Education Minister has today announced a £25million
package of measures to support children, parents and providers
with early learning and childcare in 2024/25.
The package of measures is designed to stabilise and support
expansion of the early learning and childcare sector, offer all
children 22.5 hours pre-school education per week and reduce
childcare bills for working parents through a Northern Ireland
Childcare Subsidy Scheme.
Speaking after Executive approval of the support measures, the
Minister said: “This is an ambitious package of measures
for early learning and childcare representing the most
significant enhancement of early years investment in Northern
Ireland in decades. This investment clearly demonstrates that,
despite an extremely challenging budget position, the Executive
remains committed to making support for young children, their
families and the services they rely on, a top priority.”
The new measures will also build the evidence base necessary to
inform the longer-term Early Learning and Childcare Strategy.
The Minister continued: “I very much welcome the
Executive's commitment to the delivery of 22.5 hours funded
pre-school education for all children in their pre-school year.
This is an unprecedented expansion of early years developmental
provision in over 25 years and will undoubtedly have a lasting
impact on the lives of children in Northern Ireland for decades
to come.
“It is a necessarily ambitious programme which will ease
current pressures on parents and providers and lay the foundation
upon which I intend to build. This is by no means the limit of my
ambitions, but rather an important first step towards a full
Early Learning and Childcare Strategy.”
Notes to editors:
- The full Ministerial Statement from the Minister of Education
is available here - Department of Education
website
