Pre-School Education Programme

The Pre-School Education Programme is funded by the Department of Education (DE) via the Education Authority (EA) and is designed as a partnership between the statutory and non-statutory sectors.  Both sectors are equally valued for their contribution to children's education, following a common curriculum and subject to the same Education and Training Inspectorate (ETI) standards.

The aim of the Pre-School Education Programme (PSEP) is to provide one year of high quality, funded pre-school education in the year before compulsory education, for every child whose parents want it.

The Pre-School Standardisation Programme (PSP) has been set out to gradually expand funded Pre-School education so that all children in their Pre-School year can access at least 22.5 hours of education per week.

This programme will be rolled out in phases, with 105 pre-school settings that have transitioned to full-time provision (22.5 hours per week) from September 2025. The NI Executive has agreed funding to bring forward a second cohort of at least 100 pre-school settings for standardisation in September 2026. Further information on the PSP can be found at EA Services.

Currently, no guarantee of funding can be given to any provider for a period of more than one academic year.

A requirement of participation within the Pre-School Education Programme (PSEP) is a minimum of 8 target-age applications received by a setting within the EA Pre-School Admissions procedure for the relevant academic year.

As a result, a setting that has published admissions criteria within the Pre-School Admissions procedure may be withdrawn at any point, due to low numbers. 

Pre-school settings will be notified of being withdrawn and any affected parents will be notified subsequently by the Pre-School Admissions team.

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.

The Pre-School Standardisation Programme (PSP) has been set out to gradually expand funded Pre-School education so that all children in their Pre-School year can access at least 22.5 hours of education per week.

This programme will be rolled out in phases, with 105 pre-school settings that have transitioned to full-time provision (22.5 hours per week) from September 2025. The NI Executive has agreed funding to bring forward a second cohort of at least 100 pre-school settings for standardisation in September 2026. Further information on the PSP can be found at EA Services.

A Pupil Allocation Number (PAN) is allocated to pre-schools within the non-statutory sector each academic year, this is the number of funded pre-school places a pre-school can offer.

Non-statutory pre-school settings are given a ‘provisional’ PAN for the purpose of their Published Admissions Criteria, which may be subject to change following the close of the application window in January.

An allocated PAN is not intended to facilitate the acceptance of all first preference applications an individual setting receives in the Pre-School Admissions procedure, as this could lead to displacement within other settings.

A PAN is not the same as a non-statutory pre-school setting’s registration number.

Note: PAN is defined as Published Admissions Number for pre-schools within the statutory sector i.e. Nursery Schools and Primary Schools with Nursery Units.

All non-statutory pre-school settings within the Pre-School Education Programme (PSEP) are required to be registered with their local Health and Social Care Trust (HSCT).

The maximum number a non-statutory pre-school setting can be registered for is determined by the Department of Health (DoH), Minimum Standards, which states that no pre-school room can exceed 26 children. The size of the room will also dictate the registration number as each pre-school child is required to have 2.3m2 of clear space according to the Minimum Standards.

A pre-school setting’s registration number will dictate the maximum number of pre-school age children that can be in attendance, at any one time.

The Pupil Allocation Number (PAN) determined by the Education Authority (EA) Pre-School Education Programme team is the number of funded pre-school places allocated to a particular non-statutory setting per academic year. A pre-school setting is not automatically allocated a PAN that reflects their registration number.

For the majority of settings, the provisional PAN will be based on the uptake of funded places as reported in October of the previous year. For settings that were not allocated a PAN in the previous year, PSEP will base their calculation on the average of the three most recent PANs allocated over the past five years. Changes to the provisional PAN may be made if any of the following criteria apply to the individual setting: 

• The need to address areas of under-provision. This applies in areas where demand for pre-school places (as indicated by first preference applications at Stage 1) exceeds available places in statutory and non-statutory settings. If an increase of places in the area is deemed necessary, the total number of additional places will be apportioned equally across all non-statutory settings in the area that have the capacity to facilitate an increase to their PAN.
• The need to address areas of over-provision. This applies in areas where available places in statutory and non-statutory settings exceeds demand for pre-school places (as indicated by first preference applications at Stage 1). If a decrease in places in the area is deemed necessary and where possible, the total number of decreased places will be apportioned equally across all non-statutory settings in the area that have the capacity to facilitate a decrease to their PAN.
• The PAN for an Irish Medium pre-school setting will be increased to accommodate all first preference applications up to a maximum of the registration number, unless such an increase would displace applications from another Irish Medium pre-school setting.
• Settings with no other provision within a 5-mile radius (rural settings) will have the PAN increased to accommodate all first preference applications up to a maximum of the registration number.
• The minimum provisional PAN to be allocated will be 8.
• Changes to the provisional PAN will be subject to any “CAP” on numbers previously notified by a setting.

