Official admits pre-school provision is 'not ideal'

There's a chance for people with strong views on pre-school education to have a say on how more places should be made available in the Isle of Man.

A consultation has been launched by the Department of Education, asking how it ccould best provide an extra 240 places in pre-school classes.

At present there are 470 places but provision is patchy, with some communities lacking any access to a pre-school unit at their local primary.

That's been described by the Mothers Union as a 'postcode lottery'.

Deputy director of education Stuart Dobson admits the situation is not ideal (play audio file):

Consultation forms cann be downloaded from the government website (gov.im) and the closing date for submissions is February 12.