One in five Offaly pupils "missed 20 days or more" during school year

A new nationwide multimedia campaign has been launched by the Tusla Education Support Service (TESS) in order to promote regular school attendance in all counties across Ireland.

The campaign launch comes as new data from TESS showed that, nationally, more than one in five children and young people at primary and post-primary level miss more than 20 days of their school year.

Figures for Offaly showed that 22.2% of students in primary school missed 20 days or more in the 2023/24 school year.

At post-primary level in Offaly, it was revealed that 19.9% of students missed 20 days or more in the 2023/24 school year.

On Friday last, the campaign to tackle the issue was launched by Minister for Education Helen McEntee.

Áine O’Keeffe, Director of TESS, said: "We are very excited to launch, together with Minister McEntee, a new national multimedia campaign aimed at raising awareness around the often-underestimated impact of missed school days here and there.

"The campaign aims to raise awareness about how many school days are being missed, and how those missed days can add up quickly over time. Importantly, it also shows parents, guardians, and schools where they can find more information and support to help improve and promote school attendance."

The new multi-platform campaign, including TV, radio and cinemas, seeks to help address absenteeism by encouraging everyone involved in the lives of children and young people – including parents, guardians, teachers, and communities – to support and prioritise regular school attendance.

The latest TESS Annual Attendance Report and Student Absence Report for the 2023/2024 school year, published on the Tusla website, can be found here.