Study Support Centres
A Study Support Centre is a Ministry of Education funded educational programme for year 5-8 students who may be at risk of educational under-achievement. The centres are designed to provide additional educational support for the students and are run outside of regular school time.
Centres can be run by schools or community groups, with preference given to joint school/community initiatives.
Study support centres can be supervised study centres within schools, supervised centres within community facilities, or `virtual' centres making use of 0800 numbers and the internet to link students and study assistance.
Schools and community organisations can apply for funding to help run Study Support Centres. Groups of schools may also apply and a school or group of schools must have a minimum roll size of 100 students. Preference will be given to groups that will serve students from decile 1, 2 and 3 schools.
Preference for funding under this policy will not be given to schools who have received assistance under the Innovation Pool initiative, Tu Tangata, Kiwi Can, Cool Kids, or who have received special Government grants for similar activities (eg, some SEMO and AIMHI schools who have received grants to run homework centres).
Funding can only be used for running/operational costs and the employment of staff. It cannot be used for capital expenditure such as buildings and computers.
Access to computers is a priority for this initiative. Students must have access to the internet in the same way they are now able to do so within the school environment. Please note that funding under this initiative cannot be used to purchase computers. The funding under this initiative is not necessarily expected to fully fund study support centres, we are helping those who are helping themselves and their communities assist with student achievement.
Study Support Centres in 2012
Continued funding has been approved for the Study Support Centre initiative for 2012, but with some changes to the criteria, reporting requirements and administration. More detail about these changes are provided below.
Revised Minimum Requirements to Run a Study Support Centre
| 2012 Requirements |
Additional Notes |
| The school or group of schools being served must be decile 1, 2 and/or 3 |
The discretion to allow students from decile 4-10 schools is being introduced for the 2012 round. |
| or |
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| Local/regional Ministry managers can use their discretion to allow new and/or existing Study Support Centres to serve students from decile 4-10 schools if these students are seen to be at risk of educational underacheivement; particularly, if they are also Māori, Pasifika, student(s) with a refugee background, have English language learning needs and/or are student(s) with Special Education needs. |
| The centre must provide supervised study for a minimum of 15 Year 5-8 students and an average of 15 Year 5-8 students must attend every Study Support Centre session made available to the students. |
This has been a requirement prior to 2012, but please note that we have now placed a stronger emphasis on prioritising Study Support Centre resources for Year 5-8 students only, by:
- monitoring the enrolment and attendance of Year 5-8 students only
- seeking reporting information on Year 5-8 students only
- providing access to the wickED Study Support Centre section for Year 5-8 students only.
Absences for legitimate reasons, for example, sickness or bereavement, will not be counted against the centre's attendance average. |
| Participating Year 5-8 students must be signed up to the Study Support Centre. |
This is a new requirement and will be traced through the Study Support Centre online management system. A template will be supplied to record this information. It will also seek caregiver and Study Support Director consent to allow: |
- the student to attend the Study Support Centre
- the enrolling school and Study Support Centre to identify and report on learning needs particular to the student.
At least one registered teacher must be employed as Study Support Centre Director and must:
- take responsibility for meeting reporting requirements
- have a proactive role in the centre.
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Study Support Centre Directors will be required to submit an Annual Plan and an End of Year Report in 2012. The Annual Plan will need to include one centre-wide, measurable, learning objective that reflects a key learning need identified across the group of students in the centre.
The reports will be filled out in the Study Support Centre online management system, and there will be some guidance and prompts to support the development of a learning objective provided here. |
| wickED usage will be a mandatory component of the centre. |
This is a new requirement and will be incorporated through the Annual Plan. The types of wickED activities focused on will support the centre-wide learning objective. If suitable activities do not already exist on the wickED website, the wickED provider will develop some. |
| The Study Support Centre must provide access to ICT facilities, including the internet for all students attending the centre. |
No change to original requirement. |
| Suitable food and drink must be provided for the students attending the centre. |
No change to original requirement. |
| The centre must be open for a minimum of six hours each week. |
No change to original requirement. |
| The minimum roll size of the enrolling school/group of schools must be 100 students (for school based applications). |
No change to original requirement. |
| Funding can only be used for the running and operational costs, and employment of staff (eg. not for the purchase of computers etc). |
No change to original requirement. |
| The centre must have provision for at least 10% of the enrolling school(s) Year 5-8 population, for school based applicants, or the number of students agreed upon by the Ministry of Education, for body corporate based applicants. |
No change to original requirement. |
New Online Management System
A Study Support Centre online management system for Ministry and Study Support Centre staff and students is currently being developed. It will be launched in February 2012.
The online management system will be accessed through the wickED website and will:
- be the home for planning and milestone reports, operational guidelines and communication
- track student attendance and user activity
- provide a space for students to record their own activity and progress.
Revised Funding Agreement
A revised funding agreement template will be used nationally. This will include two funding instalments, as detailed below:
| Payment # |
Description |
Report Due (and payment due following receipt of this report) |
| 1. Annual Plan Instalment |
The first funding instalment is to be paid following the receipt and approval of the Study Support Centre's Annual Plan report. |
2 March 2012 |
| 2. End of Year Report Instalment |
The second funding instalment is to be paid following the receipt and approval of the Study Support Centre's End of Year report. |
30 November 2012 |
New Sign-up System
Study Support Centre Directors are to register all students who will attend the centre, and encourage consistent attendance throughout the year. This will be monitored nationally through the Study Support Centre online management system.
Support from Enrolling Schools, Parents, Whānau and/or Iwi
We encourage Study Support Centre Directors to work with the students' enrolling schools and the student's parents, whānau and/or iwi, to develop an appropriate Study Support Centre programme for the year and to identify a centre learning objective.
Steps for Study Support Centre Directors
To meet the revised administration and reporting requirements, Study Support Centre Directors of each 2012 Study Support Centre must:
- Coordinate the completion of a Sign-up Form (attached to the Study Support Centre funding agreement as Appendix 1) for each student signing up to their Study Support Centre programme in 2012, and submit copies to their local Ministry of Education liaison person by 17 February 2012.
- Submit an Annual Plan by 2 March 2012, which includes a centre-wide, measurable learning objective for the students and a planned approach to meeting this objective (the template will be available in the online management system but you can also view the details of this template in Appendix 2 in the Study Support Centre funding agreement).
- Keep a running record of any qualitative and anecdotal observations of student progress relating to the centre-wide learning objective during the year (the template will be available in the online management system but you can also view the details of this template in Appendix 7 in the Study Support Centre funding agreement).
- Submit an End of Year Report by 30 November 2012, which reports on the centre-wide learning objective outlined in the Annual Plan (the template will be available in the online management system but you can also view the details of this template in Appendix 3 in the Study Support Centre funding agreement).
Applying for Funding
If you wish to apply for this funding to set up a Study Support Centre and believe you meet the criteria, please contact your local Ministry of Education office and ask to speak with a local Study Support Centre coordinator:
- Whangarei (09) 436 8900
- Auckland (09) 632 9400
- Hamilton (07) 858 7130
- Rotorua (07) 349 7399
- Napier (06) 833 6730
- Whanganui (06) 349 6300
- Lower Hutt (04) 463 8699
- Nelson (03) 546 3470
- Christchurch (03) 378 7300
- Dunedin (03) 471 5200
- Invercargill (03) 211 3610
You can also download a copy of the funding agreement template, below, to view the funding conditions and reporting requirements.
If you are a community group, you will need to have body corporate status. Evidence of this status will need to be provided when you apply.