Ulster Unionist Education Spokesperson, Sandra Overend MLA, has welcomed the decision by the Minister of Education to partially reinstate some of the funding that he had previously cut from the Early Years Fund.

Sandra Overend, who is also Vice Chairperson of the Stormont Education Committee, said:

“Early years education and intervention has a major influence in the learning prospects of our young people. There are clear educational and economic benefits of programmes that target children and young people, as well as other benefits for their health and social care outcomes.  

“The Early Years Fund has been key in providing early years services in many of the areas across Northern Ireland with greatest need. The decision to cut the proposed £2.9m Early Years Fund by £2m was indicative of a Minister unable or unwilling to look at his responsibilities with any strategic thought.

“The Education Minister’s original proposals would have had a devastating effect on young people in many of the most disadvantaged areas of Northern Ireland. These services ensure that early years provision in those areas is high quality, by providing direct support and infrastructural assistance to service providers, playing a crucial role in the delivery of pre-school education.

“I welcome the reinstatement of £1.1m funding for the Early Years Fund however this still leaves a significant shortfall from what was originally hoped for. In addition the Minister has been open that this support will only be enough to secure existing services until March 2016, so it is clear there will be further major challenges in the not so distant future. I would urge him to work with the 153 early years organisations that currently benefit from the Fund in order to identify a sustainable way forward.”