We have extended the following funding settings that have been used in response to the COVID-19 pandemic as they were set to lapse on 30 November 2022:

• The Emergency Closure funding can continue to be accessed by services who are unable to open due to the impact of COVID-19 on staffing until 31 December 2022.
• The Absence Exemptions can be accessed for children who are unwell with COVID-19 until 31 December 2022.

You can find details of these funding settings on our Te Mahau website:

Funding settings – Te Mahau

Key dates for ECE funding in 2023 have now been published on our website along with a PDF version:

Funding and data – Ministry of Education

ECE funding key dates 2023 [PDF, 525 KB]

Services are reminded to check the absence rules on our website for the upcoming holiday period and to ensure that absences are accurately recorded.

ECE Funding Handbook 6-4 Absence rules – Ministry of Education

If the following conditions apply during the holiday period, services are entitled to funding and should use the SO code:

• parents have confirmed their children will attend
• teachers are present
• no children attend the service that day.

Evidence of booked enrolments must be maintained for auditing purposes.

‘Holiday’ refers to a day that an early learning service would not normally operate on but have agreed with parents to open. For example, on a statutory holiday or during the Christmas and New Year holiday period. This code cannot be used on a normal operating day.

You can only claim funded child hours for the hours your staff are present for that day. For example, if the teacher starts at 9am and closes the service at 12pm (instead of 3pm), you can only claim funded child hours for the half day.

A reminder to playgroups that the July to December 2022 playgroup operational funding round will be closing on 31 December 2022. The January to June 2023 funding round will be opening from 1 January 2023.

Playgroups can apply for operational funding using the Education Resourcing System (ERS). You should ensure you have created a funding request for the July to December 2022 period by Friday 16 December. This will give your local Te Mahau office time to process your funding request before all Ministry offices close on 23 December.

You cannot create a new request for this period after the closure of the current funding period on 31 December 2022. Ensure that your playgroup authoriser has approved the request before submitting to us.

Local Te Mahua offices – Ministry of Education

We have introduced a Notional Roll scheme to help playgroups manage low attendance during the COVID-19 outbreak.

Where a playgroup has an average number of children attending that is less than the previous funding period average, this can be increased to the previous period’s average number of children attending for the 1 July 2022 to 31 December 2022 funding period.

Please see our COVID-19 Funding Settings website for more information regarding Notional Roll Funding for Playgroups.

Notional Roll Funding for Playgroups – Te Mahau

This Notional Roll scheme remains in place until 31 December 2022.

Special grants are still available for all certified playgroups. The playgroup special grant is a discretionary grant to assist a playgroup to cover costs that cannot be met from other funding.

Contact your local Te Mahau office for information about special grants.

Local Te Mahau offices – Ministry of Education

If you received more than $2,000 in targeted funding for the 2022 calendar year, you need to provide information to us by 1 February 2023.

The information you provide will help us better understand how this funding is used and how effective the funding is in supporting children.

You can report online via the following link:

Reporting Requirements for Targeted Funding for Disadvantage – Ministry of Education

Once completed, send to data.team@education.govt.nz

The home-based service qualification requirements brought about by the Education (Early Childhood Services) Amendment Act (No 2) 2021 will change on 1 January 2023. 

After this date, 30% of educators working in a standard-funded licensed service must hold a home-based service qualification. This percentage is calculated based on educators who work at least four days in a calendar month. Detail on what counts as a home-based service qualification can be found on our website.

Home-based staff qualification changes – Ministry of Education

Additionally, quality-funded services must have 70% qualified educators who hold a home-based service qualification from 1 January 2023. You will need to continue to keep records showing you meet the requirement for each month.

Our website has more information on these changes, including what qualifications you need to be counted as ‘qualified’ for these calculations.

We continue to update our website to ensure it reflects the current qualifications requirements of both standard and quality funded home-based service licences.

Home-based staff qualification changes – Ministry of Education

It is important for services to ensure that they continue to meet the requirements, including those that relate to the record keeping requirements. This includes those that relate to master staff records, monthly records and certified qualifications.

We have received questions regarding the 3 November issue of the Early Learning Bulletin where we updated the wording of the privacy statement.

Early Learning Special Bulletin – 3 November 2022

Our decision to no longer recommend the retention of documents used to verify the identity of children has been made in line with advice from the Privacy Commissioner.

