4-6 The EC20 Form
The EC20 Form
The Transitional Advance Form (EC20) is the form for services beginning to offer 20 Hours ECE.
Existing services can opt into 20 Hours ECE at any time but will only be advance funded for 20 Hours ECE on one of the major funding runs (1 March, 1 July, and 1 November).
Services that wish to receive an advance payment for 20 Hours ECE funding must complete the EC20 Form. The form is available on the Ministry of Education website.
If a service began offering 20 Hours ECE part way through a funding period and had not previously submitted an EC20 form, it should be sent with the next RS7 form.
The next funding payment will include accurate wash-up funding for 20 Hours ECE submitted on the RS7 Form.
Note: playcentres and te kōhanga reo choosing to take up 20 Hours ECE in their services cannot claim initial advance funding for 20 Hours ECE so are not required to complete an EC20 form.
Effective date for the change
This is the date that the service begins offering 20 Hours ECE.
Estimating the number of hours
For each day of the week, services will estimate the number of funded hours they would claim as:
- Under Two
- Two and Over
- 20 Hours ECE hours
- Plus 10 ECE hours.
Services may claim:
- up to six hours per day, and 30 hours per week for each child eligible for 20 Hours ECE (made up of 20 Hours ECE hours and Plus 10 ECE hours)
- up to six hours ECE Funding Subsidy (Under Twos and Two and Overs) per licensed child-place per day.
Hours should be estimated as carefully as possible as there is no opportunity to revise estimations.
If a service’s estimation is higher than its actual entitlement, it will receive a reduced wash-up in the next funding payment.
If a service’s estimation is lower than its actual entitlement, its advance funding may not adequately subsidise the cost of providing 20 Hours ECE. However, the service will receive the remainder of its full entitlement in the wash-up payment.
Estimating advance days
Services must count the number of advance days they will claim funding for in the month they begin to offer 20 Hours ECE, for both:
- the number of days they will be open prior to the date that they begin to offer 20 Hours ECE and
- the number of days they will be open from the date that they begin to offer 20 Hours ECE.
Services must also count the number of advance days that they will claim in the advance months remaining for the current funding period.
For more information on claiming advance funding see Section 9-5 Calculating Advance Days.
Warning: To avoid overpayment of funding
- The Ministry retains the right to reduce any advance funding due to be paid to you where it deems the claimed numbers on the RS3 to be over-estimated.
- The Ministry retains the right to request proof and evidence to support the numbers claimed on the RS3 form.
- Any overpayment that occur due to over-claims on this RS3 form are repayable to the Ministry immediately.
Tip
Look at your service’s current enrolments to estimate your advance for 20 Hours ECE:
- Under Twos will remain unchanged
- count as Two and Over hours all hours you would claim for two year olds and any three-year-old, four-year-old or five-year-olds that will not receive 20 Hours ECE at your service (for example children who are already receiving their 20 hours of 20 Hours ECE at another service)
- 20 Hours ECE hours are the hours you would claim for three-year-olds, four-year-olds and five-year-olds. The signed attestation part of the enrolment agreement must be completed for each child
- Plus 10 ECE hours are the hours you would claim for the three-year-olds, four-year-olds and five-year-olds who are claiming 20 Hours ECE and are enrolled for more than 20 hours per week. Up to 10 further hours per week may be claimed in this category, depending on each child’s enrolment, bringing the maximum total to 30 hours per week.
Ceasing 20 Hours ECE
Services that decide to stop offering 20 Hours ECE Funding should contact the Resourcing Contact Centre on (04) 463 8383 to discuss how to adjust their future funding.