AQW 12978/22-27

Mr Nick Mathison
Alliance Party
Strangford

Tabled Date: 05/06/2024
Answered On Date: 12/06/2024
Priority Written: No

Question:
To ask the Minister of Education for an update on any work he has undertaken with the Minister of Health on developing a standard template to capture information from parents as children transition between early years services into preschool and primary school in order to ensure that practitioners can support children’s learning and development, as recommended in A Fair Start report.

Answer:

My department works collaboratively with the Department of Health to support the transition of children between Sure Start and pre-school and between pre-school and primary school.

Provision of support for children and their families in transitioning to pre-school, is a key area of focus for the Sure Start Developmental Programme. Sure Start shares a transition report with pre-school providers which includes information on the child’s speech and language, physical, social, personal and emotional development.

As part of the Getting Ready for Toddler programme, a joint Health/Education review is undertaken when children are aged 3 plus, aimed at ensuring the best possible outcomes as they transition from pre-school to primary school. The Health Visitor in partnership with the child, parent/carer and pre-school practitioner completes the 3+ review in the pre-school setting. The 3+ review is based on the completion of the Ages and Stages, Social-Emotional Questionnaire (ASQ:SE) and a follow-up discussion between the Health Visitor and parent/carer. The data collected is uploaded to the NI Child Health System. The review aligns with the pre-school curricular guidance and provides parents and practitioners with valuable information that can be used to support a child’s development, enable early identification of needs, and where necessary, appropriate referral to support / specialist services.