AQW 19555/22-27

Mr Nick Mathison
Alliance Party
Strangford

Tabled Date: 09/12/2024
Answered On Date: 11/12/2024
Priority Written: No

Question:
To ask the Minister of Education, once the preschool standardisation process has completed, whether approved enrolment number will be allocated to both statutory and non-statutory preschool education setting.

Answer:

Approved enrolment numbers for statutory pre-school education are determined by the Department of Education under the Education (Northern Ireland) Order 1998. This legislation does not apply to non-statutory pre-school settings.

Health and Social Care (HSC) Trusts are responsible for registering and inspecting non-statutory pre-school settings services against the requirements laid down in the Children (Northern Ireland) Order 1995.

Non-statutory settings participating in the Pre-School Education Programme receive a pupil allocation number from the Education Authority, which is set annually taking into account a range of factors including the registration number of the setting and the level of demand for pre-school education provision in the area.