To ask the Minister of Education whether his Department has any plans to expand nursery and playgroup provision at Crumlin Integrated Primary School.

The Education Authority has responsibility for Early Years provision at Crumlin Integrated Primary School. The EA’s Annual Action Plans contain details of the work programme of the planning and managing authorities to address specific issues at a local level. There are no proposed actions in the Strategic Area Plan for School Provision - Action Plan 2019-21 relating to this school.

Significant changes to statutory education provision, including the expansion or establishment of nursery schools and nursery units, are subject to a statutory process. This is mainly set out in Article 14 of the Education and Libraries (NI) Order 1986 (as amended) and requires the publication of a Development Proposal.

Voluntary and private pre-school providers are managed independently. Decisions about the establishment or expansion of these settings are a matter for the settings’ management committees/owners: the Department has no role in these decisions, which are not subject to the Development Proposal process.