Copenhagen funds support groups for parents of children missing school

Copenhagen has funded a four-year project to support parents of children with involuntary school absence, with the aim of helping more children return to school, DR reports.

The project will set up parent groups and is due to start in the new year. The initiative was proposed by Forældrekommissionen, a parent association formed after DR’s documentary Skolens tabte børn.

More than 2,500 parents of children with involuntary school absence and wellbeing problems have joined the association. Its co-founder Jens Langhorn said its mission was “to reverse the trend in involuntary school absence”.

In 2025, the Ministry of Children and Education and the children’s rights organisation Børns Vilkår estimated that about 52,000 children in Danish public schools were affected by school refusal.