28/11/2025
£4.5m Inclusion Fund Expanded To All NI Pre-School Settings
Education Minister Paul Givan has today confirmed the significant expansion of the Pre-school Inclusion Fund for the 2025/26 financial year. This move is a key part of the Minister’s ongoing commitment to delivering on Special Educational Needs (SEN) reform and will extend eligibility to all Department of Education (DE) funded pre-school settings.
The Minister announced an investment of £4.5 million (four million, five hundred thousand pounds) to support the expansion. This funding is intended to ensure that services, staff, and systems are adequately resourced to effectively support the growing number of children requiring additional help to thrive in the early years sector.
Minister Givan stated: “Since launching the pilot Fund in November 2024, 213 pre-school settings have received support to meet the needs of children undergoing statutory assessment of their educational needs."
Following a review of the pilot year, the Minister agreed to a revised approach that will allow all 670 DE funded pre-school education providers to access the support. This change recognises the increasing number of children presenting with additional needs and ensures equity across the entire pre-school sector.
Flexible Use of Funding
The expanded fund is designed to be flexible, allowing eligible settings to tailor its use to the specific needs of their pupils with SEN. Resources can be used for various purposes, including:
• Buying in additional staff time.
• Accessing Allied Health Professional services, such as speech and language therapy.
• Procuring specialist equipment and resources.
The Minister expressed confidence in the expansion, noting that the pilot successfully enabled pre-schools to meet diverse needs more effectively, with many welcoming the enhanced flexibility.
The £4.5m investment is part of a larger £55m package of measures funded by the Executive to support early learning and childcare in the 2025/26 financial year. Eligible pre-school settings are expected to receive their official letter of offer in the coming days.
The Minister announced an investment of £4.5 million (four million, five hundred thousand pounds) to support the expansion. This funding is intended to ensure that services, staff, and systems are adequately resourced to effectively support the growing number of children requiring additional help to thrive in the early years sector.
Minister Givan stated: “Since launching the pilot Fund in November 2024, 213 pre-school settings have received support to meet the needs of children undergoing statutory assessment of their educational needs."
Flexible Use of Funding
The expanded fund is designed to be flexible, allowing eligible settings to tailor its use to the specific needs of their pupils with SEN. Resources can be used for various purposes, including:
• Buying in additional staff time.
• Accessing Allied Health Professional services, such as speech and language therapy.
• Procuring specialist equipment and resources.
The Minister expressed confidence in the expansion, noting that the pilot successfully enabled pre-schools to meet diverse needs more effectively, with many welcoming the enhanced flexibility.
The £4.5m investment is part of a larger £55m package of measures funded by the Executive to support early learning and childcare in the 2025/26 financial year. Eligible pre-school settings are expected to receive their official letter of offer in the coming days.
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Northern Ireland WeatherToday:A sunny but frosty start for many. However cloud increases by midday with a few showers reaching the north coast, these mostly light but spreading inland this afternoon. Chilly. Maximum temperature 8 °C.Tonight:A rather cloudy evening with scattered showers. Becoming drier through the night with some good clear spells developing and a patchy frost away from coasts. Minimum temperature 0 °C.