The fund has been renamed ‘Intensive Literacy and Numeracy’ and is being directed to learners with low level literacy and numeracy skills.
There are no longer two streams of funding (previously called intensive and enhanced) and tertiary education organisations (TEOs) that have projects currently funded through the Foundation Learning Pool will need to apply to the Intensive Literacy and Numeracy fund if funding for 2010 is sought. Funding for ‘enhanced’ Foundation Learning Pool projects cannot be sought from this fund.
Purpose of the intensive literacy and numeracy fund
The Intensive Literacy and Numeracy fund provides support for intensive provision of quality literacy and numeracy learning delivered in an appropriate structured context with strong community links.
The key elements of the new framework are:
- Intensive provision that consists of 100 hours of direct delivery of literacy and numeracy learning within a 5 - 20 week period. Organisations may seek funding for more than one 5 - 20 week module.
- Quality learning opportunities that:
- have clearly articulated literacy and numeracy outcomes
- have before and after measures of learning gain
- are based around the learning progressions, and
- are delivered by appropriately qualified staff.
- Strong community links evidenced through the relationships the organisation can demonstrate between themselves and local business, industry, employers, iwi, community and students.
- Formulaic funding from 2010. Funding for 2010 will be allocated at a fixed rate of $2,500 (GST excl) for 100 hours of literacy and/or numeracy tuition per learner to be completed in 5 - 20 weeks.
Alignment with the Investment Plan
All organisations that intend to seek funding and that meet the funding criteria are required to submit a proposal for 2010 funding. Organisations can only submit a single proposal. Organisations that intend to deliver multiple initiatives must ensure that all appropriate information is captured in a single proposal.
The allocation of this funding will be aligned to the Investment Plan process. Decisions regarding indicative funding allocations for this funding will be advised with all other indicative funding allocations shortly after Budget announcements on 28 May 2009.
Proposals are designed to align with Investment Plan criteria and content. Successful organisations that are required to submit an Investment Plan for 2010 will be able to transfer proposal information into the online Investment Plan submission tool where appropriate.
Successful organisations that have an approved Investment Plan for 2010 will have funding approved through the aligned funds approach.
The TEC will ensure that processes for this fund will be consistent with other funds and the Investment Plan process.
Requirements for organisations
TEOs eligible for Intensive Literacy and Numeracy funding must be accredited education providers and have an approved Investment Plan. Funding cannot be paid until an approved Investment Plan is in place.
Organisations must:
- demonstrate well-developed community linkages evidenced through support for programmes from relevant local business, industry, employers, iwi and communities.
- demonstrate successful delivery to groups identified in the Adult Literacy and Life Skills Survey as of highest need including Māori and/or Pacific peoples
- demonstrate a high standard of performance against previous commitments (ie completion, retention, progressing learners into further formal learning opportunities following participation or progressing learners into employment)*
- demonstrate a commitment to achieving literacy and numeracy outcomes and building performance in literacy and numeracy. This includes having appropriately qualified staff, participating in appropriate professional development and building internal capability to deliver high quality literacy and numeracy provision
- agree to work towards using the literacy and numeracy assessment tool from 2010, and
- agree to enrol the majority of learners in any approved programmes from the target group identified by the organisation and approved by the TEC.
*Organisations receiving TEC funding for the first time will need to identify how they have met performed against previous non-TEC related commitments.
Requirements for projects
Eligible projects must:
- be delivered at no cost to students
- be provided in regions of highest literacy and numeracy skill needs as identified by the appropriate regional statement
- deliver a minimum of 100 direct learning hours per individual student within a 5 - 20 week period (organisations can seek funding for more than one module)
- deliver to either:
- a minimum of 80 individual students within the contracted calendar year if in areas of high need and high population density, or
- a minimum of 30 individual students within the contracted calendar year if in areas of high need and low population density
- employ appropriately qualified and experienced educators**
- use a formal assessment process to measure literacy and numeracy gains against the learning progressions
- use an appropriate structured learning context linked to the Learning Progressions for gaining literacy and numeracy skills for workforce participation
- articulate explicit learning outcomes, and
- contributes to the overall network of provision.
**Appropriately qualified teaching staff will have specific qualifications relating to teaching adults literacy and numeracy. This would include the National Certificate in Adult Literacy Education (NCALE) qualifications or other appropriate qualifications. All teaching staff are expected to have experience in literacy and numeracy teaching. Note that qualifications focusing on language teaching only would need to be supported with evidence that the teacher also has specific literacy and numeracy teaching experience.
Requirements for learners
Eligible learners must:
- be NZ citizens or permanent residents, and
- have low levels of literacy and/or numeracy. This may be considered as having 80 or less credits on the National Qualifications Framework, or more than 80 credits but less than a total of 12 credits in literacy (English) and/or numeracy (Mathematics) unit/achievement standards.
Organisations should:
- prioritise learners that are new to funded provision
- prioritise learners who are employed, pre-employed, recently unemployed (retaining/gaining skills for employment), and
- not enrol learners that have received more than 100 hours previous Foundation Learning Pool funded participation.
It is recognised that some learners may need less than 100 hours of tuition and some learners may leave before completing 100 hours. If learners withdraw, organisations are expected to fill vacant places with new learners.
If learners require more than 100 hours of tuition, it is expected that the organisation would only re-enrol a learner for a maximum of one further 100 hour module.
Funding information
Proposals will be reviewed against the requirements. Funding decisions will be based on:
- the organisation demonstrating it meets the eligibility requirements
- addressing Government priorities, and
- the availability of funding.
Submitting a proposal
Organisations must submit proposals by 5pm 28 April 2009.
Prior to submission, organisations that believe they meet the funding requirements will need to contact the Service Centre to discuss their proposed provision.
Organisations will be provided with a copy of the proposal template if they meet the eligibility requirements.
Organisations must email completed proposals to the Service Centre mailbox as per the following instructions.
Completed funding proposal forms and any accompanying evidence must be emailed in PDF format to servicecentre@tec.govt.nz.
Please ensure that the email subject line contains: 2010 Intensive Literacy and Numeracy Funding Proposal
Proposals not submitted on the form provided by the TEC or received after 5pm 28 April 2009 will not be considered.
Timeline
Information on funding published - 9 April 2009
Proposal emailed to the TEC Service Centre before 5pm 28 April 2009
Decisions on proposals made and communicated to organisations - June 2009