The Today View is not even an option for this iPad

In iPadOS 15?

For now?

Gone!

Since you can place widgets any where, willy-nilly at any size all over every iPad Home screen, Apple decided that the Today View column was unnecessary and not needed.

The Today View CAN still be accesses by swiping right on the main Home screen, but that is it!

If you would like this Home screen Today View column back, you can voice your comments and opinions to Apple by sending Apple feedback at the link below.

Tap the link below.

https://www.apple.com/feedback/ipad.html

I presume that you have updated your iPad to iPadOS 15.x?

There are many changes within iPadOS15 - of which one is the loss of the persistent Today view on the first Home Screen. 

Whilst you are now able to freely position widgets on any of the Home Screens, you have lost the “compact” first Home Screen layout that showed a compressed 5x6 grid of App/Folder icons - to which the Today view could be “pinned” in Landscape screen orientation. Now, Widgets can be placed on any Home Screen - each Widget individually occupying one or more elements of a 4x6 icon grid.

The net effect of adding Widgets to the Home Screen(s) results in reduced efficiency in using available screen space on Home Screens. In iPadOS 15.x, you do still have a slide-out Today view for the first Home Screen - as before.

Apple do invite constructive feedback, comments and feature requests via their product feedback pages. For iPad and iPadOS:

Feedback - iPad - Apple

You are encouraged to make use of this facility in expressing any views concerning issues, bugs, or functionality changes of which you are unhappy.