Education Minister announces expansion of Pre-School education provision during a visit to Anahilt Primary
During a visit to Anahilt Primary School, Education Minister Paul Givan has announced that an additional 102 pre-school settings across Northern Ireland have been approved to offer full-time pre-school education from September 2026.
This is the second cohort of settings which have been approved to move to offering full time places under the Pre-school Standardisation programme.
“The Pre-school Standardisation Programme has already seen 105 settings successfully transition to full time sessions in September 2025,” said Mr Givan. “It is already making a difference to over 2,500 children and their families.
“A further 102 settings have been approved to move to full time sessions from September 2026. This will mean that approximately 50% of pre-school provision, in every area of Northern Ireland, will be full time.
“Providing this additional time in the day will allow the children to benefit from the rich play-based learning environment of the pre-school setting, allow pre-school staff more time to interact with and support young learners and also provide access to a funded school meal for eligible children.”
Dara Graham, Preschool Leader at Anahilt Pre-school Playgroup, said: “I am absolutely delighted that our setting has been chosen to move to the full 22.5 hours.
"This is a fantastic step for our children and families, and we are so proud to be part of this next stage in early years provision.
"As a community-run, charitable preschool, we see every day how much early education matters, and this decision will allow us to offer even more stability, support and opportunities for our little ones.”