ECE Enrolment Agreements Need More Transparency

MEDIA STATEMENT
EMBARGOED COPY UNTIL 5PM TUESDAY 28 MAY 2013

ECE Service Provider Enrolment Agreements Need More Transparency

New Zealand’s leading provider of home-based childcare PORSE, is calling on all early childhood education services to provide more transparency in enrolment agreements with families receiving 20 Hours ECE.

PORSE founding director Jenny Yule said it was time to raise the bar on greater transparency for families across all ECE services. It was important to clarify, that 20 Hours ECE is not “free” for everyone – but it can reduce every family’s childcare bill.

“Every family receiving the 20 Hours ECE subsidy has a right to know exactly what it covers and what, if any, other charges or donations they are paying for Early Childhood Education and Care.”

Ms Yule said the Ministry of Education has ignored calls from The Home Early Learning Organisation, HELO, to review its 20 Hours ECE policy, which would help eliminate confusion for families and service providers.

“Given the lack of action, PORSE decided to be the industry’s leading example initiating our own review,” said Ms Yule.

“Having reviewed how we implement 20 Hours ECE, I am very concerned that parents with children in both centre and home-based childcare may not be getting all the facts.”

There are strict rules governing 20 Hours ECE and the way information is presented.

Last year the Government made it harder to charge extra within the hours claimed as 20 Hours ECE, particularly for families who employ a nanny in their own home.

Obviously where families are paying the minimum wage or above, the subsidy will only cover a portion of this, but to get the full benefit of the subsidy 20 Hours ECE hours must now be seen at “no cost”,” says Ms Yule.

PORSE has now changed its processes and enrolment agreements to ensure 20 Hours ECE remains accessible to all families and that it meets Ministry of Education requirements.

“We have made improvements to ensure families continue to access this higher rate of funding from the Government and we have provided more transparency to parents by introducing our new enrolment agreements. We encourage the rest of the ECE sector to do the same.

“PORSE’s enrolment agreements are now a leading example, for both home and even centre based services, and we expect all other ECE service providers to follow us by being clear to families that 20 Hours ECE should show at no cost which is a key requirement of the Ministry of Education.”

Ms Yule said a lot of the changes were structural to ensure information was presented in a way that is acceptable to the Ministry.

“We also saw this an opportunity to explain to families how we implement 20 Hours ECE given the confusion that exists.”

PORSE is now working with its staff and educators to help families understand the changes.

“Every family is different, our objective is to ensure families are able to maximise the full subsidy benefits and that childcare costs are affordable.”

ENDS

© Scoop Media