Almost a third of primary schools have seen a sharp rise in the number of pupils absent for four weeks or more in the wake of the pandemic. In a new report, patterns around primary and secondary schoolchildren taking days off have grown worse over two recent academic years and show no signs of reversing course. So what is contributing to this?  

All to discuss with Emer Smyth, Research Professor, ESRI and Anna Moya Ponce, Research Assistant, ESRI.