can change the course of their lives.

The highest number of suspension rates was recorded in Dublin for both the 2019–2020 and 2021–2022 school years. Meanwhile, Limerick had the highest number of suspension rates recorded in 2020–2021.

Meanwhile, the percentage of primary school pupils who were absent for at least 20 days increased greatly from 2019-2022, jumping from 5% to 40.3% of all pupils.

In secondary schools, the percentage of pupils that were absent for at least 20 days, rose from 9.5% to 26.8%, over the course of the 2019-2022 school years.

Deis schools have typically experienced higher numbers of students absent for 20 or more days. In 2019-2020, the rate of 20-plus day absences in DEIS primary schools stood at 12.1%, in comparison with 5% of all other primary schools.

This rate increased to 27.2% for the 2020-2021 school year, in contrast with the 11.1% figure for other primary schools. In 2021-2022, the rate of 20-plus day absences rose to 57.6%, compared to the national figure of 40.3%.

The percentage of pupils absent for more than 20 days in 2019-2020 was the lowest on record, with 2021-2022 being the highest recorded, in both primary and secondary schools. This corresponds with the peak of Ireland’s covid-19 cases over the winter 2021-2022 period.

The county with the highest average percentage of days lost in secondary schools was Laois, with 11.7% of all total days lost, throughout the 2019-2020 school year.

Additionally, Leitrim had the highest total number of days lost in secondary school throughout both 2020-2021 and 2021-2022, with 17.8% and 19.5% of all total days lost.

Unexplained absences accounted for the highest number of days lost in primary schools during the 2019-2020 and 2020-2021 school years.

Illness accounted for the highest number of days lost throughout 2021-2022, resulting in 42.1% of total days lost.