The number of pupils missing school across the country on a regular basis had hit record highs, new figures show.
It is understood the numbers, released by Tulsa, is due to the rising numbers of homeless children, insufficient numbers of staff, and increasingly complex cases such as students with mental health issues and special needs.
According to the Irish Examiner, figures contained in the child and family agency’s most recently published monthly report show that in April, Tusla’s Educational Welfare Service (EWS) had 2,636 referrals on its waiting list. The figure has been climbing steadily since last October and the comparable figure from April 2018 was 1,670 cases.
In addition to the all-time high number of referrals on its waiting list last April, the number of cases closed that month — 275 — was the lowest monthly tally so far this year. Yet the number of referrals screened that month was amongst the highest recorded in 2019.
Tusla said the EWS — which issues School Attendance Notices (SANs) to parents in relation to excessive absenteeism by children from school, and which can and does bring prosecutions to court — only started recording the number of cases on a national waiting list in September 2017, and the figure for April 2019 is the highest recorded since.
“There are a number of reasons for the growing waiting list including staffing, the complexity of cases and rising referrals,” said a spokesperson for Tusla.
Overall, staffing at the EWS, while increasing, “is still below what is required to meet service demand.”