This article focuses on the teaching and learning of children aged three to four in publicly funded, non-compulsory pre-school provision. Provision is available below the age at which it is publicly funded; parents pay for this themselves.

The Curricular Guidance for Pre-School Educationprovides the framework for teaching and learning in the pre-school year.

Steering documents and types of activities 

All pre-school settings which receive government funding to provide teaching and learning for children aged three to four are expected to follow the Curricular Guidance for Pre-School Education. This guidance, developed by the Council for the Curriculum, Examinations and Assessment (CCEA), was originally published in 2006 and updated in 2018, to better align it with the Foundation Stage curriculum and make it more succinct and clear for teachers.

The Curricular Guidance outlines the range of learning opportunities that pre-school children should have ‘through play and other relevant experiences’ across the following six areas: 

• Personal, Social and Emotional Development
• Physical Development and Movement
• Language Development
• Early Mathematical Experiences
• The Arts
• The World Around Us.

It aims to help staff to develop and broaden children’s learning experiences and make them confident, eager and enthusiastic learners ready to start compulsory education at age four.

The time to be spent on each area of the curriculum is not prescribed. The pre-school leader / principal and other staff decide on the timetable, as well as on matters such as classroom organisation. The ‘Time’ section of the Curricular Guidance provides some limited guidance on the use of time in pre-school education (page 12).

Learning to Learn – A Framework for Early Years Education and Learning, published by the Department of Education (DE) in 2013, provides the policy focus for pre-school education in Northern Ireland. See the ‘Introduction‘ to this chapter for a summary of this document.

Teaching methods and materials 

In all publicly funded pre-school settings, the pre-school leader / principal and staff are free to decide on teaching methods and materials.

The Department of Education (DE) and / or the Council for the Curriculum, Examinations and Assessment (CCEA), and the Education Authority (EA), may, however, give advice about the organisation of teaching and learning and the teaching programme. In particular, the Curricular Guidance for Pre-School Education, originally published by the CCEA in 2006 and updated in 2018, provides some guidance on planning, on the pre-school learning environment and on materials and equipment. The guidance focuses on ‘learning through play’ activities and ‘other relevant experiences’ (page 3) in a stimulating environment.

With reference to materials and equipment, page 12 of the guidance states that:

‘Staff should ensure:

• 'children have access to a wide range of well-presented materials throughout the day that can be added to;
• materials are safe, clean, fresh, attractive and accessible to the children; and
• where appropriate, natural and authentic materials are used to enhance learning.’ 

In terms of the learning environment, page 11 of the guidance states that outdoor learning ‘is an integral part of the overall educational programme and should contribute to children’s learning across the entire curriculum’. Page 12 states also that outdoor learning should happen ‘frequently’ and be ‘safe, varied and stimulating’.

Examples of the type of materials provided include toys, books, large and small indoor and outdoor play equipment, ICT equipment (such as computers and hand-held devices), art and craft materials, and musical instruments. There is normally no charge for these.

Article last updated December 2020.