A retired nursery school principal has responded to Education Minister Paul Givan’s decision this week to “level the playing field” for “hard-working families” seeking pre-school places. She argues that nursery education was introduced as education, not childcare, and highlights the importance of understanding why the current admissions criteria were introduced.
Earlier this week, Minister Givan issued a statement explaining the Department of Education (DE) is beginning a consultation on removing the Socially Disadvantaged Circumstances (SDC) criterion. He confirmed that only those receiving benefits specifically named in the outgoing Regulations will be prioritised in the pre-school admissions process next year and that this will end the practice of ‘reading in’ any new benefits that may have replaced them.
Speaking to Ni4kids, former principal, Deborah Anderson said if Mr Givan was “levelling the playing field” for working parents by removing the criterion, then “what is he doing to level the playing field for children from socially disadvantaged backgrounds?”
Speaking in the Northern Ireland Assembly, Mr Givan said: “Parents, pre-school education practitioners and elected representatives from across the Assembly have been clear; the current prioritisation when applying for funded pre-school education places is now outdated, unnecessary and unfair. There are enough funded places in every area of Northern Ireland to accommodate every pre-school aged child.
“The current practice is also no longer legally defensible. The action I am taking today represents significant and immediate progress towards a fairer approach to pre-school admissions in advance of the necessary legislative change.”
He added that the change is about supporting hard working families and ensuring they are no longer disadvantaged.
“It is about placing pre-schools on an equal footing with primary and post primary schools, empowering them to select admissions criteria that best reflect their individual settings and the communities they serve. The consultation will help inform how we take the next step and I encourage everyone to respond.”
Retired Principal Deborah Anderson told Ni4kids that her place of work was oversubscribed every year and she shares the frustration of parents living close schools who couldn’t get a place, while those on benefits from much further afield were successful.
“However, we need to remember that nursery education was introduced as education, and not childcare” she added.
“Yes, there is a growing need for high quality childcare as more families have two parents who work, or one parent families where the parent works. However, that is a different discussion, it was never meant to be the purpose of nursery education.”
“We also need to look at why this criterion was introduced. It was never to disadvantage working parents nor was it to give an advantage to parents who didn’t work. It was to level the playing field for the children from socially disadvantaged backgrounds.
“These children often had poorer social skills, languages etc than their peers and struggled in school. Research has shown that high-quality early years provision provides these children with lasting academic and social benefits. It helps break the poverty cycle.”
Deborah concluded: “If Mr Givan is levelling the playing field for working parents by removing this criterion, I would ask what he is doing to level the playing field for children from socially disadvantaged backgrounds. Nursery education is, and should be about putting the children first.”
