Article 32 of the Education (Northern Ireland) Order 1998 requires the Board of Governors of each grant-aided nursery school and each grant-aided primary school with a nursery class to draw up the criteria to be applied in selecting children for admission to nursery education at the school. Article 32(6) also enables the Department of Education to make regulations requiring the criteria to include, or not to include, such matters or matters of such description as are specified in the regulations. The Pre-School Education in Schools (Admissions Criteria) Regulations (Northern Ireland) 1999 (“the 1999 Regulations”) specify the matters to be included in the criteria for the admission of children to grant aided nursery schools and grant-aided primary schools with a nursery class.

These Regulations amend regulation 4 of the 1999 Regulations to remove the criteria relating to children with a July or August birthday commencing with admissions for the school year 2013/14. The existing criteria will continue to apply until then.