Monitoring

How many ECE services are offering 20 Hours ECE?

More ECE services are offering 20 Hours ECE each month and the Ministry of Education is continuing to provide support to ECE services.

Reports on the uptake of 20 Hours ECE are available to view on ECE Lead. Additional data, including more about 20 Hours ECE, can be found on the Education Counts website.

What if there are not enough ECE places for children to enrol in 20 Hours ECE?

The Government expects ECE services to respond to demand for extra provision in most areas.  20 Hours ECE has been designed to be flexible so that ECE services can choose how it can work best for them and the parents who use them. Ultimately, the Ministry cannot require ECE services to offer 20 Hours ECE, and does not promise access to 20 Hours ECE for children.

How is 20 Hours ECE monitored?

• The number and location of ECE services providing 20 Hours ECE, and the Government spend on 20 Hours ECE are monitored through funding claims
• An indication of the number and ages of children receiving 20 Hours ECE in each ECE service is monitored through a question in funding claim forms
• ECE services’ funding claims are audited to monitor and ensure compliance
• The number and type of questions and comments the Ministry receives about 20 Hours ECE are monitored
• There are 20 Hours ECE questions in the RS61 annual data collection

The Ministry also carries out random audits in local areas by comparing the attestations from the ECE services, to ensure that parents are not getting more than 20 hours of 20 Hours ECE per week.

Does the Ministry monitor fees?

The Ministry monitors changes in fees through an enhanced Consumers’ Price Index component for ECE to ensure ECE services do not unreasonably increase fees for non-20 Hours ECE hours.