Media release
Easy Mind Ltd Liquidation
Easy Mind Ltd Liquidation
Parents can contact their local Ministry of Education office for assistance in finding any alternative education and care arrangements required. Contact details can be found at www.minedu.govt.nz/aboutThissite/Contactus.
A list of ECE services can also be found under quick links on the home page of the ministry website at www.minedu.govt.nz.
The Ministry also provides information for parents considering early childhood education. A resource, Choices In Early Childhood Education outlines the different types of early childhood education, which can be found at www.minedu.govt.nz/parents/earlyears.
If parents have any questions about fees they may have paid in advance to Easy Mind, they should contact the liquidators.
The ministry will continue to work with the liquidators, RHB Chartered Accountants Ltd, to assist parents and children into any alternative education and care arrangements that may be required.
Until the liquidators have established the accurate financial position, it would be inappropriate for the ministry to comment specifically on the current financial situation.
Ministry of Education
Media contact:
Jodi Ihaka 04 4638017 or 027 283 6122
RHB Chartered Accountants Ltd
info@rhb.co.nz
www.rhb.co.nz
ph 07 571 6280
What can parents with children enrolled in Easy Mind do?
Parents will need to discuss situation with their service provider in the first instance. Parents can contact their local Ministry of Education office. Details can be found at the Ministry’s website www.minedu.govt.nz/aboutThissite/Contactus.
Parents can also contact the New Zealand Home Based Early Childhood Education Association, a membership organisation that supports the delivery of quality home based early childhood education within New Zealand. The Association can be contacted at www.nzhomebasedece.org.nz.
What is home based early childhood education?
Home-based education and care is provided to children in a home environment. A home-based educator provides full or part day education and care for fewer than five children under the age of six, in a home setting. Educators are supervised by qualified and registered early childhood education teachers, usually called coordinators or visiting teachers, who are employed by a home-based service provider. Home-based service providers are required to meet a number of regulatory standards and be licensed under either the Education (Home-based Care) Order 1992 or the Education (Early Childhood Services) Regulations 2008 to be eligible for funding from the Ministry of Education.
How are home based education and care services funded?
Home-based education and care services are funded in the same way as other ECE service types. Services are required to be licensed. This means they need to comply with the Education (Home-based Care) Order 1992 or the Education (Early Childcare Services) Regulations 2008.
There are two types of funding; standard and quality. To be funded at a quality rate there are additional requirements the home-based service is required to meet. Funding payments are made three times a year – on the first working day of March, July and November. Each payment is made up of an advance for the next four months and a ‘wash-up payment’ for the previous four months. The wash-up payment makes up the difference between the advance payment made in the previous funding payment and the actual funding entitlement. This funding cycle assists services to manage their cash flow and supports parents to access ECE.
Where services get into financial difficulties, the Ministry will work with them to manage funding, often by placing them on monthly rather than four monthly funding. This also protects government funding in the event that a service closes.
How does the ministry support home based services?
The Ministry provides information and advice to home based services on meeting regulatory requirements. Ministry staff also respond to questions from the Home Based sector about operational matters or resourcing (funding).
The Ministry conducts audits of services and the Education Review Office review Home based services.
What information is available for parents considering early child education?
The Ministry provides information for parents considering early childhood education through its website www.minedu.govt.nz/parents/earlyears. The Ministry has also made a resource available Choices in early childhood education which outlines the different types of early childhood services available and can be found at the above website.
Parents considering early childhood education can:
- contact their local Ministry of Education office. Details can be found at www.minedu.govt.nz/aboutThissite/Contactus.
- visit services in their area
- talk to other parents, family/whānau and neighbours
- look in the yellow pages under ‘Child Care and Education’
- talk to their doctor or Plunket nurse.