McEntee details measures to tackle 'hugely alarming' school absenteeism

Commenting on the figures, education minister Helen McEntee said: 'We must listen to the dat from Tusla and redouble our efforts.' Picture: Maxwell's

A strengthening of current laws and the rollout of a multimedia ad campaign are among the measures contained in a new to tackle worrying rates of school absenteeism.

Over 110,000 primary and 65,000 secondary students missed 20 or more days of school in the 2022/2023 school year, which education minister Helen McEntee has described as "hugely alarming".

"Unfortunately, the stark reality is that in recent years we have seen a decline in regular attendance, and a rise in the number of children and young people missing a very concerning number of school days," said Ms McEntee, who on Monday is announcing a comprehensive suite of targeted and universal actions to improve school attendance.

Among the key initiatives being introduced is the 'Anseo' programme, which is a new evidence-based framework to help schools analyse and respond to attendance data, which will be rolled out in 60 schools following a successful pilot.

A national multimedia campaign, launching in September, will promote the importance of regular school attendance to students, parents, and guardians and there will be continued investment in the Educational Welfare Service, including expansion of educational welfare officer capacity.

Ms McEntee also plans to revise the Education (Welfare) Act, 2000 to strengthen statutory supports for young children, including bringing children under the age of six attending primary school within its scope to ensure earlier intervention.

Data published by Tusla in its latest annual attendance report shows concerning levels of student absence with 6.86m days lost in primary schools (8.6% of total days) and 5.56m days lost in post-primary schools (11.4%). Deis schools and special education settings recorded particularly high rates of absenteeism.

Ms McEntee said: “School attendance is linked with attainment and with completing school. While there is excellent practice in schools to support children and young people to attend, we must listen to the data from Tusla and redouble our efforts."

Under the plan a national attendance conference will be held in early 2026 to share best practices and promote whole-system engagement, and a scoping project to deliver real-time attendance data for better decision-making and intervention will be rolled out.