Applying for a Pre-school Place

• View the List of Pre-Schools with funded places available.
• We recommend that you contact individual Pre-School settings directly to check if they have any funded pre-school places available.  
• For further guidance read the information under ‘What you need to do now’ and ‘How to apply’ .
• Use Find a School to see where pre-schools are located.

• Consult the List of Pre-Schools with funded places available.
• Use Find a School to see where pre-schools are located and to view their published admissions criteria.
• Download the Pre-School application form or a form will be available from the Pre-School provider or request a form from preschooladmissions@eani.org.uk
• Forward the application and a copy of your child’s birth certificate or any required supporting documentation to the new Pre-School for consideration.  The Pre-School provider will advise you of the outcome of your application when they are able to.

Target Age Form

(For child born on or between 2 July 2022 and 1 July 2023 or if you have deferred your child’s P1 Year in September 2026).

Underage Form

(For child born on or between 2 July 2023 and 1 July 2024 or if you have deferred your child’s final Pre-School Year (Target) in September 2026).  For an underage child you can only apply to a Nursery School or Nursery Unit in a Primary School. 

Note: If you are deciding to defer your child’s entry to Pre-school you should submit your request to defer. Visit Deferral of School Starting Age for further information.

Helpdesk contact:

Email:  preschooladmissions@eani.org.uk

Tel:      028 9047 0177

Pre-school application age range for September 2026:

Children born on or between 2 July 2022 and 1 July 2023 (final pre-school year - Target Age);

Children born on or between 2 July 2023 and 1 July 2024 (underage);  

Children born on or between 1 April 2022 and 1 July 2022; and children born before 1 April 2022 but with a due date on or after 1 April 2022 whose parents deferred their start to P1 for September 2026;

Children born on or between 1 April 2023 and 1 July 2023; and children born before 1 April 2023 but with a due date on or after 1 April 2023; whose parents deferred their start to Pre-School (Target) for  September 2026.  

For information on Deferral of School Starting Age.

Use the ‘Find a School’ tool below to search for Pre-schools in your area and read or download their admissions criteria.

When you find a pre-school under ‘Find a School’, write down the name of the pre-school and location as some pre-schools have similar names e.g. St Mary’s PS NU, Omagh, St Mary’s PS NU, Banbridge, Little Acorns PG (Coleraine), Little Acorns PG (Derrymore), etc. This will help when you are completing the application.

Any abbreviations within a pre-school provider’s name or referred to in this website and on EA Connect are as follows:

• PG = Playgroup   
• FT = Full-time      
• PT = Part-time    
• PS NU = Primary School Nursery Unit
• NS = Nursery School   

Other sources of information which may be useful to you include:

• Pre-school websites
• Pre-school virtual opening day/evenings
• Pre-school prospectus
• ETI Inspection Reports
• Annual Area Profiles
• Northern Ireland Council for Integrated Education
• Comhairle na Gaelscolaíochta
• Early Years Organisation
• Family Support NI
• Altram

Find a School

Where your child has received a funded pre-school place, staff in your child's new pre-school setting will welcome you and your child and can provide you with information to help you get familiar with the new setting. 

Parents can visit Useful Resources and Links  for information on a range of resources which are available to all parents as you prepare your child for their pre-school education journey.  Resources will help with developing language, emotional development, play activities and developing independence. Links tohttps://www.gettingreadytolearn.co.uk/parents/ other services and organisations such as RISE NI are also included.

Getting Ready to Learn provides some further ideas of activities to support the development of your pre-school child.

A funded pre-school place is provided under the Pre-School Education Programme.  All pre-school places under the programme for the delivery of the pre-school curriculum are free to parents because they are funded by the Department of Education.

• It normally consists of five sessions per week, each lasting 2½ hours per day during the school year.
• In nursery schools and primary schools with nursery units, attendance takes the form of full day (4½ hours per day) or part-time (2½ hours per day, either morning or afternoon sessions).
• Nursery schools and Primary schools with nursery units can offer either full time or part time sessions which can be either morning or afternoon.
• A few Nursery schools and Primary schools with nursery units have both full-time and part-time sessions.
• Voluntary/Private Playgroup providers offer part time sessions (at least 2½ hours per day or where a playgroup provider has now received approval for standardisation of its pre-school class they will offer full-time (4½ hours per day).
• There is no difference between a Nursery School/Unit and a Playgroup in terms of the pre-school education provision delivered under the Pre-School Education Programme.  They are all pre-school education settings.
• High quality pre-school education is available across all pre-school education settings.
• All pre-school education settings under the Pre-School Education Programme are considered to be non-sectoral and accessible to children from all backgrounds regardless of a setting’s location and management type.
• All pre-school settings deliver to the same curricular guidelines and are inspected to the same educational standards.  Pre-school settings provide important opportunities for indoor and outdoor play in a stimulating environment and also enable your child to socialise regularly with other children.  More detail on pre-school education is available on the CCEA website at CCEA - Pre-school.

Note:

• Session Times will be indicated at the top of the published admissions criteria of each pre-school provider;
• Some pre-school settings may charge for additional services (e.g. snacks, lunch, extra-curricular activities).  If a setting wishes to charge for additional services they may do so provided that it is made explicit to parents that the services are additional to the funded pre-school session.  Parents/carers may wish to contact a pre-school setting directly.

Statutory pre-school settings are nursery schools and nursery units within primary schools and are directly funded and governed by the Department of Education (DE). Statutory settings are managed by a Board of Governors.

