The Executive’s draft childcare strategy is open for consultation and it is fundamentally about labour supply and whether parents can take up work.

The Department of Education is consulting on the draft Northern Ireland Executive Early Learning and Childcare (ELC) Strategy. The consultation closes at 11.59pm on 24 March 2026.

Childcare sits at the centre of the Programme for Government 2024–27 priority to deliver “more affordable, accessible, high-quality” early learning and childcare, supporting children’s development, easing financial pressure on working families and stabilising a sector that underpins the wider economy. The Executive has already agreed £80m of additional funding over the last two financial years to begin implementing key actions ahead of the full plan.

The draft strategy is framed around three practical themes: what it will deliver for children in their early years (including quality and targeted support), what it will do to help families with childcare costs and access to information and how it will support the early years sector and workforce (capacity, sustainability, fair pay and recognition).

For Chamber members, this is not a “social policy” sidebar. It is a workforce constraint. If childcare is unavailable, unreliable or too expensive, parents reduce hours, refuse shifts, delay returning to work or exit roles entirely. That lands as recruitment friction, higher absence risk, lost productivity and wage pressure, especially in sectors with shift patterns and in places where commuting and family support options are thinner.

Member action is straightforward: respond with evidence. Set out how childcare affects your staffing, overtime, shift cover, hiring timelines and retention; what specific changes would help (hours, under-3 places, wraparound and SEN provision, workforce measures) and what “good” looks like for the North West.

The Takeaway:

This consultation is a chance to put the real operating impact on the record before the final strategy and delivery priorities are set.

You can read the full Draft Early Learning and Childcare Strategy here.

You can respond to the Consultation on the Draft NI Executive Early Learning and Childcare strategy.