Circular 2011/24 - Early childhood education funding

Date November 2011 | Circular 2011/24 | Category Funding

This circular is about the November 2011 early childhood education (ECE) funding payment.

This circular replaces 2011/15.

The action needed is

• read this circular with the Early Childhood Education (ECE) Funding Handbook (2010 update);
• file this circular and funding notice for future reference.

It is intended for all ECE services (in particular, the management of these services).

For more information on funding matters (either ECE Funding or Equity Funding), please contact the Resourcing Division Contact Centre at:

Ministry of Education
PO Box 1666
Wellington
Phone 04–463 8383
Fax 04–463 8374
Email resourcing@minedu.govt.nz

On licensing or general operational matters contact your local Ministry of Education office.

Early childhood education funding November 2011 payment

Date of payment

Correctly completed RS7 Early Childhood Funding Claim forms (RS7 forms) returned by Friday, 7 October 2011 will be paid overnight on Tuesday, 1 November 2011.

Funding months

RS7 form data was used to calculate entitlements for the following months:

October 2011

Advance payments for October 2011 were paid in July 2011. The wash-up payment for October 2011 will be paid in March 2012.

Late claims

Correctly completed RS7 forms received after Friday, 7 October 2011 but before Friday, 11 November 2011 will be paid overnight on Monday, 21 November 2011.

Return dates of RS7 forms

The Ministry of Education thanks all services who returned their RS7 forms to the Ministry by the due date. We understand that meeting this deadline places pressure on services. These deadlines are in place to:

• allow enough time to process RS7 forms, including checking and correcting errors on forms;
• guarantee funding to services who have returned their forms on time.

Faxed and emailed RS7 forms

Faxed and emailed RS7 forms will not be accepted for processing. Only original RS7 forms received will be processed.

Filling out RS7 forms Please ensure all RS7 forms are checked before submission. Any errors made on the RS7 forms can result in differences between expected and actual payments, or funding delays.

Note: The Ministry does not make courtesy calls for the following RS7 errors:

Payments

Payments are based on the information provided on the RS7 form. Funding notices outline the payment calculations used.

Submitting amended RS7s

Services with errors on their RS7 forms can submit amended forms to the Ministry. Resubmissions must include a resigned and dated declaration.

Note: Resubmissions with incomplete declarations will not be processed.

Enquiries on bulk funding payment

The Ministry no longer provides payment totals over the telephone or email because of privacy laws and difficulties verifying the person making the enquiry. Funding notices are posted to services on the payment date.

Requests for confirmation of funding

Effective from 1 January 2010, the Ministry no longer sends payment confirmation notices to services, service providers, their banks, or other financial institutions.

Changes to the Early Childhood Education (ECE) Funding Handbook

The updated version of the ECE Funding Handbook is available online at www.lead.ece.govt.nz.

Updates made in September 2011 include:

• changes made to the Support Grant for Provisionally Registered Teachers (PRTs) from 1 July 2011.

Important changes announced in Budget 2011 include:

• Equity Funding extended to all licensed ECE services effective from 1 July 2011.
• new rates for all-day and sessional kindergartens, and an increase in rates for all other ECE services effective from 1 July 2011.

Updates made in February 2011 include:

• information on optional charges.

Updates made in December 2010 include:

• new information on the Frequent Absence Rule: extension for extended non-operation.

New Enrolment Agreement Forms are available for services at www.lead.ece.govt.nz and www.minedu.govt.nz/eceforms.

Other updated ECE forms are available on the ECE forms page: www.minedu.govt.nz/eceforms.

Self-paced learning for funding and 20 Hours ECE is at www.lead.ece.govt.nz. Self-paced learning CDs can also be requested from your local Ministry of Education office.

Other funding information

Funding and teacher registration lapses

Teachers with registration lapses can be counted as registered on the Staff Hour Count from the date their application for registration renewal is sent to the New Zealand Teachers Council. This period must not exceed three months.

The centre supervisor or manager must sign and date a copy of the completed application. Any teacher applying for registration renewal must provide their employer with a copy of the completed application.

Count the teacher as ‘other’ on the Staff Hour Count if registration renewal is not approved past three months. Should registration renewal be declined, the Ministry will recover any associated funding.

Service providers

The Ministry links services with the same ownership into one service provider. Only one bank account can be nominated for each service. Any overpayments are deducted from the total funding paid to the service provider.

Refer to the first page of the RS7 form under the ‘Service Funding Information’ heading for service provider details.

Link between funding, the RS61 and the financial reporting requirements

Services that have not returned accurately completed RS61 Annual Statistics form to the Ministry by the due date may have funding withheld in part or full. This condition is in the latest ECE Funding Handbook (2010 update).

Note: the RS61 is sent out to services in late May.

Services that do not provide a copy of their audited financial statements will have their advance funding withheld from 1 November 2011. Services must comply with the Ministry’s financial reporting requirements.

Note: the audited financial statements were due on 30 June 2011.

The annual financial reporting requirements, including the deadline for submitting documentation to the Ministry are outlined in the Education Circular 2011/10 - Financial reporting requirements for early childhood education services and chapter 12 of the ECE Funding Handbook (2010 update).

