Pre-School Standardisation Programme

All funded PSEP providers will be included in the standardisation programme, covering both statutory and non-statutory pre-school providers across all management types. The rollout will be phased, is expected to take a few years to reach all settings and will be largely dictated by the resources made available by the Executive, as well as the state of readiness of the individual settings.

The Education Authority (EA) is committed to a fair and transparent process for expanding full-time pre-school provision. However, this is dependent on Executive Funding. For Cohort 2, the priority was to increase full-time capacity in each Local Government District to approximately 50% by September 2026.

A ‘State of Readiness’ survey will be issued each year to provide pre-school settings with the opportunity to assess readiness to transition to full-time hours and update any changes in circumstances since previous engagement. The information gathered will inform further engagement between settings and EA. Pre-school settings do not need to take any further action regarding standardisation at this stage.

The support needed to transition to a standardised session length will vary from setting to setting, based on their particular circumstances and the EA assessment of need. It is not possible to provide individual timescales or funding projections at this time. 

As is currently the case, statutory pre-school providers will be funded via the Common Funding Scheme. Non-statutory providers will continue to be funded directly by EA. 

The level of funding for new full-time provision in non-statutory providers from September 2025, together with an increase in the funding rate for part-time provision for the 2025/26 academic year was communicated to providers in a letter from the Minister of Education dated 10th June 2025. It is not possible to provide advance notice of what the funding rates in future years will be. 

Subject to approval by the Executive, funding will be available for settings to facilitate the mid-day meal, as follows: 

• Catering Assistant for 1 hour and 15 minutes per day for a single PSEP class
• Catering Assistant for 2 hours per day for two PSEP classes 

Some settings will be able to continue to offer the same number of pre-school places after transition, others may increase or decrease the number of places they offer due to a range of factors such as physical capacity and EA’s assessment of need in the area. 

A dedicated HR resource is available to assist all settings (statutory and non-statutory) transitioning to full-time provision and can be contacted via the PSP mailbox, at psp@eani.org.uk.

Non-statutory settings can also avail of support from Early Years- the organisation for young children, they provide governance support for Community and Independent (non‑stat) settings. This support covers areas such as human resources queries, committee roles and responsibilities, constitutions and AGMs, managing finances, data management (GDPR), recruitment and selection, funding and fundraising, and general charity support.

Initial advice is available to all early years settings, however, detailed and tailored governance support is available to Early Years members only. 

Other providers may also offer similar services and support in your area.  Your Early Years Specialist and/or Management Committee may be able to advise further.

Where applicable, the forms linked below can be used to increase the contracted hours of existing staff, following expressions of interest and agreement with the staff concerned. Please ensure that any additional hours relating to full‑time provision are clearly identified on the completed forms.

• Nursery Assistants - Complete the EA HR Change in Contractual Hours Form available on the HR payroll forms page on EA’s website. Schools must include National Insurance Number, Assignment Number, working pattern etc.
• Nursery Teachers - To increase contractual hours to full-time schools are advised to complete the TR23 Form available on the DE website. The completed form must be submitted to the relevant Employing Authority for approval. For Controlled Schools completed TR23 forms can be provided to EA’s Teaching Services Team using the email address: eateaching@eani.org.uk

The standard contracted hours for full-time nursery staff are as follows: 

• Full-time Nursery Teacher – 32.4 hours per week (22.5 hours class contact time).
• Full-time Nursery Assistant – 32.5 hours per week. 

A dedicated PSP Catering team is available to assist all settings (statutory and non-statutory) transitioning to full-time provision and can be contacted via the PSP mailbox, at psp@eani.org.uk.

No. EA will work with individual settings in regard to the provision of meals. While many settings may prepare meals on site, others may require alternative solutions, such as having meals prepared elsewhere and transported to the setting. Settings that choose to have meals prepared by a provider other than EA Catering Service, must ensure that they adhere to the relevant Nutritional Standards, which can be accessed here, and charge the same amount (currently £3.00 per meal). 

The EA PSP team are aware that for many settings, this will be the first time providing a mid‑day meal, and that some essential catering equipment may be required. The PSP Catering team will co-ordinate the ordering of equipment at no cost to the setting.

