One in five students are missing 20 or more school days annually.
The Tusla Education Support Service (TESS) has launched a new nationwide campaign, in collaboration with Minister for Education, Helen McEntee, to tackle alarmingly high rates of school absenteeism.
New data from TESS reveals that, both nationally and locally, over one in five students are still missing 20 or more school days annually.
The campaign aims to shift cultural attitudes toward casual absences that accumulated post-COVID-19 and to remind parents of the impact missed days have on a child’s education and social development.
TESS Director, Áine O’Keeffe, stressed that increasing school attendance is a key priority, and the new multi-platform campaign aims to raise awareness about how quickly "missed school days here and there" can add up.
Speaking on Live 95's Limerick Today, she said that while Limerick's figures are slightly below the national average, they remain critically high.
The TESS Annual Attendance Report for the 2023/2024 showed that 20% of Limerick primary students missed 20 days or more. In total, this accounted for 7.5% of all school days lost in the year.
19.3% of Limerick secondary students missed 20 days or more. These absences represented 9.7% of all school days lost.
"What I do know happens in primary schools, the whole way through the year, including June, is not just that piece around the very formal teaching and learning... It is the friendships. It's the moments together. It's that sports day that happens in June. It's the school tour... Those are the things that we remember. And that's all part of being in school," Áine said.
"When a child or young person can go to school, they should go to school."
The new campaign, which includes TV, radio, and cinema ads, is designed to encourage parents, guardians, and the wider community to prioritise regular attendance.
It also directs them to the support available right now.
"Success for me with this campaign will be that every parent, every granny, granddad, uncle, aunt, adult sibling, all of the adults around children think about, how many days are we missing?... What we're saying to people is, be mindful of the days you're missing. Could you be in? Could you defer that celebration or that thing to Saturday or Sunday?"
The new campaign will run across multiple platforms. Parents and guardians can find more information and support resources here.
