Pre-school provision to be raised again in Tynwald

Tue, 10 Apr 2012

The loss of the government pre-schools will be raised again in Tynwald this month.

The Department of Education and Children wants to close its facilities this summer and recently announced plans to give parents credit towards sending youngsters to private nurseries.

The closures are due to budget cuts and it was also claimed the system is unfair as not all children are eligible to attend because of catchment areas.

House of Keys Speaker Steve Rodan wants Tynwald to acknowledge the value of teacher-led preschool education.

He's calling for the Council of Ministers to develop a way it can be provided on a universal and equitable basis and wants the public to be involved in a consultation.

If his motion were to be successful, Mr Rodan would like CoMin to report back no later than July.