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Press release

Minister Helen McEntee announces new measures to tackle school absenteeism

Minister for Education and Youth Helen McEntee TD has today announced a comprehensive suite of targeted and universal actions to improve school attendance.

Among the key initiatives being introduced are:

  • “Anseo” – a new evidence-based framework to help schools analyse and respond to attendance data, to be rolled out in 60 schools following a successful pilot.
  • A national multimedia campaign, launching in September 2025, to promote the importance of regular school attendance to students, parents and guardians
  • Continued investment in the Educational Welfare Service, including expansion of educational welfare officer (EWO) capacity
  • Promotion of the benefits for children and young people of being present in school on each school day. A national Attendance Conference in early 2026 to share best practices and promote whole-system engagement
  • A scoping project to deliver real-time attendance data for better decision-making and intervention
  • Continued investment in the School Completion Programme and better planning between the School Completion Programme and the range of supports available through the non-formal education sector in youth so that the range of young people’s needs during school days, school holidays and weekends can be best planned for and met.
  • Work across government to embed attendance as a priority from early childhood onwards.

Minister McEntee also plans to revise the Education (Welfare) Act, 2000 to strengthen statutory supports for young children, including bringing children under 6 attending primary school within its scope to ensure earlier intervention, and will shortly publish a new national plan on educational disadvantage, aligned with these measures.

Minister McEntee said:

Tackling school absences will be a key part of my plan to ensure that every child can achieve their full potential. Regular attendance in school is essential not just for academic achievement, but for wellbeing, social development and long-term life outcomes. 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. As I said in my first Dáil speech as Minister for Education, I am determined to tackle this issue.

“In the 2022/2023 school year, over 110,000 primary and 65,000 post-primary students missed 20 or more days of school. This is hugely alarming and warrants action. This is why I am today announcing a comprehensive suite of measures to improve school attendance.

“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.

“With this suite of measures, I am taking decisive action to address the serious issue of school absenteeism. These measures are rooted in evidence and collaboration and are designed to ensure that every child is supported to attend, engage and succeed in school, to enhance their lifelong opportunities.”

Notes to Editors

Tusla Education Support Service (TESS) is under the remit of the Department of Education and Youth since 1 January 2021.

TESS operates under the Education (Welfare) Act, 2000, a piece of legislation that emphasises the promotion of school attendance, participation and retention. TESS has three strands: the statutory Educational Welfare Service (EWS) and the two school support services the Home School Community Liaison Scheme (HSCL) and the School Completion Programme (SCP). The three TESS strands work together collaboratively with schools, parents and guardians and other relevant services to achieve the best educational outcomes for children and young people.

Tusla’s Annual Attendance Report (AAR) and Student Absence Report (SAR) for the 2022/23 school year

Data published by Tusla in its Annual Attendance Report (AAR) show concerning levels of student absence in the 2022/23 school year:

  • 6.86 million days lost in primary schools (8.6% of total days)
  • 5.56 million days lost in post-primary schools (11.4%)
  • Over 110,000 primary and 65,000 post-primary students missed 20 or more days
  • DEIS schools and special education settings recorded particularly high rates of absenteeism.

Role of SCP and HSCL

The School Completion Programme (SCP) is a key component of DEIS. SCP is a targeted programme of support for primary and post-primary children and young people who have been identified as potentially at risk of early school leaving. SCP aims to retain a young person to completion of the Leaving Certificate, equivalent qualification, or suitable level of educational attainment by delivering a range of local interventions in disadvantaged communities which support the retention of young people in education.

The Home School Community Liaison (HSCL) scheme is one of the key supports in the DEIS programme and is delivered by TESS on behalf of the Department. It seeks to promote partnership between parents, teachers and community family support services, with a view to supporting improved attendance, participation and retention. The overarching goal of the HSCL coordinator is to improve educational outcomes for children through their work with the key adults in the child’s life.

Scaling of Anseo system

A small team within TESS will support scaling of Anseo to 60 schools nationally. This phase of the pilot will be offered to urban, rural, primary and post primary schools. Schools will be invited to make an expression of interest.  Selection will be based on ensuring a cross-spread of geography, school type and demographic cross section. Schools that make an expression of interest will be contacted to assure them they will be include in any possible future phase.

A new webinar focused on implementing Anseo, the Multi-Dimensional Multi-Tiered System of Supports (MD-MTSS) approach to addressing School Attendance Problems has been developed and it will be available to all schools in 2025.