1. Purpose

The Mobile Preschool Funding program provides funding for the provision of preschool education delivered for the 2 years before school to children enrolled in mobile preschools in regional and remote NSW, where access to centre-based preschools can be limited. Mobile Preschool Funding aims to increase the number of children participating for a minimum of 600 hours in a quality early childhood education program in the 2 years before school.

From 2023, fee relief for families will be integrated into Start Strong and the Mobile Preschool Funding Program to provide community and mobile preschools with sustainable long-term funding to deliver at least 600 hours of low, or no cost preschool to eligible children.

These initiatives aim to support sustainable and improved service delivery and recognise the additional costs and unique challenges associated with achieving universal access in regional and remote NSW.

Mobile Preschool Funding program funding is targeted to 3, 4 and 5 year old children in the 2 years before school, particularly children aged 3 and above from low income families, children with an Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander background, and children with disability and additional needs.

2. Eligibility criteria

The following eligibility criteria must be satisfied by a mobile preschool to obtain Mobile Preschool Funding:

• Service eligibility criteria; and
• Child eligibility criteria.

3. Funding

3.1 Calculation of funding

Mobile Preschool Funding will provide program funding (Program Payment) and fee relief funding (Fee Relief Payment).

Mobile Preschool Funding promotes universal access and sustainable and improved service delivery by providing:

• a funding floor component to provide a level of funding certainty;

• loadings for services provided in Outer Regional, Remote and Very Remote areas of NSW;

• loadings to assist with certain venue and travel costs;

• funding to support the additional costs associated with growth in enrolments;

• operational adjustments to ensure increased provision of services is met with greater levels of funding;

• higher base funding rates based on Socio-Economic Index for Areas (SEIFA) score of disadvantage; and

• additional equity funding for children aged 3 years and above from low income families, children with an Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander background and children with disability and additional needs.

The Program Payment and Fee Relief Payment are both calculated based on the data entered in the Annual Preschool Census, including the number and hours of enrolment, and the number and characteristics of children enrolled.

3.2 Program Payment

The Program Payment component of Mobile Preschool Funding is determined for each preschool year through calculation of three components:

• Base Funding

• Operational Adjustment

• Equity Adjustment.

Operational Adjustment and Equity Adjustment are applied to a mobile preschool’s Base Funding, which means that Base Funding may increase or decrease depending on operational settings and the characteristics of the children enrolled by that mobile preschool.

3.3 Fee Relief Payment

Children enrolled for 600 hours or more will receive the full rate of fee relief, with children enrolled for fewer hours attracting a proportionate amount according to Table 4.

Table 4: Fee Relief Payment - calculation for hours of enrolment

3.4 Indexation

Decisions regarding the application of indexation under Mobile Preschool Funding are made annually by the department. If indexation is applied, the department will be guided by a NSW Treasury-mandated percentage applicable to all Government agencies.

3.5 Funding payments

Funding is based on information provided by services in the Annual Preschool Census. For this purpose, mobile preschools must ensure that the data entered via the Preschool Census is correct, true and not misleading in any respect, and that consent forms have been completed for each staff member and for each child enrolled.

Mobile preschools that receive Mobile Preschool Funding may be audited to confirm consent has been received to enter personal information and the accuracy of data entered in the Preschool Census or any other data collection.

Mobile preschools need to complete 2 types of consent forms, one for each staff member and one for each child upon enrolment and prior to completing the Annual Preschool Census. Refer to section ‘Completing consent forms’ section for further information.

Typically, funding under Mobile Preschool Program funding is paid quarterly in advance according to the schedule below:

1. December (Quarter 1) for period January - March.
2. April (Quarter 2) for period April – June.
3. July (Quarter 3) for period July - September.
4. October (Quarter 4) for period October - December.

Fee Relief Payments will follow Program Payments. Fee relief funding should be distributed as fee relief to families on a per term basis.

4. Spending rules

4.1 Program Payment

Mobile Preschool Funding Program Payment is to be used for the purposes detailed below:

• operating expenses of the mobile preschool, for example:
  • staffing costs, including salary and wages, and professional development
  • educational resources
  • vehicle costs, including usage and maintenance
  • other operating costs including leasing arrangements.

