AQW 45062/11-15

Ms Claire Sugden
Independent
East Londonderry

Tabled Date: 24/04/2015
Answered On Date: 11/05/2015
Priority Written: No

Question:
To ask the Minister of Education how he will ensure that all children and families have equal opportunity to benefit from the school readiness and social pedagogy approaches of early years groups, who are facing closure due to cuts to his Department’s Early Years fund.

Answer:

The Executive’s Budget has been reduced by the Westminster Government by £1.5bn over the last five years. As a direct result of this reduction there is significantly reduced money to spend on frontline services such as Education. I have taken every action possible to protect Education funding and those frontline services within the Department of Education’s (DE) remit, however, it is simply impossible to protect everything.

The Early Years Fund was intended to help sustain certain early childhood services in areas of greatest need which were facing difficulties when Peace II funding ended. The DFP Review of the Early Years Fund (2013) found that the Fund, which is administered by Early Years – the Organisation for Young Children, has effectively remained as a “closed” Fund since introduced by DHSSPS in 2004. It is therefore not equitable to allow it to continue in its current form as only currently funded groups can apply to receive support.

There are children equally deserving of support across the north who must also be allowed equal opportunity of access to support. It is essential that any funding is allocated in a fair and transparent manner to ensure that those who need it most can avail of it.

I have committed to review my budget to establish if a Fund can continue beyond 31st August, however, it is important that any new funding will be open to all applicants, not just current recipients and be aligned to the priorities of DE. If funding becomes available, this will be a priority for my Department.

Any new DE funding to support Early Years will be strategically aligned to the Department’s “Learning to Learn” (a framework for Early Years Education and Learning). Alignment will ensure improved outcomes for young children and their families and ensure high quality early learning experiences which lay important foundations for future learning and development.

I fully recognise the importance of Early Years education particularly for our most disadvantaged of children which is why, despite the difficult budgetary position, I have committed over £216m toward Early Years education for 2015/16 to ensure that key services are protected as far as possible.