Playgroup Operational Funding is a general grant available to all eligible playgroups to assist with ongoing operational costs.
See the Playgroup Funding Handbook for more details including rates and payment dates.
You can request Playgroup Operational Funding through the ERS. See below for more information on using the ERS.
The Special Grant is a discretionary grant to assist a playgroup to cover the large costs that cannot be met from other funding.
See the Playgroup Special Grant section in the Playgroup Funding Handbook for more details.
You will still apply for a Special Grant using the form in the funding handbook. Your payment advice will be made available for you to view on the ERS.
To use the ERS, the appropriate users will need to be granted access, as either Administrator or Approver, by your playgroup's Education Advisor.
If you don’t have a logon for ERS, complete sections 1 and 2 of the ESL 61 Form – ECE User Request, then contact your Education Advisor who will send you an invitation to create an account.
For more support with ESL, see http://services.education.govt.nz/education-sector-logon/user-support/setting-up-your-user-account/.
have your bank account number - you will need to check we have the details correct.
have your attendance records for the last 10 weeks - you will enter this information into the request.
know the dates you will not be operating in the up-coming funding period - you will need to know how many sessions you plan to run.
Follow the steps below to create a new request for Playgroup Operational Funding.
1 Log in to the Education Resourcing System.
2 From the home page or dashboard click New Request.
3 Select 'Playgroup Operational Funding' in the request type field.
Check the contact details and bank account details for your Playgroup.
type your name and phone number into the fields provided.
6 Click Agree & Continue.
7 Select the date you were last open. Your last 10 weeks of full operation will be displayed.
Enter the session attendance details for each session.
C you were closed, for example: school holidays.
SH it was a statutory holiday.
0 (zero) you were open and no-one attended.
Note: If you are running a session that is not displayed, or the hours you are open are displayed incorrectly, please contact your Playgroup's Education Advisor before continuing with the request.
10 Select the open and close dates for your future playgroup sessions.
Reduce the number of sessions if necessary and click Continue. For example: you plan to be closed during the school holidays.
12 Review the information you have provided and make corrections if necessary.
13 Click Send to Authoriser and tell the Approver the request is ready for them to approve and submit.
Follow the steps in the table below to approve and submit a request to the Ministry for Playgroup Operational Funding.
2 Click View All Requests.
3 Click on the request ID of the request that has the status 'Pending Acceptance'.
Click on the Request tab and review the information provided.
true and correct go to step 6.
not true and correct go to the next step.
Can you correct the information?
select I don't agree - Delete.
click I don't agree - DeleteNote: this will delete the request and a new one will need to be created.
Click Agree & submit request.
This module takes you step-by-step through the Playgroup Operational Funding request creation and approval process.
This section has some questions and answers about Playgroup Operational Funding requests in relation to using ERS.
Q: What do I do if my bank account or contact details have changed?
A: Select the option 'Some of these details are incorrect...’ and type your name and phone number. Your Education Advisor will phone you and arrange to update the details that need correcting.
Q: How many Administrators and Approvers can I have for my playgroup?
A: You can have as many as you want. Each person will need their own ESL account.
Q: When a volunteer leaves a playgroup, how do we get their access to ERS removed so they can’t see our playgroup information anymore?
A: Let your Education Advisor in your regional office know. They will remove their access.
Q: Can a paid coordinator be the Approver?
A: You can determine who to assign the roles to. We recommend that the treasurer is the Approver and the coordinator is the Administrator but how you actually assign the roles is up to you.
Q: I have an attachment I want to submit with my funding request, what do I do?
A: Email it to your Education Advisor and they will attach it to your request.