Preparing for the ECE Census 2024
This year the Early Childhood Education (ECE) Census week is 17 to 23 June.
All early childhood services need to submit their fully completed and accurate ECE Census to us by 11 July.
The ECE Census collects information on children’s enrolment and attendance, staff, teaching languages and wait times at each early childhood service. This information contributes to a comprehensive information base on ECE in New Zealand and we use it to monitor and forecast ECE expenditure and design new policies.
You can read more about the ECE census 2024 on Education Counts:
Annual ECE Census return week – Education Counts
Thank you to everyone who completed last year’s ECE Census. You can find the published information on Education Counts.
Protect against measles
Just a reminder to be vigilant in the face of an increased risk of measles around the motu. Keep registers up to date, and remember the best protection against measles is two doses of the MMR vaccine.
Check your immunisation register:
Find out if you need a measles vaccination – Te Whatu Ora
For more information, visit:
Respiratory illness over winter
To recognise the pressure on early learning and medical services during the winter months due to respiratory virus infections such as colds, influenza, COVID and other respiratory viruses, we are making temporary changes to the following funding rules to help relieve the stress during this time. Note these changes are temporary for the June to September funding period.
Absence rule exemption
In an event that a child is absent for more than 3 weeks due to a respiratory illness, a service can apply for an exemption from the 3-week rule to continue to receive funding. Under normal circumstances, to access this exemption, an EC13 form (supporting medical certificate) must be completed by a medical practitioner.
However, for the period June to September, if a child is not attending because they are:
- unwell with a likely respiratory illness,
- vulnerable to respiratory illness, or
- advised by health authorities or a medical practitioner to stay home due to illness in their household, an EC13 Form can be completed by the child’s parent or guardian in the place of a medical practitioner.
The maximum period this can be signed off by a parent or guardian is the first 6 weeks. The service must also complete an EC12 (absence rule exemption form) confirming the child’s enrolment details and keep both documents on file.
EC12: Application for exemption from absence rule for special and/or health needs
Where absence due to a respiratory illness continues for a period of six weeks or more, an EC13 form must be completed by a medical practitioner. The maximum period a child can be exempted from the absence rules is 12 weeks.
We encourage any services severely affected by respiratory illnesses to contact their local Te Mahau office for support.
Critical dates for the July RS7 return
On 1 July, we will pay the next instalment of ECE funding to licensed early learning services.
Key funding dates for the upcoming July payment are as follows:
| Date | Action |
|---|---|
| 4 June | Opening date for RS7 return submission |
| 10 June | Final date for paper and electronic RS7 returns to be received by us for funding to be paid on Monday 1 July |
| 1 July (overnight) | ECE operational funding payment occurs |
Services that submit their RS7 return after 10 June, but before 9 July, will receive funding on 20 July.
An email acknowledging receipt of the RS7 return will be sent to your service. If you do not receive an acknowledgement within two working days of your submission, check your student management system (SMS) or early learning information system (ELI) reports. If you need to update or change your funding contact’s email address, contact your local office.
If needed, you can contact us at [email protected].
Pay parity opt-in scheme
Higher funding rates are available to education and care and hospital-based services who pay all employed certificated teachers | kaiako at or above the pay parity minimum salary steps.
These funding rates are available in Appendix 1 of the ECE Funding Handbook:
ECE Funding Handbook: Appendix 1
The minimum salary scales are available in Appendix 4 of the ECE Funding Handbook:
ECE Funding Handbook: Appendix 4
Changing your services attestation for the advance funding months of the July 2024 funding period
If you wish to change your pay parity minimum salary scale attestation for the advance funding months of the July funding round, as you intend to pay your certificated teachers a different (higher or lower) parity minimum salary scale from 1 June, contact the ECE operational funding team, [email protected].
Read more on the pay parity opt-in scheme on our website:
ECE Funding Handbook: Chapter 3-B-2
RS7 returns following a change of ownership
Following a change of ownership, the new owner may submit an electronic RS7 return for the period after the purchase and send a paper-based RS7 for the period prior to the purchase. Alternatively, the new owner can send an entire funding claim using a paper-based RS7 return.