Non-statutory pre-school settings are voluntary and private settings participating in the Pre-School Education Programme (PSEP). They receive funding via the PSEP, on behalf of the DE. Non-statutory settings are managed by their management committees. 

Both Statutory and Non-Statutory settings follow the same Curricular Guidance for Pre-School Education and are held to the same inspection standards by the Education and Training Inspectorate.

Statutory and Non-Statutory settings adhere to different requirements regarding staff-to-child ratios. As Statutory settings are governed by the Department of Education, they are required to adhere to a 1:13 staff-to-child ratio in line with DE regulations. Whereas non-statutory settings are required to adhere to the Childminding and Day Care for Children Under Age 12 Minimum Standards, outlined by the Department of Health, which advises a minimum staff-to-children ratio of 1:8.

Target Age applications can be submitted for a Nursery School, Nursery Unit in a Primary School or a voluntary/private playgroup participating in the Pre-School Education Programme. (Applicable to children of final pre-school-Target Age and children whose parent deferred their start to Primary 1 for September 2026).

Underage applications can only be submitted for a Nursery School or Nursery Unit in a Primary School.  (Applicable to children of underage and children whose parent deferred their start to Pre-School Target age for September 2026). 

Find a Pre-school and read the Admissions Criteria of Pre-schools. 

For information on Deferral of School Starting Age.

All pre-schools have published admissions criteria. If they receive more applications than they have funded places available, the pre-school setting will use their published criteria to decide who to offer places to.

Before starting to complete your child’s application you should read carefully the published admissions criteria for each pre-school setting that you wish to nominate as a preference. 

You should complete your application providing all the relevant details/preference reasons about how your child meets the pre-schools’ published admissions criteria.

When making an application it is recommended that you list at least four pre-schools in the order of your preference, as there is no guarantee your child will be accepted into the first preference.

If your child’s application is not selected by your first preference pre-school it will then be considered by your second preference pre-school. The process will be repeated until a place has been allocated or all preferences you have listed have considered your application. Places will be allocated to those who best meet the published admissions criteria for each pre-school setting. 

Any queries on the content of a pre-school’s published admissions criteria should be directed to the pre-school setting.

Search Admissions Criteria

Parents have the right to express preferences for the pre-schools they would like their child to attend, however no parent can be guaranteed a place in their preferred choice of pre-school. Therefore, it is recommended that you list at least 4 preferences on your application.

Please note you cannot list the same preference more than once. The only exception where you can list a pre-school twice in your order of preference is if you wish to apply for a pre-school funded place in a nursery school or nursery unit which offers both Full-Time (FT) and Part-Time (PT) provision.

The first pre-school you list will consider your application. If they are unable to offer a place the application will then go to your second preference pre-school and so on until a pre-school is able to offer a place or the list is exhausted.

It is extremely important that you provide all relevant details on your application as this information will be used by individual pre-schools to determine which children will be selected for admission.

• Birth Certificate 

  All Pre-school settings will require a birth certificate to verify a child’s name and date of birth. Either a full (long) or short birth certificate may be used. An amended birth certificate or an adoption certificate, where appropriate, is acceptable. If a birth certificate is not available you should contact the Pre-school provider to determine what alternatives may be acceptable e.g., a biometric card, passport, medical card etc.

• Other Supporting Documents

  Check the admissions criteria for each of the pre-school settings you have listed as some pre-school settings ask for additional documentation such as proof of address and/or proof of eldest child. This documentation may be requested at the time of application, during the process or at the notification of placement. If verifying documents are being requested at the time of application you will need to upload the information on EA Connect for all pre-school choices.

If Socially Disadvantaged Circumstances is applicable to you please read the section below.

If you do not supply the documents requested this could lead to the inability of a school to offer a place to your child or the withdrawal of an offer of a place.

If a school has asked for documents which you do not have, or if it is unclear what type of documents are needed, you should email or phone the school directly to find out what they will accept as it can vary from school to school.

Stage 1 – Applications for all pre-school age ranges for the school year commencing in September 2026 can be submitted when the application procedure opens in January 2026.  However, applications submitted in January for underage children and those related to a P1 deferral where a child has attended or is currently attending a pre-school funded place will not be considered until Stage 2 of the pre-school admissions procedure. 

Stage 2 – Parents of children who were unable to be offered a funded pre-school place in Stage 1 are encouraged to submit further preferences for consideration in Stage 2 when it opens.  Target and Underage applications can be received in Stage 2 by the deadline, refer to Key Dates.

Note:  During the pre-school admissions procedure, final pre-school target age applications are considered before underage applications are considered. 

For further information visit:

Pre-school Age 

Key Dates 

Deferral of School Starting Age 

Stage 2 – Tuesday 19 May 2026

Outcome of Target age and Underage applications processed in Stage 2. 

If you submitted an application on EA Connect you will receive an email notification to the address you registered with. The email will provide you with basic details on the outcome of your child’s application. For more detailed information you can log in to EA Connect on the same date.

Applicants who submitted a paper application will either be advised of the outcome by email (if supplied on form) or by letter.

Legislation requires pre-school providers to give priority to children in their final pre-school year who are from SDC. The benefits as defined by the Department of Education entitling parents to claim SDC are:

• Income Support; or
• Income-based Jobseeker’s Allowance; or
• Income related Employment and Support Allowance; or
• Universal Credit.

If you have an entitlement to any of these benefits tick the box to confirm, when completing the pre-school application and you must provide verification to show an entitlement to the qualifying benefit.