Nearly 9,300 children reported to Tusla last year due to concerns about school attendance

Ottoline Spearman

A rising number of children have been referred to Tusla after their schools raised concerns about attendance.

Last year, 9,293 students' cases were raised by education welfare officers after they missed 20 or more days of school, according to the Irish Independent.

This is a 16 per cent rise compared to 2024, when around 8,000 cases were reported.

In the 2021-2022 academic year, the figure was less than 7,000.

By law, schools are obliged to submit annual attendance reports to Tusla, the state agency responsible for child welfare and protection.

After the disappearance of Kyran Durnin, in July this year, a Children Missing in Education (CME) team was set up to help find children who are missing from school.

Kyran was reported missing in August 2024 and had not been in school since May 2022. He is now presumed dead and was last seen in May 2022, as reported by the Irish Independent. Gardaí believe he was killed around this time, and his remains were disposed of to conceal what happened. 

Tusla also launched an attendance campaign in September 2025, and has developed a five-year action plan to tackle absenteeism by 2028.