Local Pre-School Place Shortages Leave Children at Disadvantage, Parents Say
A mother has expressed concerns that her son will begin primary school at a disadvantage after failing to secure a place at a nearby pre-school.
Stacey Smyth's three-year-old son, Oran, is among several children who did not obtain a spot at Cloughmills Early Years.
Leaders from 46 pre-school settings have collectively written to Education Minister Paul Givan and the Education Authority (EA), urging a revision of the current allocation system for pre-school places.
The EA responded by stating that the allocation process is "carefully planned to ensure stable and ongoing provision."
Smyth resides just 0.2km from Cloughmills Early Years in County Antrim.
Her daughter attends Cloughmills Primary School, and Smyth explained that dropping off her daughter at school and Oran at a pre-school in a different town or village would make it impossible for her to arrive at work on time.
"It's means he'd have to stay at home for the year," she explained.
"I think that would set back him going into P1 because he's not going to have that experience of the pre-school year."
Emma Houston's son, Rory, who is entitled to a statutory pre-school place starting in September, has also been informed that no place is available at Cloughmills Early Years.
Speaking to NI, Houston described the situation as "ridiculous."
"Children in the community are being penalised and they [the Education Authority] don't seem to care, all they care about is numbers."
The mother of two emphasized that being part of the rural village community, and having family members already attending the pre-school and adjoining primary school, made Cloughmills Early Years the natural choice for Rory.
She added that while places have been offered in neighbouring villages, these options are not logistically feasible.
"We have been given no support so now we are trying to see if we can, somehow, facilitate paying for him to go – I don't know who has that extra money but it isn't us – we have no space and no support."
'We are going to have to pay'
Linda McBride faces a similar challenge with her twin daughters, Maisie and Tilly, in the nearby village of Armoy.
Despite already attending the Armoy Cross Community playgroup, they have not been allocated funded places for September.
McBride stated that she was not informed the playgroup was full at the time of application, describing the situation as "incredibly frustrating."
"I never imagined there was going to be an issue. We are part of the local community – we live and work here, my eldest daughter attended the pre-school and now attends the local primary school.
"We've been told the nursery has the physical capacity to take 24 spaces yet only 13 are pre-funded," she said.
"As far as we are concerned, we are going to have to pay for the twins to attend."
Children 'pulled out of the community'
Karen Forsythe, chair of Cloughmills Early Years and one of the signatories of the letter to the EA and the minister, expressed concerns about the impact of the current allocation system.
She stated that children are being "pulled out of the community" due to the allocation process.
"We have been given an allocation of 10 spaces for September 2026 intake and we have 18 first place applications from parents and children in the village," she said.
"So currently as it stands we are turning away eight of those children."
Forsythe noted that some children without places live less than half a mile from the playgroup, and some have siblings attending the adjoining primary school.
"It's hugely impacting on the child, it's hugely impacting on the family and on top of that it's impacting on the community, on businesses in Cloughmills such as childminding businesses," she said.
"To go somewhere else means that people would have to change their childminders, childminders would lose business."
She explained that the current policy for allocating nursery and pre-school places is based on historical data rather than current demand, which prompted 46 pre-schools to sign the letter calling for change.
The letter highlighted that the policy is "causing major issues for non-statutory pre-school settings and for the families in the communities they serve."
"Basically, if you have one bad year where your intake numbers are lower than they previously have been you're more or less held at that lower number going forward," Forsythe added.
"All your future years are based on, basically, that lower year.
"I don't understand why our children are being pulled out of the community to get an early years education, it goes against everything that makes sense."
What has the Education Authority said?
A spokesperson for the Education Authority stated that "a funded pre-school place is available across NI for every child whose parents want one."
They emphasized that the allocation of places is "carefully planned to ensure stable and ongoing provision."
The spokesperson warned that an unplanned approach could result in "reductions in the number of providers, with long-term consequences for overall provision."
"For example, allowing ad-hoc increases on demand for some providers could destabilise other local providers who may be left with vacant places as a result," they continued.
"In some cases this could lead to settings being unsustainable, resulting in their closure.
"While parents may prefer a particular setting, any decisions about additional places must be considered carefully."
Regarding the Cloughmills situation, the EA stated that alternative funded pre-school places were available "within a reasonable distance" for all applicants.
They confirmed that the request for additional places had not been approved.
