ECE Funding Handbook

The Pacific Immersion Teachers’ Allowance (PITA) supports certificated teachers to carry out their work in Pacific immersion and bilingual education and care services.

Pacific Immersion Teachers’ Allowance (PITA)

The purpose of this allowance is to:

• recognise the additional cultural and language competencies that certificated teachers in Pacific immersion and bilingual education and care services have to teach the curriculum in Pacific languages
• support Pacific immersion and bilingual education and care services to recognise, retain and attract certificated teacher with the additional language skills they require.

The PITA serves to support Pacific immersion and bilingual teachers to carry out their work in immersion teaching and learning environments. 

The PITA is available to Pacific immersion and bilingual services that are able to attest:

• that the service teaches in a single Pacific language at least 81-100% of the time,or
• that the service teaches in a single Pacific language at least 51-80%, and
• the hours of employment for each certificated teacher, and
• to the years of service of each certificated teacher teaching a Pacific immersion (81-100%) or bilingual (51-80%) environment, and
• that the service is paying PITA to these certificated teachers on top of their base salary.

81% to 100% immersion:

• A single Pacific language is the principal language of communication and instruction with children used 81% or more of the time, including in the implementation of the curriculum
• It is expected that children in the service can interact freely in the Pacific language of the service, without direction.

 51% to 80% bilingual:

• A single Pacific language is used at least 51% of the time as the language of communication and instruction with children, including in the implementation of the curriculum
• English is accepted as a temporary language of instruction and communication
• Not all children in the service are expected to interact in the Pacific Language of the service, however, will do so when directed.

The level that a service attests to meeting is assessed across the entire service licence. The average amount of time spent teaching in a single Pacific language across the entire service will be used to determine the immersion level.

For example, a service that operates a Pacific immersion and bilingual room within a larger service is unlikely to be eligible for the 51-80% bilingual allowance. They will not meet the 81%-100% immersion requirement across the entire service.

The following languages are recognised for the PITA:

• te reo Maori Kuki ‘Airani | Cook Islands
• gagana Tokelau | Tokelau
• vagahau Niue | Niue
• gagana Samoa | Samoa
• lea faka Tonga | Tonga
• Vosa vaka-Viti | Fiji
• te ‘gana Tuvalu | Tuvalu
• Te taetae ni Kiribati | Kiribati
• Pukapukan | Pukapuka | Bukabuka
• Fäeag Rotuam | Rotuma
• Pijin | Solomon Islands
• Dorerin Naoero | Nauru
• reo Tahiti | Tahiti
• Vanuatu Languages
• Central Pacific not elsewhere classified
• Micronesian not further defined
• Central Pacific not further defined.

Every permanent certificated teacher employed by and teaching in a licensed service that receives PITA is eligible for this allowance.

The allowance is irrespective of the language competency of individual certificated teacher or the children attending the service.

Certificated teachers are eligible to receive their allowance while on paid leave for their usual days worked.

If a certificated teacher is on extended leave without pay for their usual days worked, they cannot claim the allowance during this time.

Certificated teachers who work across more than one eligible service will receive the allowance at a pro-rata rate.

Certificated teachers cannot receive more than one full allowance entitlement.

Where a certificated teacher is employed part-time in a teaching or management role and part-time in another role, the certificated teacher is eligible to receive the pro-rata allowance for all hours connected to their employment in a teaching role or management position.

Where a certificated teacher, employed in a non-teaching role, engages in a teaching role regularly, for example to regularly cover breaks, they are eligible to receive the allowance for all hours they are engaged in a teaching role.

For certificated teachers employed in split roles, only the hours they are employed engaging in duties and responsibilities in a teaching role should be counted as hours of work. Information on split roles can be found in 3-B-2 Education and care services.

3-B-2 Education and care services

The rates, per annum per certificated teacher, are:  

The allowance will be paid at higher rates as the certificated teacher increases their years of service as outlined in the table above.

A full allowance is based on a certificated teacher being employed for a 40 hour week, 2,080 hours a year. The allowance does not increase if a certificated teacher works more than 2,080 hours.

This allowance will be calculated at a pro-rata rate for part time certificated teacher, based on the total number of hours they are employed for.

If a certificated teacher works across two services that apply for the allowance the allowance will be calculated at a pro-rata amount across both services.

The years of experience of a certificated teacher includes all previous experience as a certificated teacher in a teaching role and management position in a Pacific immersion or bilingual environment within New Zealand.

This can include experience as a certificated teacher working for other immersion or bilingual services that does not use the same Pacific language.

