A comprehensive study by the Economic and Social Research Institute (ESRI) has found significant declines in school attendance, engagement, and student wellbeing since the COVID-19 pandemic. The research, published Tuesday, consulted coordinators from the School Completion Programme, which supports students at risk of early school departure.
According to the findings, the pandemic has had a dramatic negative impact on educational patterns, with school avoidance, refusal, and increased anxiety becoming much more prevalent than before. Coordinators reported “increased difficulties in motivation and engagement levels among children and young people, along with a lack of resilience to deal with challenges.”
The study includes several concerning firsthand accounts from staff working in affected communities. One interviewee described how widespread social and economic problems manifest in schools through “literacy and numeracy deficiencies” and “behavioural issues that some of the children may be experiencing due to trauma caused by drug, drink, violence, gang warfare.”
According to The Irish Examiner, another staff member highlighted the alarming increase in school refusal since the pandemic: “We’re dealing with more young people who are completely refusing to go to school, whether it’s due to anxiety or mental illness or whatever the reason. But we are also dealing with more children who’ve been expelled or who are in long term suspensions.”
The report also found that limited access to services and counseling supports has left the School Completion Programme struggling to support children with complex mental health difficulties. Many project workers reported feeling ill-equipped to handle serious emotional and mental health problems among students, including self-harm, suicidal thoughts, chronic anxiety, and low mood.
A particularly troubling trend noted in the study is the emergence of non-attendance starting as early as junior and senior infants (ages 4-5), which can lead to longer-term absenteeism. The fact that children of this age aren’t covered by the Education Welfare Act creates additional challenges in addressing early school absence.
Resource limitations further complicate these issues, with almost half of the coordinators expressing dissatisfaction with their project’s funding levels. Just under a third felt they had sufficient resources to run the School Completion Programme effectively, with most available budget consumed by staff costs rather than interventions and activities.
Many coordinators indicated they would prefer greater emphasis on out-of-school supports to address the growing problem of school avoidance, though this approach is “seen as the most challenging, requiring a good deal of time to get the young person to engage with them in the first instance and then to provide them with ongoing support.”