The number of children missing at least a month of school has risen significantly since the Covid-19 pandemic, according to new data from the Economic and Social Research Institute (ESRI).
The report studied the impact of the School Completion Programme that was set up to support children who are at risk of dropping out of school.
It found that additional measures are needed to support families and children in some areas due to the scale and complexity of disadvantage.
Speaking on RTÉ's News at One, ESRI Research Professor Emer Smyth said the study highlighted a change in the services required by children at risk of early school leaving post-pandemic.
"The most recent figures we have available are from 2022-2023.
"For those students in urban DEIS schools at primary level, 43% have missed 20 days or more and a second level it’s 30% of those in the most disadvantaged schools.
"It’s lower in other schools but it’s still significant," Prof Smyth said.
She added: "There has been a decline in wellbeing and increase in mental health difficulties, especially anxiety, and growing numbers of young people and children engaged in school avoidance and are anxious or too upset to come to school at all," she said.
Prof Smyth also said that the DEIS programme needed to be expanded in order to address the needs of students most at risk of poverty and disengaging from education.
"It’s not just socioeconomic disadvantage; a lot of the target children that are being worked with at these schools, they parents may have mental health difficulties or addiction issues," she said.
"You also have a concentration of disadvantage at the local area level so you mightn’t have as many facilities or supports you would have in a more advantaged area."
She added that the Government should increase resources for engaging with students who have already dropped out of school, along with reducing the financial barriers that still exist and adding a second tier of the Child Benefit payment.
"We’ve seen the free schoolbooks roll out which is to be welcomed, but there is still issues around uniforms, sports equipment, transition year fees.
"So, we need to be looking at not just what we do in school, which is really important, but income supports for families, mental health and other supports for parents and community development initiatives to empower more vulnerable areas."
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