ACE

• What does TEC consider to be priority provision for ACE?

  The priority areas of ACE provision that have been signalled by government are literacy, digital literacy, numeracy, English language including English for speakers of other languages (ESOL), New Zealand Sign Language and te reo Māori.

• Are there any other courses that are considered an acceptable use of TEC funding? Are cooking classes acceptable as there is a lot of literacy and numeracy in reading recipes, measuring, estimating and budgeting, etc?

  The important difference between priority and non-priority provision is that a class has a specific learning outcome (for example, deliberate teaching of literacy and numeracy) and that it targets priority groups of learners. A cookery class may be a valid way of gaining these outcomes, so long as the types of people who will enrol in the programme are the priority target group and the learning…

• Can funded ACE courses just meet one of the funded priorities, for example social cohesion?

  Courses must demonstrate clear alignment to all three of the TEC-funded ACE priorities. Courses that align only to the strengthening social cohesion priority for example will not be considered for funding.

• What qualifications do ACE tutors need to have?

  Schools need to be assured that they have appropriate and capable tutors that can deliver the learning outcomes that are sought by learners participating in funded ACE programmes.

• How can the 400 ACE learner places per year allocated to schools be used, does it have to be 400 individuals?

  No, an individual learner may fill one of those places for more than one term, and could potentially be taking more than one course in a term. This will not affect funding as TEC funds learner places.

• How will the funding rate that is allocated to schools cover the costs of running these ACE courses?

  The funding rate ($116.28 (GST exclusive) per term per student) provides bulk funding of ACE and it will be up to individual schools to make decisions about how to allocate the funding to cover costs.

• Can we charge fees for learners participating in a TEC funded ACE programme?

  Yes. All providers of ACE can charge fees to learners. Fees for learners participating in TEC-funded courses should reflect the actual cost of the course, yet be appropriate for the purpose and target group of each course.

• Do 50% of learners in each school-based ACE course need to be either Māori, or Pacific or disadvantaged in terms of literacy and numeracy?

  This figure is based on the average number of learners who should meet those criteria over all the ACE courses that are offered by the school concerned.

• Will additional ACE funding be available for professional development?

  ACE funding is paid by the TEC as bulk funding to cover all costs of administration, delivery and capability development. However, ACE Aotearoa currently have a contract with TEC to administer ACE professional development funding and support.

• Do ACE providers still need to attend ACE Networks?

  ACE Networks in their previous form are no longer in place. Providers receiving TEC funding for ACE are required to work with other local ACE providers in the development of their ACE activities. Please see the ACE Networks page for more information.

• What is the due date ACE Annual Reports?

  Please see the ACE reporting section for ACE reporting requirements.

• Are schools required to allocate any of their ACE funding to community groups?

  Schools are no longer required to make funding available for community groups. However, if they do so they remain accountable for the funding made available to the community groups. Please see the ACE in schools page for more information.