Over 23,400 children placed in pre-school of their choice – O’Dowd

Over 23,400 or 99.8% of children whose parents applied for a pre-school place at the start of the admissions process and stayed with the process to the end have been allocated a funded pre-school place.

Parents and guardians have been advised today of the outcome of their application for a funded place at stage two of the pre-school admissions process.

John O’Dowd, Minister for Education, said:

“This year, 23,909 applications were received, up almost 2% on last year and almost 450 more funded places have been allocated than last year. I am also delighted to see that in line with my Department’s advice, more parents have remained within the process.

I have provided sufficient funding to meet the growth in demand for pre-school places.

The Department and the Education Authority have worked hard to meet demand and as well as making extra places available in voluntary and private settings. An additional 182 places in statutory settings have been approved under arrangements for temporary flexibility which have been made available again this year.

The Education Authority will continue to work with parents of the 39 children who have not secured a place.”

Notes to editors: 

1. The Department of Education’s ‘Education Works’ campaign promotes the value of education. This year’s campaign aims to ensure that parents have information on schooling and that they are aware of the steps they can take to ‘Get Involved’ and support their teenager in achieving good outcomes at school. Watch out for the ads on television, radio and outdoor locations. The campaign highlights the vital role families can play in helping children do well at school and improve their life chances.
2. Visit nidirect  for more information or watch the TV ad on the Department’s YouTube channel.
3. See photos from the Department of Education in our Flickr collection 
4. Media enquiries to the Department of Education Press Office Tel: 028 9127 9207. Out of office hours, contact the Duty Press Officer via pager number 076 99 715 440, and your call will be returned.

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