KEY POINTS:
Are kindergartens offering half-day sessions also part of the scheme? My kindy charges $20 a day for 8.45am to 3.15pm - is this covered?
Yes, both sessional and all-day kindergartens are eligible to provide 20 hours' free early childhood education, and 99 per cent of kindergarten associations provide it already. If your kindergarten offers free education, you can receive up to six free hours a day and up to 20 free hours a week. Kindergartens can charge a fee for any extra hours above six hours a day or 20 hours a week.
There is only one daycare within driving distance of our home. If it decides not to opt in, can we apply for a subsidy for childcare costs?
Your childcare costs are already subsidised by the Government. Most teacher-led early childhood education services receive a funding subsidy of up to $6.41 an hour for children aged 2 and over, and up to $11.64 an hour for under-2s. Some parents also qualify for a Work and Income childcare subsidy which is between $1.31 and $3.40 a child an hour. For more information, see www.workingforfamilies.govt.nz/childcare-costs. If you are keen to take advantage of the 20 hours' free education, keep talking to your local centre about it. For more information on services offering free education, check the Team Up home page on www.teamup.co.nz
Many childcare centres are asking for "voluntary donations" to cover extra costs. Ignoring the guilt trip, can I just refuse to pay? Can my child legally get kicked out if I refuse to pay?
As a parent, you do not have to pay for the 20 free hours. The Government is fully funding 20 hours of early childhood education to the accepted quality standard, just as it fully funds schools to the accepted quality standard. Some parents choose to have services on top of their free hours, such as hot lunches or trips, and can be asked for a donation or an optional charge to pay for anything over and above the 20 free hours. You do not have to agree to pay these charges, and your child cannot be turned away from the free service as a result of non-payment.
Has the Government done a good enough job of selling the policy to the public? I'm not sure most parents understand how it works.
The Ministry of Education has undertaken a thorough information and publicity campaign, including information for parents through the free services, brochures directly to parents and advertising in community newspapers and television. Thousands of parents have also contacted the information phone line, which has been operating since March at 0800 20 44 33, and there is more information on the Team Up website. The Information for Parents booklet is available online at www.teamup.co.nz/earlyyears and centres offering the policy are also listed on the Team Up home page. The teacher-led early childhood education sector involves more than 2700 services owned in a variety of ways. The ministry will continue to work with services across the country as they make the decision to join the scheme.
The Government's new scheme will benefit our 4-year-old son. However, we have another baby on the way and I will need to go back to work. What are the chances of the Government extending the scheme to children younger than 3?
For the moment free education will be available for up to 20 hours a week only for 3 and 4-year-olds in teacher-led centres. There are no plans to extend it to children under 3, but that may be considered in future.
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