Fees

The government subsidises all children who attends ECE. 20 Hours ECE is a higher funding subsidy. It means that if your child is 3, 4 or 5 attends then we can offer up to 20 Hours ECE, the cost can be fully subsidised for up to 6 hours a day and up to 20 hours a week. You can find more information on funding rates in the Ministry's funding handbook. You can choose to use as many or as few hours of 20 Hours ECE as you want, up to 6 hours a day and 20 hours a week. Please talk to us to work out the minimum number of hours or days of enrolment.

You may also qualify for childcare subsidy and ECE 20 Hours support based on the level of income your family earns. CLICK HERE to see if you quality for this. There is also helpful information on whether you might qualify for childcare assistance on the Working for Families Website: https://www.workingforfamilies.govt.nz/childcare-assistance/ The Childcare Subsidy is for parents whose income is below a certain level. It helps to pay for childcare costs. Sometimes, you can receive a mix of both the Childcare Subsidy and 20 Hours ECE. This can happen if your Childcare Subsidy is for more than 20 hours a week. For example, if you are entitled to 30 hours Childcare Subsidy and you choose to claim 20 Hours ECE, then you could receive the Childcare Subsidy for the remaining 10 hours. The Childcare Subsidy cannot be used for the same hours as 20 Hours ECE. The Childcare Subsidy is looked after by Work and Income. To find out more about the Childcare Subsidy, go to the Working for Families website or call 0800 559 009.

If you need help in the first instance - contact us and we can go through this with you. If you child is 3, 4 or 5, you can apply for 20 hours ECE when you enrol your child – or you can do it just before your child turns 3 if they are already enrolled. Fill in the enrolment agreement and an ‘attestation’ where you write and sign for the days and hours you are claiming as 20 hours ECE. Please be mindful that 20 hours cannot be claimed until you have completed the ‘attestation’. You can choose which hours you want to claim for 20 hours ECE – it can be any hours that your child is enrolled. As a child must attend school from the age of 6, the last day that 20 hours ECE can be claimed is the day before your child’s 6th birthday. If you change the number of hours your child is at their ECE service or kōhanga reo, you must update your enrolment agreement and attestation. You should also do this if your child is going to be away for a time. The subsidy is paid directly to the St Anthony Pacific Island Childcare Centre. You don’t have to apply separately to the Ministry of Education.

Even if your child goes to more than one ECE service or kōhanga reo - you can split the hours between them so long as it’s not more than 6 hours a day and 20 hours a week total. Please check your hours to avoid extra fees, we have a feel free open door policy to enquire about your hours.

Anyone can apply: if you have a 3 or 4 year old or a 5 year old child who is not enrolled at primary school, you can apply for 20 hours ECE. This is regardless of your income, whether you or your child is a New Zealand resident or citizen, or any other reason.

If your child goes to another ECE service or kōhanga reo: that closes for the school holidays, you can use the 20 Hours ECE here. You’ll need to record on the new enrolment form: how many hours and days your child will be attending and which hours will be covered by 20 Hours ECE.

Optional charge Necessary to maintain Current Quality Programme: The 20 hour ECE subsidy does not cover the cost of our programmes. We try to avoid asking for extra charges hence we work together with the parents to do fundraisers and ask for donations to avoid optional charges - it’s up to you whether you pay these. Optional charges are for the actual costs of providing extra items or services. There are many here are some of the optional charge covers for example: • Meals – caters for Halal • Trips and excursions • Swimming, Gym & Rhythm Kids

Please note we try not to charge extra fees for setting up 20 Hours ECE. We charge extra fees for hours that are not covered by 20 Hours ECE. For example, if your child is here for 7 hours in a day, and 6 of them are 20 Hours ECE, then we only charge for one extra hour. You can avoid this by talking to us how to split your hours.