Nursery Education Risks Being Overlooked in Childcare Strategy
The significance of nursery school education is at risk of being neglected within the Stormont Executive's childcare strategy, according to a nursery school principal.
Claire Evans, principal of St Teresa's Nursery, has expressed concerns in a letter to Education Minister Paul Givan that the draft strategy prioritizes expanding childcare provision over safeguarding nursery education.
Evans also chairs the west Belfast area learning nursery cluster group, which encompasses 24 nursery schools in the region.
"It's not just about our school, it's about our whole community," she said.
She highlighted worries that the "quality teacher-led provision" offered by nursery schools is being overlooked in the current strategy.
NI sought a response from the Department of Education regarding Evans' concerns.
Key Elements of the Childcare Strategy
The primary initiative in the strategy is a plan to subsidize more than half of all childcare costs for working families by April 2032.
The strategy states that the average cost of full-time childcare is £57 per day per child, amounting to just under £15,000 annually before any deductions or subsidies.
Affordable and accessible childcare has been prioritized in the executive's programme for government.
The strategy also aims to ensure that all childcare staff receive at least the real living wage—a voluntary pay rate set by the Living Wage Foundation—currently £13.45 per hour outside London.
It proposes providing 22.5 hours of pre-school education weekly for all children in the year prior to starting primary school.
Previous years have seen a shortage of pre-school places for children with special educational needs (SEN).
A consultation on the draft strategy is scheduled to close on Tuesday.
Nursery Schools Should Be Recognized as Education, Not Childcare
Evans emphasized that nursery schools should be regarded primarily as educational institutions rather than childcare providers.
She communicated her concerns directly to Minister Givan, who responded by clarifying the department's position.
"He has stated that the department does not view statutory nursery schools as being childcare. We really welcome that," she said.
Evans stressed the importance of protecting nursery schools within the strategy.
"We have to provide children who are ready to learn in P1," she said.
She described west Belfast as "quite typical" of Northern Ireland, citing legacy issues stemming from the Troubles.
"We know that there's a higher number of children with special educational needs and there's also children who require very specific approaches to support them in school.
We are trained teachers so we are under the auspices of the Department of Education, we have to be compliant with all new curricular changes, making sure that the children learn and develop.
To lump all of us in to childcare is not fair to the public.
What parents need to know is that we are trying our best to protect the highest quality education for our children."
Concerns Over Filling Nursery Provision Amid Expansion
Despite support for early years expansion, Evans expressed apprehension that nursery schools are not adequately protected in the strategy.
"When we look at trends in nursery education, and the birth rate is predicted to decrease in the next five years, that won't have an affect on secondary school but it will have a direct consequence on nursery schools," she said.
"My concern, and others, is if we expand places will we be able to fill nursery provision?"
She called for an "informed and strategic approach" to expanding places to ensure the quality of nursery schools is maintained.
"We are fully supportive of a focus on early years because we know early intervention is key," she said.
"We do support the expansion of that as long as it does not undermine the quality of the best provision.
We should not risk reducing the funding, the resourcing of our statutory provision which we know is the jewel in the crown of education.
That should not come at the expense of expanding places."
Parent Highlights Benefits of Nursery Education for SEN Child
Leaine Rodgers' four-year-old daughter, Zara, who has special educational needs, attends St Teresa's Nursery School.
"Her transition into school was very important for me, just to get her the right support," Leaine said.
Leaine said attending nursery school had helped Zara "thrive".
"Socially, behaviourally, everything basically, her toileting needs, her eating needs, making friends, speech, everything," she said.
"They have structure for Zara, they have visuals for Zara, they have a routine.
She loves it, getting her in can be a bit of a trouble but once she's here she's happy."
