Ngā mihi nui o tau hōu pākehā
Welcome to the first of our regular Early Learning Bulletins for the year. I hope you had a relaxing and well-deserved break.
Today’s bulletin covers key dates for your March 2025 return and updated information on funding rates for home-based education and care services.
For now, I hope you’re continuing to enjoy the longer summer days with ngā tamariki who’ve returned for the year.
Ngā mihi, nui
Ellen
Need-to-know | Me mātua mōhio
Qualifications and funding rates for home-based education and care services
In the 5 December 2024 bulletin, we advised you that from 1 January 2025 there will be changes to home-based education and care qualification requirements, and that a single funding rate would be effective from this date.
The changes are included on our website, and the EC1 HB for a new licence form and the EC8 HB to amend a licence form have also been updated.
ECE services providing KidsCan ECE Food for Kids Programme
The Ministry of Primary Industries (MPI) has confirmed that services participating in the KidsCan ECE Food for Kids Programme are not required to register food control plans with them.
We have updated our website to reflect this position:
A link to the criteria for HS20 food hygiene has also been added.
Critical dates for the March 2025 RS7 return
On 3 March, we will pay the next instalment of ECE funding to licensed early learning services.
Key funding dates for the upcoming March 2025 payment are as follows:
Date | Action |
3 February | RS7 return submissions open |
10 February | Final date for paper and electronic RS7 returns to be received by us for funding to be paid on 3 March |
3 March (overnight) | ECE operational funding payment occurs |
If you submit your RS7 return after 10 February, but before 7 March, you will receive funding on 20 March.
An email acknowledging receipt of the RS7 return will be sent to you. If this email isn’t received within two working days of your submission, check your student management system (SMS) or early learning information system (ELI) reports.
Pay parity opt-in scheme
Higher funding rates are available to education and care and hospital-based services that pay all employed certificated kaiako | teachers at or above the pay parity minimum salary steps.
Funding rates are available at:
The minimum salary scales are available at:
Changing your service’s minimum salary scale attestation for the advance funding months of the March 2025 funding period
If you want to change your pay parity minimum salary scale attestation for the advance months of the March funding round because you intend to pay your certificated teachers a different (higher or lower) parity minimum salary scale from 1 February 2025, contact [email protected].
A reminder that such changes should be consistent with the employment agreements applying to your teachers.
Read more about the pay parity opt-in scheme at:
RS7 returns following a change of ownership
After 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.
Following a change of ownership all funding will be paid to the new owner. As we do not split payments, any payment to the former owner will be actioned by the new owner.
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 the accuracy of the data submitted. Resubmissions are available to correct genuine errors or oversights that emerge later.
Note that for resubmissions related to funding in the period:
- October 2024 to January 2025 submit electronically.
- February 2024 to September 2024 submit using a paper-based RS7 form.
Resubmissions relating to any time before February 2024 will not be processed. Resubmissions may be audited by our monitoring team.
Accessing your funding notice
Funding notices for the 1 March payment will be available for download from the secure data portal (SDP) from 3 March.
Only funding contacts with access to the SDP will be able to download their funding notice, and these are only available to download for six months following the date of upload. We advise downloading and storing copies of all files for future reference.
Any patai, contact [email protected].
Service open (SO) code
If your service was open on a day where children were enrolled but no children attended, you can claim funding for that day by emailing [email protected] specifying the date your service was open with no children attending. When completing your RS7 form, use the SO code and input the ‘funded child hours’ enrolled for that day so that funding is paid correctly.
Discretionary hours reporting requirements
Teacher-led, centre-based, and hospital-based services can use up to 80 discretionary hours in the October 2024 to January 2025 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 will need to send us the form below along with your RS7 (note: do not complete this form if your service has not used any discretionary hours).
Email your completed discretionary hours form and RS7 to [email protected].
For specific information on discretionary hours, visit:
Further information
For funding rules, refer to the ECE Funding Handbook:
Electronic RS7 returns and ELI reports are available at:
Any pātai, contact us by phone on 0800 323 323 or email [email protected].
For any licensing or general operational matters, or to update your service’s contact details, contact your local Te Mahau office:
