5-2 Support grant for provisionally registered teachers
Introduction
The Support Grant for Provisionally Registered Teachers (the PRT Support Grant) provides additional funding for services that are subject to the teacher registration requirements.
The PRT Support Grant supports permanently employed provisionally registered teachers (PRTs) who are ECE qualified in achieving full registration.
Eligible services
From July 2011, the PRT Support Grant will be available to licensed teacher-led services funded below the 80% registered teacher rate. ECE services funded for more than 80% registered teachers will no longer be eligible for the PRT Support Grant.
From July 2011 there will also be a new application and funding process. For further information on the new process for applying for the PRT Support Grant for PRTs is available in the Grants section of this website.
Ineligible services
- ECE teacher-led services funded at the 80%+ registered teacher rate
- Home-based ECE services
- Parent–led services
- Sessional kindergartens administered by a Kindergarten Association (as all teachers in these services are already required to be registered)
Which teachers are ‘provisionally registered’?
For the purposes of the support grant, ‘provisionally registered teachers’ are all teachers who:
- hold the Diploma of Teaching (ECE) or another New Zealand Teachers Council approved ECE qualification and
- hold a New Zealand Teachers Council practising certificate that indicates they are provisionally registered as teachers.
For the purposes of the support grant, 'provisionally registered teachers' does not include New Zealand qualified primary teachers.
For more information see the Teachers Council website.
Part-time teachers
Services may also claim the support grant for permanently employed part-time provisionally registered teachers.
If a provisionally registered teacher is employed on a part-time basis at more than one service, the teacher must elect which service can claim funding on their behalf.
Services claiming the PRT Support Grant for a provisionally registered teacher employed (permanently) part-time should retain information that identifies:
- that the teacher is employed on a part-time basis and
- that the PRT Support Grant is claimed for the individual teacher.
The provisionally registered teacher must sign (in full) attesting that this information is true.
Grant duration
The PRT Support Grant for PRTs can be claimed up to four times over a two year period, or until the teacher becomes fully registered – whichever comes first.
Payment date
Payments will be paid in October for the July-December round, and in April for the January – June round.
GST inclusive
All PRT Support Grant payments are GST inclusive.
Claim process
Services and provisionally registered teachers apply for the PRT Support Grant through completion of an application form. Further details are available in the Grant section of this website
Expenditure guidelines
The PRT Support Grant must be used to provide support for provisionally registered teachers who are ECE qualified in achieving full registration.
ECE services must use the PRT Support Grant to support their eligible PRTs to gain full teacher registration through completing an advice and guidance programme.
PRTs should have developed a plan to use their PRT Support Grant for an advice and guidance programme prior to application forms being sent to the Ministry of Education.
Approved uses for the PRT Support Grant for PRTs are:
- Professional learning experiences (such as release time for a supervisor/tutor from the same service as the provisionally registered teacher to do the role, release time for the provisionally registered teacher, and payment of external supervisor/tutor fees).
- Professional development opportunities (Fees and travel costs for: attending seminars, conferences, workshops, short courses and observations of best practice).
- The chance to gather evidence and advice for best teaching practices, including the costs to compile portfolios.
The PRT Support Grant for PRTs must be used in full by the end of the grant rounds (ie 31 Dec 2011 for July-December 2011 round, and 30 June 2012 for January – June 2010 round.)
There will be no reallocations of an PRT Support Grant if a PRT moves to another service. Any unused remaining grant money must be returned to the Ministry of Education.
If a PRT leaves a service they must inform the Ministry of Education within three weeks. If the full amount (less GST) of the PRT Support Grant has not been used to support the PRT member before they leave, the Ministry of Education will seek recovery of the unused amount from the service.
The Ministry will not seek recovery of unused funds if the PRT becomes fully registered during the PRT Support Grant round.
The ECE service is responsible for managing GST and PAYE.
Services must keep clear and concise records of PRT Support Grant expenditure for auditing purposes, for example, fees for attending a workshop, HR records if paying a student while on practicum etc.
Service Providers
The PRT Support Grant is intended for use by the service that employs the provisionally registered teacher.
Centralised use of funding should only take place with the full agreement of the service to which the support grant is due.
Services that believe they have received less than their full grant entitlement should contact their service provider.
Record-keeping requirements
Services that claim the grant must keep a register that clearly identifies:
- the name of each provisionally registered teacher claimed for and
- the start and end dates for each individual provisionally registered teacher who is the subject of a claim.
Services may choose to identify this information as part of their Staff Record (see Section 3-B-2 for further details of the Staff Record).
Reporting requirements
All services must record the following in their annual financial statements:
- the number of support grants received in the financial year and
- how (in general terms) the service has allocated the funding.
See Chapter 12 for information on financial reporting requirements.
Audit requirements
Services must provide the following documentation to Ministry Resourcing Auditors on request:
- evidence that each provisionally registered teacher was permanently employed by the service at the time the support grant was claimed
- a copy of the practising certificate for each provisionally registered teacher for whom the support grant was claimed
- a copy of the ECE qualifications of each provisionally registered teacher for whom the grant was claimed.