5-2 Support grant for provisionally registered teachers

Introduction

The Support Grant for Provisionally Registered Teachers (‘the support grant’) provides additional funding for services that are subject to the teacher registration requirements.

This grant is to encourage and support permanently employed provisionally registered teachers in achieving full registration.

Eligible services

All licensed teacher-led services and those offering mixed provision are eligible for the support grant if they:

• had one or more provisionally registered teachers employed for ten weeks or more during the previous funding period and
• will use the support grant to support those provisionally registered teachers actively engaged in a programme of study towards full registration.

Ineligible services

Parent-led services are not eligible for the support grant because they do not have to meet the teacher registration targets.

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 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 for ten weeks or more 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 support grant for a provisionally registered teacher employed part-time for ten weeks or more should retain information that identifies:

• that the teacher is employed on a part-time basis for ten weeks or more and
• that the 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 support grant can be claimed for up to two years, or until the teacher becomes fully registered – whichever comes first.

Note: Because the grant is paid to services, a teacher that moves to employment by a different service may have the grant claimed on their behalf for a further two years (or until the teacher becomes fully registered), regardless of the period of the grant claimed by their previous employer.

Payment date

The support grant is paid three times a year in arrears in line with the Funding Cycle. The grant is paid to the service.

For more information on the funding cycle please refer to Chapter 2 of this Handbook.

Please see your service's Funding Calendar for exact dates.

GST inclusive

All support grant payments are GST inclusive.

Claim process

Services claim the support grant through completion of the RS7 Form for each funding period. Further details are available in Section 9-5.

Expenditure guidelines

The support grant must be used to provide support for provisionally registered teachers in achieving full registration.

Specific expenditure of the support grant is at the discretion of the service.

Possible uses for the support grant include:

• release time for the provisionally registered teacher to undertake professional development, for example to attend professional development opportunities and meet with the supervising/tutor teacher
• payment for the costs associated with the services of a registered supervisor to provide professional development to provisionally registered teachers
• resources or technology, for example, subscriptions to academic journals, the purchase of relevant research reports and conference papers
• release time to allow the supervising/tutor teacher to observe and meet with the provisionally registered teacher and to plan for the advice and guidance programme
• professional development to assist the supervising/tutor teacher in their role, for example, in developing mentoring skills.

Services should discuss the type of support with the individual teacher, with the aim of reaching agreement.

Service Providers

The 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.