Pupil absenteeism has only moderately decreased since the pandemic and in some schools has actually increased, new research by the ESRI has concluded. 

Chronic absenteeism is defined as missing 20 or more days of school a year. 

During the pandemic, huge numbers of children missed school for a variety of reasons, ranging from illness, to lack of WiFi, to simple truancy. 

On The Pat Kenny Show, ESRI spokesperson Eimear Smith said the issue is one that people should still be concerned about. 

 “We saw a real spike around the school year 2021 to 22,” she explained. 

“It recovered slightly after that for the two years we're looking at 22-23 and 23-24. 

“But what we're seeing is the passage of time isn't solving things; we're seeing only a moderate overall decrease in chronic absence over those two years.

“And we're actually almost masking that picture at school level, because while some schools are improving their attendance, we still see a very significant minority at 30% of primary schools and 40% of post-primary schools have actually increased absence between those two years.”

At primary school level, most absences are recorded as due to illness; however, a significant minority do not give a reason. 

Ms Smith added that the emotional impact of the pandemic on many children has not gone away. 

“The first of all is for parents to kind of find out what the reason is,” she said. 

“Is it anxiety? Is it a response to bullying? 

“We do see in the wake of the pandemic an increase in emotional difficulties among young people and a growth in depression rates among girls in particular. 

“So, some of this is manifesting itself in school refusal or school avoidance.”

Main image: A teen vaping on the street. Image: Steven Gill / Alamy