East Belfast Alliance MLA Judith Cochrane has called on the Belfast Education and Library Board to provide more nursery places in East Belfast. There have already been changes to the application process that were lobbied for by Judith and Naomi Long MP, and this has resulted in more children in their immediate pre-school year receiving a place at nursery for the incoming academic year.
East Belfast MLA Judith Cochrane stated: “Due to a simple change to the admissions process we have begun to tackle the problem of oversubscription and ensure that those children in their final pre-school year receive priority. By working proactively with BELB and parents many months ago, I am also delighted to have secured an additional 16 places for East Belfast with an extra afternoon session at St Colmcilles pre-school playgroup.”
“It’s of paramount importance that the Department of Education ensures that the process delivers effectively for everyone and ensures that the system is easy to access. Every child deserves the best start in life and I believe pre-school education is a key element of this.
“I will be meeting the Chief Executive of the Belfast Education and Library Board next week to discuss the removal of July/August birthdays as an admissions criteria and to see what more can be done to increase nursery provision in the area.”
ENDS