EA has developed meal guidance for all settings, whether they are receiving meals from EA Catering Service, another meal provider, or preparing meals onsite. This guidance includes information on registering with Environmental Health, relevant training requirements, managing special diets, as well as details on menus, meal service and managing mealtimes. This guidance, including a supplementary ‘Meal Guidance’ video will be issued to Cohort 2 settings in April 2026 and is also available under Guidance for Provision of Mid-Day Meals. Please note a number of training dates will be offered to support settings. 

This decision should be made locally by each individual pre‑school setting. Current practice varies, with different arrangements in place across settings that provide a meal. However, we wish to highlight the statutory requirements relating to school meals and advise that settings cannot compel children to take a hot meal.

These requirements are set out in the Arrangements for the Provision of Milk, Meals and Related Facilities made under Articles 58 and 59 of the Education and Libraries (NI) Order 1986, as amended. 

Families of children attending pre-school full-time should be able to choose whether they wish their child to take a school lunch or bring a packed lunch to school and this choice should not adversely impact the child in any way, including in relation to the length of their school day.

Setting leaders highlight several benefits of pre‑school children having a mid‑day meal and taking part in a Family Service approach, such as sitting together for a shared meal, developing knife and fork skills, helping with setting up and tidying away, and building social interaction. Children who choose to bring a packed lunch can also fully participate in Family Service. Sitting together as one group ensures a consistent, inclusive experience and enables all children, regardless of the type of meal they have, to develop social skills and independence alongside their peers.

In preparation for standardisation, it may be helpful for preschool providers to visit a local full-time preschool setting to observe how the mid-day meal is organised in practice. Guidance on implementing Family Service will be provided to all settings.

Settings are responsible for collecting meal payments from parents and carers of children who are not eligible for Free School Meals and who have chosen for their child to receive a hot mid‑day meal.

EA has developed tailored payment processes that vary depending on the meal provider. Payment Process guidance will be issued to settings before the end of the academic year in preparation for standardisation, and training will be available. 

Yes, for the time being. This is a legal requirement and could only be changed by passing a new law. The EA Pre-School Education Group (PEG) will continue to plan pre-school provision so as to minimise over-provision in local areas and DE is also reviewing the “Amalgamation for Standardisation” process, with a view to offering more schools the option to request a voluntary reduction in their enrolment and admissions numbers where there is evidence of over provision of funded places. More information on this process can be found on the Department fof Education Pre-School Education Programme - Standardisation.

All children, regardless of age, must be provided with the same legislative hours. Please also note that penultimate age pupils are also entitled to a mid-day meal.

Yes. The temporary flexibility policy applies to both full-time and part-time provision. The criteria is not affected by the session length provided. 

In most cases, no. The Amalgamation for Standardisation pilot tested a streamlined mechanism for the approval of changes to session length in pre-school settings. It is the intention that most, if not all, statutory settings will transition via this mechanism. It is possible that a small number of settings that require very complex changes may need a Development Proposal; if this is the case, DE and EA will liaise with the setting to support them. 

The Amalgamation for Standardisation programme enables eligible schools to make a voluntary request to reduce their admissions and enrolment numbers at the same time as requesting a change of pre-school session length as part of the Pre-School Standardisation Programme. 

Schools are eligible to request Amalgamation for Standardisation if their published census figures show they have enrolled at least ten penultimate aged pupils in two of the last five years.

No. The process is only applicable to the pre-school standardisation process, including Amalgamation for Standardisation. Any other changes must be requested separately through the usual mechanisms. 

Amalgamation for Standardisation is a voluntary process that enables settings that have a pattern of enrolment indicative of over-provision to request a reduction in admissions and enrolment numbers at the same time as transitioning from part-time to full-time session length. Only a small number of eligible settings will be invited to consider Amalgamation for Standardisation at this time. 

You can read more at DE Circulars 2022/09 and 2024/11 - Guidance on a Pilot Programme 'Amalgamation for Standardisation' of Pre-School Classes | Department of Education.

