Pre-school to remain open

Pre-school to remain open

28 May 2025

A KILLYLEAGH pre-school has been saved from closure.

Little Stars — which feared it would have to close its doors for the final time next month — has secured the money it needs to remain in business.

The cash is being made available under the Pathway Fund which provides key finance to both Little Stars and other pre-schools across the district which provide children with much-needed support for their crucial development in early years.

Little Stars currently has 38 children on its books and over 30 enrolled to start in September, but staff and parents feared it would go out of business if the funding wasn’t made available,.

The Recorder revealed recently that the cross-community facility located at St Mary’s Primary School had its funding axed and staff handed their redundancy notices.

Local politicians last month backed a notice of motion calling on Stormont Education Minister Paul Givan and the Education Authority to provide the cash the Killyleagh pre-school and others across the district needed.

This week it has been confirmed that Pathway funding is available and the cloud of uncertainty hanging over Little Stars has been lifted.

Little Stars leader Karen McCormick says she’s “delighted and relived” that money has been found to keep the doors open.

“The stress has gone and we can breath again. It’s been a very nervous few weeks for us as we didn’t know what the future was going to be,” she said.

“It is a relief that the funding is in place and it’s good news for the staff, children and parents and we will be opening the doors again in September. We can now look forward to the summer and come back fresh and ready to go again.”

Karen continued: “We were doing everything we could to keep going until the end of the school term and this news lifts the pressure off us.

“We opened eight years ago and there are four staff including myself. Our children come from a wide catchment area and we are grateful to everyone who has supported us to keep the doors open.”

Karen added: “We just cannot thank everyone enough. People’s support has been amazing and we are over the moon that we have secured funding, with our parents are particularly relieved. It was a very worrying time for us but the funding is now in place.”

Strangford MLA Nick Mathison has welcomed confirmation of the Pathway funding.

Mr Mathison, who is the chairman of Stormont’s Education Committee, said £50m has been released by the Department for Education as part of an investment in Early Learning and Childcare. 

He said the Pathway Fund provides early education to children aged between birth and four who are identified as most at risk of not reaching their full potential within the school system. 

in addition, the Assemblyman said the finance also supports early years providers by offering training and governance support.

“I am delighted to hear that Pathway funding for pre-schools across Northern Ireland has finally been confirmed,” said Mr Mathison.

“For weeks, settings such as Little Stars have been left in complete uncertainty as to whether funding that they rely on to keep their doors open would be available. This delay will have undoubtedly placed a significant amount of stress on pre-school leaders and staff.”

Mr Mathison says he has written to Stormont Finance Minister John O’Dowd asking him to consider how best this situation can be avoided in the future.

In addition, Mr Mathison has asked if the Minister will act to align allocation timelines and ensure that funding is available for pre-school settings right at the start of the budgetary year. 

“Not only will this avoid any unnecessary uncertainty, but it will also allow settings to plan ahead with clarity of their financial situation,” he said.

“The dedication that the Little Stars community demonstrated in its campaign to highlight their lack of funding from the Department of Education earlier this year shows just how valuable the setting is to parents. 

“Whilst news of funding is welcome, settings should not have to be going to these lengths in order to secure finances they require to deliver their services.”

Mr Mathison added: “Little Stars is a fantastic pre-school which delivers valuable work right in the heart of the community. 

“Leaders and staff go above and beyond for their pupils and shouldn’t be left without confirmation of funding, weeks into the start of a new financial year. We must look at how we can avoid this situation in the future and demonstrate our commitment to our pre-school providers.”