It is the responsibility of a teacher to provide evidence, to the satisfaction of their employer, to determine the length of service as a certificated teacher in a recognised Pacific immersion or bilingual environment. This could include:

• a qualified certificated teacher employed in a teaching role 51-80% of the time or 81-100% of the time Pacific immersion or bilingual environment within a New Zealand state or state integrated school, or
• a qualified certificated teacher in a teaching role or management position in a licensed Pacific immersion or bilingual early childhood services within New Zealand.

Only teacher experience within New Zealand can be counted towards the PITA.

For certificated teachers, any previous experience as an uncertificated teacher in Pacific immersion or bilingual environments should be credited as half-service up to a maximum of two years experience. This experience could be paid or unpaid.

Any previous relevant work experience that has occurred within the past 10 years should be credited as half-service up to a maximum of 2 years service.

Any previous relevant work experience that has occurred more than 10 years ago should not be credited.

Half-service means that each hour worked in the relevant role should be counted as half an hour of work for purposes of calculating experience in an immersion environment.

It is the responsibility of a teacher to provide evidence, to the satisfaction of their employer, of any factors used to determine the length of service as an uncertificated teacher in a recognised Pacific immersion or bilingual environment that could be counted as previous relevant work experience.

For the purpose of the PITA an employed certificated teacher years of experience must be counted as:

• the completion of 2,080 hours of work at a Pacific immersion or bilingual service, and
• the teacher is assessed as meeting the applicable Teaching Council of Aotearoa New Zealand’s Standards | Ngā Paerawa for the purposes of certification.

Hours of work relates to the total hours required for a certificated kaiako to properly fulfil the duties and responsibilities connected with their employment.  This will include, rostered hours, non-contact hours, staff meetings, paid professional learning and development and any paid leave.

Relieving teaching hours of work at a Pacific immersion or bilingual service can count towards their length of service. Completion of 2,080 hours of work is equal to one year of service.

Where a teacher has been assessed as not meeting the appropriate Teaching Council of Aotearoa New Zealand’s Standards for their category of practising certificate, years of experience allowance progression may be deferred. For each teacher to progress to their next step they will need to demonstrate that they meet the appropriate professional Standards.

Progression of certificated teachers through the allowance steps described in this section is only a required funding condition while a service attests to meeting the requirements of the allowance level that the service has attested to. If a service chooses not to attest, at any point, the condition does not apply. However, legal agreements that specify allowance entitlements may still apply (e.g., employment contracts).

This allowance will be paid to services monthly in arrears following the receipt of a services application.

Following receipt of this payment services must pay the full allowance received to all certificated teachers (i.e., in monthly instalments). This payment must be paid as an additional payment on top of the certificated teacher’s base salary.

Education and care services that meet the required immersion or bilingual levels outlined in the next sub section will be required to attest:

• that the service teaches in Pacific languages 51-80% of the time or 81-100% of the time, and
• each certificated teacher’s years of service teaching in a Pacific immersion (81-100%) or bilingual (51-80%) environment, and
• hours of employment for each certificated teacher, and
• that the service is paying PITA to their certificated teachers on top of their base salary.

The service will be required to update their attestation and allowance application if their staffing changes at any time.

Examples of potential changes:

• teacher resignation
• a change in teacher work hours that affects the overall Pacific language immersion and bilingual level of the service
• new teacher starting employment in your service
• teacher moves up a ‘years of service’ band.

It is the responsibility of a Service Provider to ensure that any delegated representative who may complete the PITA application understands what attestation conditions their service has met prior to submitting the application.

If a service is found to have not met the necessary funding conditions of the PITA:

• the funding claim may be reviewed, and funding withheld, and/or
• the service will have to pay back the total amount of any overpayment.

To update a services attestation, services must submit a new PITA application and contact the funding team at ece.maoripacificfunding@education.govt.nz.

Eligible services must complete the RS7 return for the ECE Subsidy funding round preceding an application being submitted for the allowance.

If a completed RS7 return is not received for the ECE Subsidy funding cycle, the PITA allowance will not be paid.

Services receiving the PITA must keep the following documentation:

• a copy of the current practising certificate of each certificated teacher, and
• records that verify each certificated teachers’ years of service in a bilingual and immersion service, and
• records that verify each certificated teacher hours of employment, and
• records of allowance payments to certificated teachers.

You must supply this documentation to the Ministry’s Resourcing Auditors as part of the funding claim audit.

Documentation (including copies of practising certificates) must be kept for 7 years.

See Chapter 11-2 for all funding claim audits and record keeping audits information relating to early childhood education services that are eligible for Ministry of Education funding.

Chapter 11-2

In accordance with Section 548 of the Education and Training Act 2020, eligible services that fail to meet the conditions of funding may no longer be eligible for funding and either all or part of this funding may be recovered by the Ministry of Education as outlined in Chapter 2-7 Recovery of early childhood education funding.

Chapter 2-7 Recovery of early childhood education funding