The number of children absent from school for 20 days or more has doubled in the last five years in Kerry.
That’s according to figures in the State of the Nation’s Children report, published by the Department of Children.
The report shows that in the school year 2018/19, 12% of primary school children in Kerry were absent for 20 days or more in the year.
This dropped to 4.9% in 2019/2020, and then rose again to 9% missing for 20 days or more in 2020/2021.
In 2021/2022 with varying COVID spikes and lockdown measures, 37% of Kerry primary school children were absent for 20 days or more.
The most recent full school year included in the report was 2022/2023, when 25.4%, equal to one in every four children, were absent for 20 days or more.
While it represents a reduction from 2021/2022, it’s still over double the figure from five years ago.
The same trend is reflected in post-primary schoolchildren in Kerry.
Five years ago, 13.7% of post-primary school-goers in Kerry were missing for 20 days or more.
This figure was just under 11% for 2019/2020, and over 14% in 2020/2021.
Similar to primary schools, the number of children who were absent for 20 days or more at post-primary level doubled in 2021/2022 to over 28%.
This fell slightly in 2022/2023, but still one in every four post-primary schoolchildren were absent for 20 days or more in the school year.
Every recognised school in the state is required to submit a report to Tusla Education Support Services on the levels of attendance at the end of each academic year.
This includes total number of days lost through student absence in the entire school year, and total number of students who were absent for 20 days or more during the year.
A school may also make a referral to Tusla’s Education Support Services where they are concerned about the number of days a child is missing at school.