Questions about the mandatory wording, managing children’s identification documents and meeting your responsibilities under the Privacy Act 2020 are detailed on our website:

Privacy Statement FAQs – Ministry of Education

Many early learning services have successfully recruited overseas teachers, both returning New Zealanders and overseas trained teachers. If you cannot find a suitable teacher domestically you may wish to use this option.

Teacher in Aotearoa New Zealand: – Careers in Education

There is also support in place to help you to recruit an overseas teacher. Contact our navigators if you’d like to know more at teacher.supply@education.govt.nz  or freephone 0800 165 225 (overseas teachers can call +64 4 463 8466).

Early learning services who successfully recruit an overseas teacher can apply for the Overseas Finder’s Fee of $3,450 to help meet recruitment costs.

Overseas and returning New Zealand teachers can apply for to the Overseas Relocation Grant of up to $10,000 towards the cost of relocating to New Zealand.

Financial support for overseas teacher recruitment – Ministry of Education

NZQA is offering zero fees for an International Qualifications Assessment (IQA) to eligible overseas and returning New Zealand teachers.

Apply for an International Qualification Assessment – NZQA

In addition, processing times for overseas teachers’ assessments have significantly reduced and overseas teacher experience improved with additional roles funded at the New Zealand Qualifications Authority (NZQA), Teaching Council (TC) and Education Payroll Limited (EPL).

Immigration NZ (INZ) has announced the median wage will be increasing to $29.66 an hour as of 27 February 2023 (from $27.76/hr). This impacts the Accredited Employer Worker Visa and resident visa categories as an overseas teacher must meet the median wage threshold at the time they apply for a visa.

New median wage to apply from February 2023 – Immigration New Zealand

If you have any questions about how this may impact your overseas teacher recruitment in 2023, contact our navigators: teacher.supply@education.govt.nz or the INZ Employer helpline 0508 967 569.

We have developed informative, online self-paced training modules about the Early Learning Information (ELI) system, and how to use ELI web and how to use ELI reports. Some of these modules are available in te reo Māori and in English.

The ELI overview and report training modules can be viewed by everyone.

Overview of ELI – Education Learning Management System

Tirohana o te Tukutuku ELI – Education Learning Management System

Early Learning Information: (ELI) Reports Training – Education Learning Management System (This report is currently only available in English).

You will need an Education Sector Logon (ESL) to access the modules about ELI Web. Use your ESL to log into and then search for the modules by typing ELI in the search bar.

The final date to apply online for the Tagaloa Scholarship is Friday 16 December. This is awarded to Pacific people doing a Master or Doctorate research that contributes to understanding of Pacific People’s experiences and world views in Aotearoa New Zealand.

Apply online by via our website:

Tagaloa Scholarships – Ministry of Education

For questions email Tagaloa.Scholarship@education.govt.nz.

Ko te kaupapa matua o Kia Manawaroa, he whakapāho pānui mo ngā whānau Māori me ā rātou tamariki e noho ana ki raro i te tawharau o Te Tāhuhu o te Mātauranga. 

Kia Manawaroa is the Ministry of Education’s pānui for whānau Māori with children in education.

Kua tuhituhia e te Māori mō ngai Māori epaana ki ngā kowhiringa me ngā pae tawhiti ki roto i te mātauranga, ngā tutukitanga o ngāi Māori hei Māori me te whakahoutia o te kōwheori mō ngā whānau.

It is written by Māori for Māori, with information about opportunities and milestones in education, Māori success as Māori, Te Reo Māori, and COVID-19 updates relevant to whānau as and when appropriate.

Ānei te pānui hou | Read the latest issue of: Kia Manawaroa 2 December 2022

Kua puta mai te perehitanga me ngā mohiotanga mō | In this issue:

• "I don't believe rangatahi are the future, we are the now.”
• Ngāti Toa gets the green light to open a kura ā iwi in Porirua
• The world through a Māori lens: Te Rawhitiroa Bosch
• Registrations are now open for Te Kura Summer School
• Maramataka Symposium: Embedding Indigenous Knowledge(s) in Education
• New resource – Te Kōrerorero: Hei kōrerorero ki te kāinga! Talking Together, Learning in the Home
• Whānau wellbeing and support.

Whakahoki kōrero mai | Send us your feedback

He kōrero ano mō Kia Manawaroa | Find out more about Kia Manawaroa

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