No. All pre-school settings, regardless of their session length, deliver to the same curricular guidelines and are inspected to the same educational standards. The qualification requirements for staff are unaffected by standardisation of session length. 

Qualification requirements for non-statutory settings are set by the Department of Health (DoH) via the Minimum Standards for Childminding and Day Care for Children Under Age 12. Although there are plans to consult on possible changes to the Minimum Standards, there are currently no DE or DoH plans to change the minimum qualification requirements for non-statutory pre-school leaders. 

No. PSEP providers will not be required to change their registration status due to standardisation of their PSEP session length. Registration requirements for non-statutory settings are set by the DoH via the Minimum Standards for Childminding and Day Care for Children Under Age 12. DE and DoH have worked together to ensure that pre-school settings are not required to change from sessional to full day care registration due to the standardisation of their PSEP session length. Registration requirements regarding non-PSEP provision are unaffected. 

No.  Staffing ratio requirements for non-statutory settings are set by the DoH via the Minimum Standards for Childminding and Day Care for Children Under Age 12. Although there are plans to consult on possible changes to the Minimum Standards, there are currently no DE or DoH plans to change the staffing ratio for non-statutory PSEP provision. 

No. The Development Proposal process does not apply to non-statutory settings.  The Amalgamation for Standardisation pilot tested a streamlined mechanism for the approval of changes to session length in pre-school settings. All non-statutory settings and most, if not all, statutory settings will transition via this mechanism. 

Yes. There are no plans to place any restriction on any other services that non-statutory settings may choose to offer separate to their PSEP provision. 

Please refer to the PSEP FAQs included on the EA website.

It will take a number of years before the standardised session length is available to all target aged pupils. 105 pre-school settings have already transitioned to offer at least 22.5 hours of pre-school education provision per week from September 2025 - a list of these settings can be found on the Department of Education website under Minister’s Decisions on Pre-School Settings Requesting Transition from September 2025. 

A further 102 settings (c. 2,200 funded places) have been approved to move to full time provision from September 2026, or as soon as possible thereafter, a list of these settings can be found on the Department of Education website under Minister’s Decisions on Pre-School Settings Requesting Transition from September 2025. This will mean that approximately 50% of pre-school provision, in every area of Northern Ireland, will be full time. You can find information about local pre-school education providers, including their current session length and admissions criteria under Search Admissions Criteria. 

Parents should consider the relevant admissions criteria for their preferred pre-school settings before making an application. Please note that pre-school settings update their admissions criteria, including information on sessions offered, annually. 

This information is usually published on the EA website during the December prior to the academic year they relate to (e.g. admission criteria for the school year commencing September 2026 were published in December 2025). Admissions criteria for the 2027/28 academic year will be published in December 2026, ahead of the application process opening in January 2027.

No. All pre-school settings, regardless of their session length, deliver to the same curricular guidelines and are inspected to the same educational standards. 

No. Your child’s PSEP place is funded by the EA and providers may not charge for it.  If a provider wishes to request voluntary contributions from parents, they may do so, provided that it is made explicit that all contributions are entirely voluntary, and that any parent’s decision not to contribute will in no way affect their child’s participation in the funded session. 

If a provider wishes to charge for additional, optional services, they may do so provided that it is made explicit that the services are additional to the funded session and that any parent’s decision not to avail of any additional service will in no way affect their child’s participation in the funded session. 

No. Parents are strongly encouraged to consider the full range of pre-school provision available and provide a range of preferences during the admissions process to increase the chance of securing a funded place for their child.  Parents should note in doing so that all pre-school settings follow the same curricular guidelines and are inspected to the same educational standards, irrespective of the session length. 

During the open enrolment process, children can only be considered for settings for which their parents express a preference in their pre-school application. Limiting the number of preferences included on your application will not increase your chance of being offered a place in one of those settings, but it may limit your chance of being offered any funded pre-school place.

Regardless of the type of pre-school setting, all eligible pupils attending full-time funded pre-school provision will have access to a Free School Meal. Guidance for parents/carers on how to make an application is available under Apply for Free School Meals /Uniform Grant. The application period for the 2026-2027 academic year will open in June 2026.