Budget 2009
Funding for Adult and Community Education (ACE) provision delivered through schools has been significantly reduced for 2010 as part of Budget 2009.
As of 31 December 2009, all existing funding arrangements for school-based ACE provision will end. There will be approximately 20 percent of the current level of funding allocated to schools available for reinvestment in this part of the sector.
Expressions of interest
Expressions of interest are sought from schools eligible for ACE funding for 2010. Schools should read the requirements and indicate their interest to the TEC.
Eligibility requirements for schools
Schools will be expected to show that they have:
- previously delivered ACE. Priority will be given to those schools that have focused on the fields of literacy, numeracy, English language (ESOL), New Zealand Sign Language or te reo Māori
- been audited by the Education Review Office (ERO) against the ACE quality assurance standards and exceeded these standards
- demonstrated successful delivery to learner groups of highest need (ie. those whose initial learning was unsuccessful; Maori; Pacific peoples; migrants and refugees), or describe how they will put this in place
- demonstrated a commitment to achieving successful outcomes and building performance. This includes having appropriately qualified staff, participating in appropriate professional development and building internal capability to deliver high quality ACE, and
- the full support from their Board of Trustees and Principal to seek funding.
Eligibility requirements for ACE programmes
To receive TEC funding schools will be expected to show that their ACE programme:
- aligns to the three funded ACE priorities (targeting learners whose initial learning was not successful, raising foundation skills and strengthening social cohesion)
- will provide explicit learning outcomes for the type of programme offered (eg. literacy, numeracy or ESOL, New Zealand Sign Language or te reo Maori) and has an appropriate structured learning context*
- will provide opportunities and enable learners to move onto further education or employment
- will be targeted to meet the needs of learner groups of highest need (ie. those whose initial learning was unsuccessful including Maori, Pacific peoples, migrants and refugees), and
- have well developed community linkages evidenced through support for programmes from relevant local business, industry, employers, iwi and community.
*The learning context for ACE programmes could include family literacy (parenting, helping with your family’s education), financial literacy (budgeting), English language for settlement, or literacy, English language and numeracy to prepare for work or further study). The TEC will develop further information and resources to assist schools to develop an appropriate programme.
Measuring performance
The TEC will set mandatory performance indicators from 2010. Schools delivering ACE in 2010 will be measured against the following:
Course completion rates
A minimum of 80 percent of learners involved in TEC-funded ACE provision complete their course of study
Prior qualification levels or learner ethnicity
Over the entire ACE programme delivered by a provider, there will be a minimum of 50 percent of learners who either:
- identify as having English language needs
- have low or no formal qualifications, and/or
- identify as Maori or Pacific.
Funding
Funding for school-based ACE in 2010 will be allocated formulaically at a rate of $116.28 (GST exclusive) per individual learner to complete a minimum of 16 hours of ACE learning per school term.
Expressions of interest
Schools are encouraged to collaborate with other schools in their area and develop a single expression of interest as a partnership or cluster for an appropriate number of learners (ie. at least 100 individual learners over the year). In these cases, one school would need to be responsible for the contractual arrangements, including the Investment Plan.
Schools will need to submit an expression of interest (Word, 266 Kb) outlining their proposed ACE programme, including the estimated number of individual students per year. The expressions of interest must also provide the following information:
How the programme meets the ACE Priorities
This will include summary information on:
- the funded courses to be offered in 2010
- the alignment of these courses to the funded ACE priorities, and
- any planned changes to achieve better alignment to the funded ACE priorities.
How the programme meets identified community learning needs
Schools must identify the community or communities that will access their ACE provision (including the learner groups).
This will also include information on how their ACE programme:
- reflects the needs analysis for their locality (this could be evidenced through ACE Networks needs analysis and regional statements), and
- is supported and well linked to relevant local business, industry, employers, iwi, and community.
The school’s ACE professional and capability development
Schools must identify how they are delivering quality ACE provision. This will include information on:
- involvement in ACE professional development
- appropriately qualified literacy tutors or involvement in literacy development if applicable, and
- the actions being taken to ensure that there is continuous improvement within the school’s quality assurance processes.
The outcomes sought from learners participating
This will include information on:
- the learning outcomes expected from learners participating in the programme, and
- the school’s previous success in delivering ACE provision to the identified learner groups.
Next Steps
Following discussions with their Board of Trustees, schools should email the TEC Service Centre before 21 August 2009 to signal their intention for ACE delivery in 2010. This email should signal to the TEC whether the school:
- no longer intends to deliver an ACE programme in 2010
- intends to deliver a user-pays based ACE programme in 2010 (and not seek TEC funding)
- is interested in delivering a TEC-funded ACE programme in 2010, or
- is interested in delivering a combination of TEC-funded and user-pays based ACE programmes in 2010.
If the school is seeking TEC funding for any part of its ACE delivery the email should include contact details so that the TEC can discuss this further.
Submitting an expression of interest
The Expression of Interest template (Word, 266 Kb) is now available.
The process for schools seeking funding is set out below:
- Interested schools are expected to provide an early indication to the TEC of their intention regarding 2010 funding
- An email to the TEC Service Centre (service.centre@tec.govt.nz) with the subject line Intention to seek ACE funding in 2010 should be sent before 21 August 2009. This email will signal whether the school is intending to seek funding or not (or that ongoing discussions are occurring for example with their Board of Trustees).
- The TEC will be in contact with the designated person at schools that indicate they intend to seek funding in 2010 to discuss their proposed ACE programme.
Successful schools will receive an indicative funding allocation for the purpose of submitting their Investment Plan. The expression of interest template will align with the Investment Plan content and criteria requirements. The information contained in a successful expression of interest can be used for the 2010 Investment Plan.
Further Information
Expressions of Interest
Information for schools on the Expression of Interest process (PDF 111Kb) is now available.
Information from workshops
The TEC held workshops for schools interested in seeking funding to deliver an ACE programme in 2010.
The ACE Literacy and Numeracy in Secondary Schools presentation was delivered at the workshops. More information on literacy and numeracy can be found on the Literacy Aotearoa website.
Timeline for 2009
- Early indication email due to the TEC Service Centre before 5pm 21 August.
- Expressions of interests due to the TEC Service Centre before 5pm 11 September.
- Proposed decisions on expressions of interests made and indicative funding allocations communicated to schools - 30 September.
- Right of review submission period for unsuccessful schools – 30 September - 23 October.
- Investment Plan submission period – October.
- Plan approval letters released to Workspace – early November .