Lisburn children still waiting for nursery place

LAGAN Valley Assembly Member Paul Givan is calling on the Department of Education to prioritise the issue of pre-school places after it was revealed there are children in Lisburn who have still not been allocated a nursery place for September.

Speaking in the Assembly Mr Givan said all children should be given a statutory right to a pre-school place and that the criteria used to allocate places must be reviewed and changes made to prevent discrimination against working families.

He commented; “In my constituency, almost 100 children in Lisburn did not have any of their indicated choices met. Today, I have been informed that there are still children who, having gone through the second stage, have not been allocated any pre-school provision in Lisburn. The Department needs to look at that issue.

“I ask the Minister to give me an assurance that, if required, the Department will be able to assist the board in ensuring that the children who still do not have a place, the number of which I believe is now down to single figures, get a place.”

Mr Givan said this should be a priority for the Education Department. “It is obvious that there should be a statutory right,” he said.

“It should be a priority for the Department of Education and the Executive. Every child should get a place; that would ensure that there would be none of the concerns that have been expressed to me by working parents. The situation has an impact on them, because many of them pay for childcare provision as well. If those parents do not get a nursery or pre-school place of their choice, that will continue to have an impact on them.”

Mr Givan concluded: “They feel that they are being discriminated against because they work and that the criteria have disadvantaged them. That is a particular grievance which would not exist if every child were able to get a place. Obviously, families from socially deprived backgrounds need assistance, but the current criteria disadvantage working families.”

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