All funding following a change of ownership will be paid to the new owner. Any payment to the old owner will be actioned by the new owner. We do not split payments.
RS7 returns following a change of SMS
If you have not been using your new system (SMS or ELI web) for the entire funding period, you can:
- submit the portion of your claim electronically for the month/s you have been using your new system, and send the paper-based RS7 form for the month/s before you began using this system, or
- submit your entire funding claim using the paper-based RS7 forms.
Resubmissions
You are responsible for ensuring the accuracy of the data submitted. Resubmissions are available to correct genuine errors or oversights that emerge later. Resubmissions:
- for the February to May period should be made electronically.
- for the June 2023 to January 2024 period should be submitted using a paper-based RS7 form.
- resubmissions relating to any time before June 2023 will not be processed.
Note that resubmissions may be audited by our monitoring team.
Accessing your funding notice
Funding notices for the 1 July payment will be available for download from SDP following the payment.
Secure data portal – Education Sector Logon
Only funding contacts with access to the SDP will be able to download their service’s funding notice.
The funding notice for your service will only be available to download for 6 months following the date of upload. Check that you are downloading and storing all files on your own system for future reference.
For further information about the secure data portal and accessing electronic funding notices, contact us at [email protected].
Service open (SO) code
If your service is open on a day where children were enrolled but no children attended, you are entitled to claim funding for that day. Remember to send an email to the ECE funding team [email protected] specifying the date your service was open but no children attended. Also use SO code in your RS7 and input the funded child hours enrolled for that day to ensure funding is paid correctly.
Discretionary hours reporting requirements
Teacher-led, centre-based, and hospital-based services could use up to 80 discretionary hours in the February to May funding period. A discretionary hour is an hour that a service can claim an unqualified teacher as a certificated teacher for the staff hour count.
If your service used discretionary hours during the current funding period, you must submit a record of the total number of discretionary hours along with your RS7.
If you use an approved SMS and require assistance providing the information, contact your SMS provider.
If you submit a paper-based RS7 or use ELI Web and have used discretionary hours, you must also send us the form below along with your RS7.
Discretionary hours report form: 80 Hours
Note, do not complete the form if your service has not used any discretionary hours.
The completed discretionary hours form and RS7 should be emailed to [email protected].
For more details on the requirements for discretionary hours, see the ECE Funding Handbook:
3-B-2 Teacher-led education and care services
More information
For funding rules, refer to the ECE Funding Handbook:
Electronic RS7 returns and ELI reports are available on the ELI homepage:
Early Learning Information (ELI) reports – Applications website
For any questions, or if you need to discuss any funding issues, contact our resourcing support team Monday to Friday 8am to 5pm: phone: 0800 323 323 or email us at [email protected].
For any licensing or general operational matters, or if you require any updates to your service’s contact details, contact your local Te Mahau office:
Waha Rumaki and Pacific Immersion Teachers’ Allowance
Payment date
We previously announced that Waha Rumaki and the Pacific Immersion Teachers’ Allowance (PITA) will be paid on 3 June. As Monday 3 June is a public holiday, the teachers’ allowances will be paid on 4 June.
Please visit our or PITA website for more information about the allowances:
Waha Rumaki – Ministry of Education
Pacific Immersion Teachers’ Allowance – Ministry of Education
Allowance reminder
The monthly application for Waha Rumaki and PITA will open on 4 June. If you have not applied for either of these before, email [email protected] to receive an application link.
You may not need to submit a new application form if you have applied in time for the first payment in June. We will email you to confirm if there are any changes to your application and next steps.
Email [email protected] if you have any questions.
20 Hours ECE guidance update for home-based services
In the 26 April Early Learning Bulletin we confirmed that from 3 June home-based educators can charge parents top-up payments for 20 Hours ECE.
ECE Funding Handbook changes: 20 Hours ECE in home-based services – Early Learning Bulletin 26 April
We have updated our web guidance to reflect this change, as well as making other general updates to the guidance. The changes were made to improve readability and do not affect the funding conditions.
Financial support for overseas teacher recruitment
We run two initiatives to financially support the early learning sector with overseas recruitment.
