AQW 39872/22-27

Ms Claire Sugden
Independent
East Londonderry

Tabled Date: 05/02/2026
Answered On Date: 23/02/2026
Priority Written: No

Question:
To ask the Minister of Education to detail any consideration that has been given to allocating one-to-one special educational needs support on the basis of the child’s needs, rather than the setting attended, to support continuity of care across early years, childcare and school provision.

Answer:

The draft Early Learning and Childcare Strategy, currently issued for public consultation Executive Early Learning and Childcare Strategy | Department of Education, includes specific proposed initiatives to support early learning and childcare providers to respond and meet the needs of all children including those with additional needs/disability.

Proposed actions include:

a plan to develop of a specific SEN CPD framework for education settings and childcare providers;

agreed protocol for sharing of information on children’s developmental journeys;

development of a holistic approach to child development bringing together Allied Health Professionals, Speech and Language Therapists and others to develop a targeted programme for children with emerging additional needs;

the establishment of a Strategic Childcare Accessibility Fund inclusive of provision for children with additional needs;

extension of the Department of Health (DoH) Fair Play grant scheme,

provide high-quality support services and professional advice to both non-statutory and statutory PSEP providers to develop good practice and support them to meet the needs of all children; and

continuation of the Pre-school Inclusion Fund which I established in November 2024 and expanded in November 2025.

The full range of initiatives set out in the draft strategy, if agreed and resourced, will support comprehensive, needs based early learning and childcare provision for all children.