Northern Ireland Minister launches Pre-school Toolkit for Diversity

Education Minister Paul Givan has launched a new online toolkit to help pre-school providers support newcomer children and their families living in Northern Ireland.

The toolkit has been developed by the Education Authority's Intercultural Education Service in partnership with pre-school settings.

Welcoming the toolkit, the Minister said: “All children deserve an equal chance in life, irrespective of their ethnic, cultural or religious background. Teaching and fostering respect for diversity between our children at an early stage, is vitally important to ensure that all children feel safe, included and supported within our schools and wider society and to enable them to meet their full potential.”

The Pre-school Toolkit provides guidance and resources to help pre-school providers to meet the needs of Newcomer families and includes good practice guidelines to equip and ensure settings promote and celebrate inclusion, cultural diversity, racial equality, and the benefits of two or more languages.

The Minister continued “This new toolkit will provide the resources required to assist pre-school providers to navigate changes in policies, curricular guidance and ever-changing needs of families coming to live in Northern Ireland. It is intended for use with Newcomer children whose main language is not English and who are developing their English language skills.”

Speaking at the launch of the toolkit, Education Authority Chief Executive Richard Pengelly added: “I welcome the launch of this toolkit, which will provide invaluable support to pre-school settings in welcoming and supporting Newcomer children. This resource reflects our commitment to inclusion and diversity in education.

“The development of this toolkit has been a collaborative effort, and we are grateful for the contributions from teachers, EA officers, and the wider community. We believe this resource will make a significant difference in the lives of Newcomer children and their families.”

Notes to editors: 

1. The Pre-school Toolkit for Diversity can be accessed here https://www.eani.org.uk/school-management/intercultural-education-service-ies/newcomers/intercultural-resources/ies-toolkits(external link opens in a new window / tab)
2. List of Nurseries and Pre-School Settings which contributed to the toolkit design: St Patrick's Nursery Unit, Dungannon; Oakfield Nursery Unit, Carrickfergus; St Paul's Nursery Unit, Belfast; Tor Bank Special School, Dundonald; Dromore Nursery School, Dromore; Kilmood Playgroup, Newtownards; St Luke's Nursery School, Belfast; Good Shepherd Nursery School, Belfast; Arellian Nursery School, Belfast; Bligh's Lane Nursery School, Londonderry/Derry; Holy Cross Nursery School, Belfast; McArthur Nursery School, Belfast; Sandbrook Nursery School, Belfast; Academy Nursery School, Derry/Londonderry; Ballymena Nursery School, Ballymena; Braidside Integrated Nursery School, Ballymena; College Farm Nursery, Armagh; Cuilrath Corner Nursery Unit, Coleraine; Enniskillen Nursery School, Enniskillen.
3. The term ‘Newcomer' is used to refer to a pupil who has enrolled in a school but who does not have satisfactory language skills to participate fully in the school curriculum and does not have a language in common with the teacher.
4. There has been steady growth in the number of Newcomer families to Northern Ireland, with an estimated 8-10% of all children in Northern Ireland's schools now being from a minority ethnic background.