Recovery of ECE funding

The Ministry may recover ECE funding from services or service providers that do not meet the requirements outlined in the ECE Funding Handbook (2010 update). Please refer to section 2-7 of the ECE Funding Handbook (2010 update) for more information where the Ministry may recover funding.

Frequent absence rule

Some services have been applying the Frequent Absence Rule incorrectly. Funding cannot be claimed past the end of the third month for any enrolled hours with frequent absence. The enrolment agreement must be updated to show the child’s correct hours of attendance.

Note: Funding for absences in the fourth month must not be claimed and the enrolment agreement must be changed to match the child’s attendance.

Support Grant for provisionally registered teachers

Changes to the ECE Support Grant for provisionally registered teachers (PRTs)

From July 2011, only services funded below 80% registered teachers are eligible to receive the ECE Support Grant for PRTs. ECE services funded for 80% plus registered teachers are no longer eligible for the grant.

Support Grant funding for:

• June 2011 will be paid in the November 2011 bulk funding payment;
• July 2011 onwards will be funded under the application-based process.

The first ECE Support Grant for PRTs application round closed on 9 September 2011. Approved applications received a payment in October 2011.

Further information on the new eligibility criteria and process for applying for the grant is available at www.lead.ece.govt.nz.

20 Hours ECE reminder for home-based services

It has come to our attention that some home-based care services are not correctly applying the 20 Hours ECE rules.

Charging fees

Parents must not be charged fees for hours where 20 Hours ECE has been claimed. This includes situations where parents directly pay educators and then receive reimbursement by the service.

Optional charges

Services may seek an optional charge for a specific purpose, parents may choose whether or not to make. Services cannot penalise parents who chose not to make payment. Once an agreement to pay has been reached then services may enforce payment.

Optional charges must apply to a specific purpose, which could be one off or ongoing. Optional charges for 20 Hours ECE hours may only be requested for:

• aspects of provision that are not required by regulation
• additional staff beyond the minimum regulated adult:child ratios, or
• items parents provide or pay for the service to provide.

More information about optional charges can be found at www.lead.ece.govt.nz.

Record keeping requirements

To provide a clear audit trail all services must keep records of all fees, donations, optional charges and wages parents pay to the service and, or educator. Records of optional charge agreements must be part of the enrolment record.

There must be pay records for an educator when the parent pays the educator directly and the child is funded at the 20 Hours ECE funding rate. The Ministry will assess all instances the 20 Hours ECE funding rules are applied.

ECE funding rates

The table below shows the funding rates for all services.

Equity Funding

For background information on Equity Funding (including guidelines for reporting and expenditure) please refer to the ECE Funding Handbook (2010 update).

Equity Funding calculations

The November 2011 payment will include Equity Funding based on each early childhood service’s actual entitlement for June 2011 to September 2011.

Equity rates

The current Equity Funding rates per funded child hour (FCH) are:

The current Equity Funding monthly grants are:

Annual review of Equity Index (EQI)

Licensed services may apply to have their EQI reviewed in October each year. Application forms can be obtained by contacting the Resourcing Division Contact Centre or by downloading a copy from the Ministry of Education’s website www.minedu.govt.nz/eceforms.

Applications for this year close on Friday, 4 November 2011.

Private services and the Equity Index (EQI) from 1 July 2011

Notification of Equity Funding status for Private ECE services

Private early childhood services were advised of their Equity Funding ratings for each component on 1 September 2011.

Equity Funding payment for Private ECE services

Private ECE services eligible for Equity Funding will receive their first payment with the November bulk funding payment. The payment covers the period 1 July 2011 to 30 September 2011.

Private ECE services that did not return their address collection information, used to calculate a service’s Equity Index, by 1 September 2011 can either:

• send the address collection pack to complete the Equity Index assessment by Friday, 2 December 2011.
• opt out by completing the declaration checklist by Friday, 2 December 2011.

More information is available in the Budget 2011 ECE funding factsheets.

Further advice - key contacts

ECE regulatory requirements

For further information or guidance on the early childhood education regulatory requirements, please contact your local Ministry of Education office.

ECE funding

For further information on the changes to the early childhood education funding system, please contact the Ministry’s Resourcing Contact Centre

Phone 04 463 8383
Fax 04 463 8374
Email: resourcing@minedu.govt.nz
Postal address PO Box 1666, Wellington 6140

Children with special education needs

The Early Intervention Service within the Ministry of Education’s Special Education Group works with young children with special education needs, their families, and early childhood services. This service is available to children from birth until they are settled into school.

Teacher registration

For further information or guidance about teacher registration, contact the New Zealand Teachers' Council:

Phone 04 471 0852
Fax 04 471 0870
Email inquiries@teacherscouncil.govt.nz
Physical address 93 The Terrace, Wellington
Postal address PO Box 5326, Wellington

Contact Inland Revenue Business and Tax Advice Services for advice on business matters, tax and, or record-keeping. Phone 0800 377 774.

Issued by

Karin Dalgleish, Acting Group Manager Early Childhood Education
Te Wāhanga Whakarato Rawa
Ministry of Education
45 – 47 Pipitea Street, Thorndon 6011
P O Box 1666, Wellington 6140
Phone 04 463 8383
Fax 04 463 8374