- Coming soon - ECE Funding Handbook annual update
- RS7 Return update for October 2015 to January 2016 funding period
- Playgroup funding update
Coming soon – ECE Funding Handbook annual update
We have completed the annual review of the Early Childhood Education Funding Handbook. As a result we will be making some changes to tidy it up and keep it current. These include editorial corrections, clarifications and updates.
The revised version is due to be published on 20 March 2016. Details of the changes will be provided in the 21 March 2016 issue of He Pānui Kōhungahunga – The Early Learning Bulletin.
There will be no changes to funding rates in this update.
RS7 Return update for October 2015 to January 2016 funding period
98% of eligible early childhood education (ECE) services have submitted their RS7 Return on time to be processed for the payment overnight on Tuesday 1 March 2016.
Services that return a correctly completed RS7 Return after 5 February 2016, but before 4 March 2016, will receive funding overnight on Monday 21 March 2016.
Funding payments are based on the information provided via the RS7 Return. The March 2016 payment includes:
- wash-up for October 2015 to January 2016, and
- advance for March to June 2016.
The wash-up payment for February 2016 will be made in July 2016.
If you wish to discuss any ECE funding issues, please contact the Resourcing Division Contact Centre: 0800 ECE ECE (0800 323 323) or email resourcing@education.govt.nz.
For all other queries, contact your regional office.
Funding notices
Funding notices are sent to services on the payment date. The Ministry does not provide confirmation of payment amounts prior to this date.
Resubmissions
Resubmissions are available to correct genuine errors or oversights that come to light at a later date. They should not be considered a normal part of the process. ECE services are expected to do all they can to ensure the accuracy of all data submitted. Resubmissions for the October 2015 to January 2016 period can be made via ELI up until 31 May 2016.
After this date, services wanting to resubmit an RS7 must resubmit using a hardcopy of the affected RS7.
Resubmissions may be audited by the Ministry’s Monitoring team to verify their accuracy before they are processed. Resubmissions relating to prior periods that are more than 12 months old will not be processed.
For all other key dates, please look at Calendar of key ECE Ministry dates for 2016.
New services and the Equity Index (EQI)
New licensed services that opened between 1 January and 30 June 2015, and existing services that applied for a review in November 2015, should have received notification of their Equity Index (EQI) results in early February.
Successful new applicants will receive their new Equity Funding rate in the March 2016 ECE funding payment. Funding will be back-dated to service opening dates for new services and 1 October 2015 for reviewed services.
Services that have opened between 1 July 2015 and 31 December 2015 will receive an application email in March 2016.
Playgroup Funding update
All playgroups should have received their PG3 funding forms and these should be completed and returned to your local by Friday 26 February.
Playgroups are also eligible to apply for a special grant to cover larger costs that cannot be met from other funding. PG4 special grant application forms will be available from 31 March and need to be returned to regional Ministry of Education offices by 29 April. We’ll let you know where you can get a copy of the PG4 in the next issue of this bulletin.
If you have any questions about the special grant, please contact your regional Playgroup adviser.
