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General funding rule
The ECE Funding Subsidy must only be claimed for children less than 6 years of age who are not enrolled in school.
Once a child is enrolled at school, no funding can be claimed by an ECE service.
Transitional school visits funding rule
Children under 6 years of age who are enrolled at an ECE service may attend school as part of a transitional school visit.
The service will be funded for the child’s permanently enrolled hours at the ECE service, as per the usual funding system.
Recording school visits on the enrolment agreement
Transitional school visits must be specifically noted on the child’s enrolment agreement.
As a minimum, records should include the:
- date the transition arrangement began
- signature of a parent/caregiver (dated).
Recording school visits on attendance records
When a child is away from your service on a transitional school visit, you must record “SV” (for school visit) on the attendance record.
Recording absences
Children who are absent on a day when a school visit was planned should be recorded as absent with an ‘a’, as usual.
The normal absence rules apply to these absences.
For more information on the absence rules refer to Chapter 6 of this Handbook.
Exemption from frequent absence rules
School visits recorded on the attendance record with ‘SV’ will not be counted towards the Frequent Absence Rule.
School visits counted towards the attendance will be recorded on the attendance record.
If the school visit is not recorded, then the absence rules will be applied.
Example
Sione currently attends Huia Playcentre from 8:00am to 11:00am on Mondays, Wednesdays, and Fridays.
Huia Playcentre arranges for Sione to visit James Cook Primary School from 8:30am to 11:00am every Wednesday for one month before he begins attending James Cook Primary School.
Huia Playcentre marks their attendance register with ‘SV’ each Wednesday when Sione is on a school visit. Funding may be claimed for Sione’s enrolled hours as per the normal funding system.
If Sione is absent from Huia Playcentre on a day when he would usually go on a school visit, his absence must be marked with an ‘a’ on the attendance register. The normal absence rules apply to this absence.
