AQW 37564/22-27

Mr Nick Mathison
Alliance Party
Strangford

Tabled Date: 06/01/2026
Answered On Date: 08/01/2026
Priority Written: Yes

Question:
To ask the Minister of Education to detail why the £3000 additional resource budget for schools providing a Specialist Provision in a Mainstream Setting does not apply to standalone nursery units.

Answer:

All grant aided schools are funded under the Common Funding Scheme. The Common Funding Formula (CFF) is the Department’s mechanism for allocating budgets to schools funded through Local Management of Schools arrangements. A school’s CFF allocation is determined by both the quantum of funding available to the Aggregated Schools Budget and a combination of the school’s overall enrolment, the differentiated needs of its pupils and the school’s characteristics.

Under the CFS, primary and post-primary schools with approved special provision classes attract a £3,000 lump sum per annum for each specialist provision class. However, under the current CFS nursery schools and units are not eligible for this factor. The department recognises this discrepancy, and it is currently being reviewed.