ECE Funding Handbook

Playcentres are licensed early learning services co-operatively managed by parents and staff. All playcentres are a member of Te Whānau Tupu Ngātahi o Aotearoa – Playcentre Aotearoa.

This section explains:

• operating, supervision and qualification requirements for playcentres
• requirements for quality funding rates
• record keeping requirements for playcentres.

Instructions for completing the RS7 Return can be found in Chapter 9 of this Handbook.

All playcentres must:

• be a member of Te Whānau Tupu Ngātahi o Aotearoa – Playcentre Aotearoa, and
• be run according to the operating requirements set out in the Playcentre Aotearoa constitution, and
• be organised, equipped and managed on a co-operative basis, and
• provide programmes for children that are at least partly managed by the parents of the children attending the session.

For each session, all playcentres must:

• Ensure that at least one person takes the role of person responsible and holds a recognised qualification(external link), and
• use a supervision plan approved by Playcentre Aotearoa, and
• have no more than 30 children attending, and
• have a maximum adult:child ratio of 1:5, and
• ensure that all children under 2 and a half years of age are accompanied by a parent or caregiver.

In order to receive funding at the standard rate, playcentres must have:

a) A supervision plan approved by Playcentre Aotearoa(external link) and

b) At least one person on each session who holds a qualification gazetted as meeting the Person Responsible requirements for Playcentres.

Acceptable qualifications for a person responsible are set out in a notice in the NZ Gazette(external link). These include:

• Playcentre Sessions (course 3 of The Playcentre Diploma in Early Childhood and Adult Education)
• Playcentre Practice (course 4 of the Playcentre Diploma in Early Childhood and Adult Education)
• Playcentre in Context (course 5 of the Playcentre Diploma in Early Childhood and Adult Education)
• The Playcentre Diploma in Early Childhood and Adult Education
• A level 4 or above in early childhood qualification recognised in the NZ Gazette(external link) notice as suitable for a person responsible in Playcentres.
• An ECE teaching qualification recognised by the Teaching Council for the purposes of registration.
• A primary teaching qualification recognised by the Teaching Council for the purposes of registration.

Please direct any questions about the qualifications for Playcentres to your Playcentre regional support team or Ministry regional office.

To be eligible for quality funding rates, licensed playcentres must meet one of the qualification options below. Where two or more different qualifications are required, these must be held by separate people.

• These options can also be viewed in infographics on the Playcentre Aotearoa website.(external link)

Please direct any questions about the qualifications for Playcentres to your playcentre regional support team or Ministry regional office.

Playcentres that cannot meet the person responsible or minimum qualifications for group supervision may be eligible for discretionary funding for up to five sessions per funding period. All other supervision and licensing requirements must be met including adult:child ratios and first aid qualification requirements.

There are some other conditions – playcentres must contact their relevant Ministry regional office for information about the process prior to the session starting.

Funding may continue at the standard rate for playcentres who do not have a person responsible, provided the breach of qualification requirements is being managed through a provisional licence process. This is a temporary measure (generally for up to 3 months) and will only be considered where there is a clear action plan in place to fill the person responsible role.

Playcentres should contact their relevant Ministry regional office as early as possible to discuss their situation. It is important to note that if a playcentre does not meet the conditions on any provisional licence then the licence must be cancelled.

Please direct any questions about Playcentre qualifications to Playcentre Aotearoa.(external link)

Use this table to find out when and how to change your licensed playcentre’s funding rate:

Funding rate changes for quality rate funding are effective from the date the EC11 Form, with all evidence required to assess the request, is received by the Ministry.

The table below shows the record keeping requirements for Playcentres: