The Department of Education (DE) is working towards standardisation of the DE Pre-school Education Programme (PSEP) throughout Northern Ireland. The overall aim of the contract is to appoint a Contractor to conduct a research study that will: • provide an analysis of the current state of readiness of individual PSEP settings of moving to a minimum of 22.5 hours per week standardised offer, including identifying opportunities for greater alignment of other aspects of PSEP; • examine the current training and qualification requirements within PSEP and provide costed options for a programme of CPD; and • examine the current advice and support available within PSEP and provide costed options for models of delivering advice and support.

The Department of Education (DE) is working towards standardisation of the DE Pre-school Education Programme (PSEP) throughout Northern Ireland. The overall aim of the contract is to appoint a Contractor to conduct a research study that will: • provide an analysis of the current state of readiness of individual PSEP settings of moving to a minimum of 22.5 hours per week standardised offer, including identifying opportunities for greater alignment of other aspects of PSEP; • examine the current training and qualification requirements within PSEP and provide costed options for a programme of CPD; and • examine the current advice and support available within PSEP and provide costed options for models of delivering advice and support.