Targeted Funding for Isolation (TFI)

Targeted Funding For Isolation

Background

Schools in isolated areas are eligible for additional operational funding, called Targeted Funding for Isolation (TFI), to recognise the additional costs of accessing the goods and services needed to operate a school and deliver the curriculum.

TFI uses an Isolation Index to determine schools' relative isolation, based on distance from the three population centres that provide the range of goods and services needed to operate schools and deliver the curriculum.

Isolation Index

The Isolation Index is a weighted calculation using each school's distance from population centres of 5,000, 20,000 and 100,000.

The Isolation Index formula is:

0.8 x the school's distance in kilometres from the nearest population centre of 5,000 or more

plus

the school's distance in kilometres from the nearest population centre of 20,000 or more

plus

0.4 x the school's distance in kilometres from the nearest population centre of 100,000 or more

total divided by 100 to produce index.

You can view the Isolation Index for your school, and the population centres which have been used to determine your school's Index rating, here.

Rationale for Isolation Index

Schools can access basic maintenance services from population centres of 5,000. Schools can access a greater range of facilities from such as financial and banking services from population centres of 20,000. The full range of goods and services, including professional development, specialist education services and ICT servicing, is available from population centres of 100,000. Together the three centres are able to provide schools with all the goods and services they need to teach and operate.

The weighting for each centre reflects the relative importance of each in terms of accessing the goods and services schools need. Feedback from schools and the sector has indicated that population centres of 20,000 tend to be the most important in terms of relative isolation, and that proximity from a centre of 100,000 people or more is the least important.

The weightings of 0.8 x km from a population centre of 5,000, 1 x km from population centre of 20,000 and 0.4 km from population centre of 100,000 reflect this information and also produce a fair measure of isolation among schools.

Mapping Process

The Index determination is reassessed following the publication of Statistics New Zealand Census data. It also involves a mapping process, which incorporates the latest road network information, to check the distance between schools and relevant population centres. The Index rating for each school will be reassessed after each Census, using updated population and road network information.

Targeted Funding for Isolation Formula

Targeted Funding for Isolation uses the Isolation Index to establish eligibility for, and the amount of, TFI. All mainland schools with an index rating of 1.65 or higher are eligible for TFI.

The formula used is:

Base + (Index rating x Roll x $ per pupil)

TFI Rates for 2010

The following table shows the rates for 2010:

Base per school
$6,920.10

Per student
$32.37

TFI for Non Mainland Schools

Schools on islands are allocated notional index ratings, based on an assessment of the costs, time and distances involved in accessing the goods and services needed to operate a school. This information has been benchmarked against mainland schools of comparable isolation, where they exist.

Individual School Details

The Ministry's website provides a list of all school's Index ratings and the three relevant population centres. This information is available at: Schools Index Rating and Population Centres

Funding, Staffing and Allowances Handbook

Details about Targeted Funding for Isolation are also contained in Section 1 of the Funding, Staffing and Allowances Handbook, available at www.minedu.govt.nz/resourcinghandbook

Targeted Rural Funding (historical information)

In 2002 Targeted Funding for Isolation (TFI) replaced Targeted Rural Funding (TRF)

Some schools that received TRF are not eligible to receive TFI, or receive less funding under TFI than they did under TRF. These schools received transitional funding from 2002 - 2004. The transitional funding decreased each year, while the per pupil and base rates for TFI gradually increased.

Transitional funding has now been phased out completely.