Operating at the legal staffing ratios places children at risk
I’m hearing stories of a boom in planning for and
New figures show the early childhood education sector remained largely
Strategies to help stabilise service finances, reduce pressure and make smarter operational decisions. Learn also about opportunities for growth to strengthen your service’s long‑term sustainability and continue delivering high‑quality care and education.
Opting-In to Pay Parity Funding.
Some service may opt-out and then lose their teachers to other services that have opted in. Others opting-in to pay parity funding could risk becoming insolvent. It’s bonus money for services already paying all their certificated teaching staff at least at the first 5 or 6 pay steps.
To explain the math and
Retention of Records: Paperwork and what’s Required to be Kept by the Ministry and Various Agencies, including IRD and the Charities Commission.
Issues of safety, privacy, and storage.
Early childhood service reports and records should always be kept in a safe place and not in someone else’s home, car, or workplace. In case of fire it
20-Hours ECE Changes.
When a service is closed for statutory holidays and is not providing care for children it does not receive funding.
Unfortunately this can mean a loss of income for a service, which is difficult especially when there are still wages and other costs to pay.
However, there is a trick to getting around this.  
Fundraising Guide.
Hi, can you please help me and my kohanga. I don’t know how or where to get funding for an outside playground!!!! This is my first time trying to get a grant…….I’m really on the fundraising committee but I just found out there is no funding committee so I’m giving it a go
Morning teas, cake raffl
Late Fee.
Should you charge a late fee for late collection of children? Or charge the parents of children who arrive early?
Some early childhood services ‘fine’ parents to try to deter them from leaving their child outside of hours that are booked. Other services charge late and early drop-off fees to generate extra reven
Preparing for a Funding Claim Audit.
The purpose of a visiting audit from the Ministry of Education is to:
Verify that the service is claiming and receiving the correct amount of MoE funding,
Verify that a service is meeting the record keeping requirements for the grants, and to
Provide advice and assistance to services about record
Charging Fees When Closed.
We asked ECE Service providers about their practices of charging fees when closed. A selection of comments is provided below. Add your comment on this topic and reply to any of the comments posted here.
See also public information on parent reactions to services continuing to charge fees when closed on statuto
ECE Service Financial Reserves.
The Ministry of Education does not mind if a service builds up financial reserves. It will not affect funding. Non-profit services can however face a dilemma – should they be spend the money earnt or build up wealth? But note that community-based services are in a less strong position compared with compa
Accounting and Financial Terms Explained for ECE Service Providers.
Accounts Receivable or Accounts Payable: See “Ledger” below.
Accounting Reports: See definitions below for each of:
Balance Sheet – same as Statement of Financial Position
Cash flow report
Flow of Funds
Income and Expenditure Repo
ECE Internal Financial Control Systems.
Why internal control?
Internal control systems are normal in business and society and will be expected of you by your staff, fellow owners, parents, board members, bankers and financiers.
They help establish a climate of good control which produces reliable financial records, good management
Early Childhood Service Financial Sustainability.
Unless as much or more money is coming in than is going out, your service could come to be at risk. Here are some strategies for financial sustainability and increasing your revenue stream when necessary. What strategies you agree with and disagree with will depend on your values and the reasons
Managing arrears in fees can be a headache for service providers, and especially when parents are on the WINZ subsidy. Several centre and home-based service providers have mentioned a problem they have when parents who are receiving a WINZ subsidy do not inform them that their income has lifted and so they are no longer eligible for the subsidy.&nb
Parents Wishing to Bargain Over Childcare Fees.
Do you find some parents who are used to bargaining in their own countries are less accepting of price increases and accepting set prices?
Are you cautious when increasing fees or other charges because of how parents from different cultures may react?
New Zealand is a nation with around
Cashflow Management.
How do we cope with huge cash inflows from the MoE three times a year then famine in between?
The simplest way is to put into a separate bank account all the advances received each four months and then transfer it into the normal bank account monthly. You will also need some capital of your own in the bank to cover the c
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