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Discretionary Grants

The closing date for Ministry of Education Discretionary Grants this year was the 29 April. Applicants should know the outcome by July.

The November 2004 WCCCA Newsletter listed changes to the process for this year. The main criteria now are:

  • increase the number of places available in existing ECE services;
  • retain places in existing services that are being forced to close or relocate by circumstances beyond their control;
  • establish new licensed and chartered EC services in areas where participation is low;
  • establish new licensed and chartered EC in areas of high population growth;
  • remove health and safety hazards in existing EC services; and
  • be responsive to the needs of working parents.

When allocating grants this year the Ministry uses a further set of criteria to evaluate applications against. These include:

  • analysis of the surrounding network of existing EC services and need for additional service of the type proposed;
  • value for money;
  • quality of teaching and learning environment;
  • viability of proposed service.
  • These criteria have been developed in the form of a matrix which is now available on the Ministry of Education website

As usual WCCCA anticipates that it will be invited to send a representative to the Wellington District's allocation meeting. Should you have any queries about the application process and/or your eligibility contact WCCCA, or the local Ministry of Education office.

Health and Safety Grants

Applications from existing centres under the Health and Safety category must be to enable a centre remain compliant.

The pool of money available for these applications is a small part of the Scheme's funds. In the past, due to limited funds, the grants were often made to services that were, or were about to become, non compliant due to some building or property issue. This change simply formalises what was already happening in many regions.

Health and Safety Upgrades that the Scheme is most likely to contribute towards can include:

  • Dry rot;
  • Leaky building syndrome;
  • Removal of asbestos and lead paint.
  • Toilet upgrades- need to ensure that this is not just routine maintenance.

Health and Safety Grants will not go to projects involving:

  • Fences,
  • Safety surfacing.
  • Sunshades – acoustics.
  • Outdoor equipment and other non building projects.
  • Kitchen extensions – ie internal alterations.
  • Covered walkways.