AQW 29798/22-27 Written question to the Minister of Education
To ask the Minister of Education, pursuant to AQW 27069/22-27, to provide an updated table which includes the 2025-26 academic year.
Asked by Michelle Guy MLA on 2 July 2025
- Answered
- Written
- Tabled
- 2 July 2025
- Answer due by
- 21 July 2025
- Answered
- 9 July 20257 days after tabling
- Department
- Department of Education
- Priority question
- No
Answer
The table below sets out the number of penultimate age children that have been placed in funded statutory pre-school places over the last five academic years and now includes provisional data provided by the Education Authority in respect of the number of penultimate age children that have received an offer of a funded pre-school place for the 2025/26 academic year:
| School type | 2020/21 | 2021/22 | 2022/23 | 2023/24* | 2024/25 | 2025/26^ |
| Nursery Unit in Primary Schools | 577 | 726 | 772 | N/A | 808 | 879 |
| Nursery Schools | 390 | 533 | 570 | N/A | 588 | 436 |
| Total | 967 | 1,259 | 1,342 | N/A | 1,396 | 1,315 |
*Data relating to 2023/24 was impacted by industrial action, due to Action Short of Strike (ASOS). Although data was received from all schools, for 25% of schools (primary, post primary and special schools) pupil level information was not received in electronic format. It also meant it was not possible to fully undertake normal validation processes.
^Data relating to 2025/26 is provisional as at close of stage two of the admissions process (June 2025).