Givan welcomes pre-schools expanding to full-time provision

Education Minister Paul Givan has today welcomed the first cohort of pre-schools to expand their provision to full-time sessions under the Pre-School Standardisation Programme.

This standardisation of pre-school settings forms part of a package of measures to support children, parents and providers with early learning and childcare.

It has expanded the length of pre-school education sessions to a minimum of 22.5 hours per week for all children aged 3-4, including access to free school meals for eligible children from September 2025.

A total of 105 pre-school settings have transitioned to the longer session length from September 2025, providing over 2,500 additional full-time pre-school education places in the first cohort of the Standardisation Programme.

“There is a compelling case for providing 22.5 hours of pre-school education, particularly in terms of its positive impact on children’s social and emotional development," said the Minister.

"Full-time provision allows children extended engagement with pre-school educators, giving them the time and support they need to build essential early skills that are the foundation of future learning.

“Longer session lengths will be especially beneficial for children who require additional support, while also offering significant advantages for many working parents by helping to reduce childcare costs.

“I have secured £80million Executive funding over the past two financial years to take forward a package of measures for early learning and childcare services.

"A significant part of this funding was invested in our pre-school sector which clearly demonstrates the value that we place on early years education in Northern Ireland and delivers on the Programme for Government (PFG) priority of providing more affordable, accessible, high-quality early learning and childcare.”