School Avoidance

On any given day in Ireland approximately 60,000 children do not show up for school. The numbers of calls to Parentline on school avoidance and school related issues have doubled over the past two years. Many children are sick or absent with good reason. But thousands of others have simply refused to attend, despite the pleadings of their parents.

This can make parents feel powerless as it is difficult to simply force a child to school. Parentline receives a huge amount of calls from parents on school avoidance. In 2022, one in almost every ten calls related to school avoidance or schoo