Provisional Pupil Allocation Numbers (PAN) are communicated with non-statutory pre-school settings prior to the commencement of the next academic year. 

Detailed information on the Provision Planning process conducted by the Pre-School Education Programme Service, can be found on the PSEP section of the EA website.

A pre-school setting’s Pupil Allocation Number (PAN) is only capped at the request of a pre-school setting. For example, a pre-school setting may wish to cap their PAN to reflect staff to child ratios.

PANs are reviewed annually per academic year and may be subject to change. 

There is no formal process to appeal a pre-school setting’s Pupil Allocation Number (PAN). There is a limited criteria only that can facilitate changes to a PAN (Pupil Allocation Number).

‘Provisional’ PANs are included within a non-statutory setting’s Published Admissions Criteria within the Pre-School Admissions procedure. This ‘provisional’ PAN may be subject to change following the close of the application window in January or thereafter if applicable.

Where any change is made to the provisional PAN that was previously published in the Admissions Criteria, parents are advised that the Published Admissions Criteria will not be updated to reflect any change to the PAN.

A review has been conducted into the Pre-School Education Programme (PSEP) PAN allocation process.

The focus of this review is to consider the PAN allocation process for non-statutory settings participating in the Pre-School Education Programme, to identify and explore potential changes and improvements to help achieve a fairer balance between provision in statutory and non-statutory pre-school settings, and greater clarity and certainty for non-statutory pre-school providers in terms of their PAN allocations over the short, medium and long term.  The full review document can be found on the EA Website – Pupil Allocation Numbers (PAN) Review.

Information on when and how to apply for pre-school for the academic year commencing September 2026 is available by visiting Admissions | Education Authority Northern Ireland . Information also includes the application age ranges and admissions criteria of all pre-schools for September 2026 intake.

If a parent requires a funded pre-school place within this current academic year which ends June 2026, they can contact their local pre-school setting(s) directly to establish if they have funded places available. 

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 a parent lists at least 4 preferences on their application.

For the pre-school admissions procedure commencing in January for September 2026 intake, if a parent’s child has not been offered a pre-school funded place within Stage 1 of the procedure, it is advised that the parent engages in Stage 2 of the procedure. A list of pre-schools with funded places available at the close of Stage 1 of the procedure will be published on the Education Authority website on 23 March 2026.

All non-statutory pre-school providers within the Pre-School Education Programme (PSEP) are required to be registered with their local Health and Social Care Trust (HSCT).

The maximum number a pre-school setting can be registered for is determined by the Department of Health (DoH), Minimum Standards, which states that no pre-school room can exceed 26 children. The size of the room will also dictate the registration number as each pre-school child is required to have 2.3m2 of clear space according to the Minimum Standards.

A pre-school setting’s registration number will dictate the maximum number of pre-school age children that can be in attendance, at any one time.

The Pupil Allocation Number (PAN) determined by the Education Authority (EA) Pre-School Education Programme team is the number of funded pre-school places allocated to a particular non-statutory setting per academic year. A pre-school setting is not automatically allocated a PAN that reflects their registration number.

Within the Pre-School Admissions procedure, under the Pre-School Education Programme there is a limited criteria only that can facilitate changes to a Pupil Allocation Number (PAN) for a non-statutory setting:

Increases to a PAN during the Admissions process (Stage 1 and 2)

An increase to a PAN may be considered in the following circumstances:

• Multiple births, i.e. twins/triplets.
• Following a request from Social Services e.g. Child Looked After.
• Security reasons.
• To facilitate a child who has a Statement of Special Educational Needs.
• Following notification of closure of a setting in the PSEP.

Non-statutory pre-School settings must only request an increase for the above criteria. 

A PAN Increase request can be submitted by a non-statutory pre-school setting via the PSEP Forms Home Page.

Whilst the Pre-School Admissions procedure is ongoing, we have to allow the process to run as per the Department of Education Timetable. Your setting may decide to request an increase to your funded places as you have not been able to accept all first preference applications. However, it is important to note that an allocated PAN is not intended to facilitate the acceptance of all first preference applications an individual setting receives in the Pre-School Admissions procedure, as this could lead to displacement within other settings.

Within Stage 2 of the Pre-School Admissions procedure, the Pre-School Education Programme (PSEP) team may approach your setting to request your waiting list for consideration of increasing your PAN.

The Pre-School Education Programme (PSEP) facilitates funding per child within a funded pre-school place.

Should the delivery of funded places allocated to a non-statutory pre-school setting be at risk at any stage through the year, please contact the Pre-School Education Programme Support Service for information on the Strategic Support Fund (SSF):

Email: EAPSEP@eani.org.uk 
Telephone: 028 9031 7644

The Strategic Support Fund is intended to address short-term pressures in strategically important non-statutory pre-school education settings.