To ask the Minister of Education whether Pre-School Education Programme places, previously provided by the Big Red Balloon Nursery in Bangor, will be fully allocated to other local nurseries.

My Department was notified by the Education Authority (EA) that Big Red Balloon Day Nursery closed with effect from Monday 16 November 2020.

The EA has advised that Big Red Balloon Pre-School had 11 funded pre-school children and these children have all been offered alternative funded placements in the local area. Sufficient spare capacity was available within existing funded non-statutory pre-school settings to ensure the placement of the children displaced due to the sudden closure of Big Red Balloon.

The key aim of the Pre-School Education Programme is to ensure there is a funded pre-school place for every child whose parents wish it. The Pre-School Education Group (PEG) reviews pre-school provision on an annual basis to ensure that sufficient funded pre-school provision is available to address demand.