Finder's fee for recruiting teachers from overseas
If you are an eligible early learning centre, you may be entitled to NZD$3,450 (including GST) to offset costs associated with recruiting a teacher from overseas.
Finder’s fee for recruiting teachers from overseas – Education Workforce
Overseas relocation grant
Overseas-trained teachers may be eligible for a grant which covers relocation costs of up to NZD$10,000.
Digital early learning child protection resource
There is a free digital child protection resource specifically for the early learning sector available on our website. The resource will help build awareness and confidence in:
- recognising, responding to and reporting suspected child abuse and neglect.
- working with whānau and tamariki in a culturally responsive way
- implementing policies to embed a culture of child protection.
If you haven’t already, we strongly encourage staff working in the early learning sector to access this tool to help build your confidence in being able to support the wellbeing of tamariki.
Accessing the resource
To access child protection training you are required to have an Education Sector Logon (ESL) as there is a formal acknowledgment of completion. To get an ESL account, contact your organisation’s ESL delegated authoriser.
If you already have an ESL, you can access this course by logging to the Education LMS using the following link and select ‘Login with Education Sector Logon (ESL)’.
Education Sector Logon – Education learning management system
Once you have logged in, select ‘catalogue’ from the top-menu and type ‘child protection’ in the search bar.
If you would like to know more about having an ESL to access the Education Learning Management System refer to:
Education Sector Logon (ESL) – Applications & Online Systems
Safety checking tools and resources
All early learning service providers are responsible for ensuring that all children’s workers they employ or engage are safety checked before they have access to children and are re-checked every 3 years.
Information on the requirements of the Children’s Act 2024 can be found here:
Safety checking – Ministry of Education
We have developed guidance and tools to support you to undertake these safety checks and recently added a cover sheet for periodic safety checking of children’s workers.
More information can be found here:
Safety checking: Tools and resources – Ministry of Education
Starting Strong: Survey June to August
New Zealand is taking part in the world’s largest survey of early learning teachers and leaders, the OECD’s TALIS Starting Strong. If your service has been selected, you will have received an invitation and a reminder and now the team is following up by phone call with those yet to respond.
If you have received an email or message about TALIS Starting Strong, please get in touch with the team via [email protected] or phone 0800 823 328 with any questions.
Staff from the contacted early learning services will be asked to complete a survey online between June and August. This study does not assess or survey children, and no individuals or early learning services can be identified from the data.
Find more information on Education Counts:
Te Poipoi Kaiako | Mentor support programme
Te Poipoi Kaiako | Mentor support programme is a fully funded service to kura, schools and early learning services and provides guidance for mentors and mentees on their journey towards full certification and ongoing professional learning development.
We’re offering 12 funded in-person workshops from now until June and, where appropriate, they will be facilitated in te reo Māori and English.
To register and find out more visit (scroll down for information on the workshops):
Te poipoi kaiako – Core Education
Understanding hijab and other forms of covering in Islam: webinar
Our refugee and migrant team will be hosting a webinar on the topic of understanding hijab and other forms of covering in Islam. The purpose is to raise awareness for staff communicating with Muslim whānau and working with Muslim colleagues.
Register here:
Tuesday 11 June, 3.30–4.30pm
Understanding Hijab and other forms of covering in Islam – Microsoft Teams
Have you visited Tāhūrangi lately?
All the teaching resources and curriculum content for the early childhood curriculum, Te Whāriki, have now been moved onto our online curriculum hub Tāhūrangi.
You can see our latest additions on Tāhūrangi:
The story of Te Ara Māori - Tāhūrangi
Kōwhiti Whakapae – strengthening progress through practice – Tāhūrangi
Aotearoa New Zealand's histories kōrero cards – Tāhūrangi
New support Tāhūrangi videos
For those new to Tāhūrangi, our ‘how to’ videos will help you navigate the site and learn about its features.
Watch the videos on Tāhūrangi (follow the links):
In this issue
Critical dates for the July RS7 return
- Pay parity opt-in scheme
- Changing your services attestation for the advance funding months of the July 2024 funding period
- RS7 returns following a change of ownership
- RS7 returns following a change of SMS
- Resubmissions
- Accessing your funding notice
- Service open (SO) code
- Discretionary hours reporting requirements
- More information