The funds need to be expended in line with the individual mobile preschool’s reporting period (calendar or financial year).

Under the Grants Programs Funding Agreement (Terms and Conditions), service providers are required to return unspent funds as well as maintaining financial viability. The department is currently exploring options to provide further clarity on this matter. In the interim, service providers are encouraged to use funds based on the spending rules of the program and if applicable, refer to guidance provided by the Australian Charities and Not-for-profits Commission for the retention of appropriate level of reserve.

4.2 Fee Relief Payment

The Fee Relief Payment aims to reduce the cost of early childhood education and care to families in the form of fee pass-through. The funding is provided for the purposes detailed below:

• reduce the daily fees as much as possible for 600 hours per year of enrolment for eligible children.

Where there are surplus funds following the reduction of daily fees as much as possible for 600 hours per year of preschool to eligible children, Approved Providers must:

• reduce the cost of additional charges to families. Additional charges may include, but are not limited to, charges for enrolment/administration, resources, excursions/incursions, building/garden maintenance.

If any funds remain after all fees and/or charges are eliminated, Approved Providers may then choose to allocate any surplus funding to:

• reduce the cost of enrolment above 600 hours per year (for instance 'third day' fees); or
• reducing the daily fee for 600 hours per year of enrolment for eligible children not accessing fee relief at the service, for example children of families with greatest need; or
• the operating expense of the service per the Program Payment spending rules.

The Fee Relief Payments should be apportioned to families across the preschool year in line with funding payments (i.e. quarterly).

The service must demonstrate and communicate the fee reduction to families through regular invoices or statements. Where no invoice or statement is issued, services should provide fee reduction information through newsletters, website, or letters to families.

The fee pass through must also be demonstrated as part of the annual reporting process.

The funds need to be expended in line with the individual services reporting period (calendar or financial year).

4.3 Priority of access

Services are required to, when operating at capacity in any preschool year, give equal priority of access to:

• children who are at least 4 years old on or before the 31 July in that preschool year and not enrolled or registered at a school

• children who are at least 3 years old on or before 31 July in that preschool year and are:
  • children from low-income families
  • children with an Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander background

• children with disability and/or additional needs

• children with English language needs

• children who are at risk of significant harm (from a child protection perspective).

There is no order of priority assigned to the list of points above. Priority must be given to the groups outlined above before any other groups, including non-equity 3 year old children.

The guidelines are intended to assist mobile preschools with making enrolment decisions in a way that seeks to allocate places to those in the greatest need. However, the particular community needs of the preschool will also be relevant. Mobile preschools may consider the hours children are enrolled at other funded services when making enrolment decisions.

The department will compare data collected through the August 2023 Preschool Census to the service’s reported enrolment in the August 2022 Preschool Census to review priority of access. The department periodically conducts reviews of preschool services and may request a funding compliance review in these or other circumstances.

4.4 Applying for funding

Enquiries for funding through the Mobile Preschool Funding program are to be made in writing to the Department at the contact details on this page. Interested Service Providers will need to demonstrate their eligibility for funding, analysis of local need and demand, capability to deliver on the objectives and outcomes of Mobile Preschool Funding, and suitability of mobile service delivery as preferred operating model.

5. Program requirements

5.1 Obligations

The Terms and Conditions of Funding must be accepted in ECCMS prior to receipt of funding. These Terms and Conditions set out annual accountability and compliance requirements. Mobile preschool providers are required to certify that funds have been spent in accordance with the Funding Agreement of the Early Childhood Education Grants Program. Performance and financial acquittals may be done either on a calendar or financial year basis.

The department is focused on supporting participation for key equity/priority of access groups. Accordingly, children from Aboriginal families, children with disability and additional needs and children from low income families must have access to lower daily fees than for non-equity children.

The fee for non-equity 3 year olds must not be lower than the fee for non-equity children in the year before school.

The Department periodically conducts reviews of preschool services and may request a funding compliance review in these or other circumstances.

Where the relevant card expired and has not been replaced, it is at the discretion of the mobile preschool to determine the fee structure for families. The daily equity fee (see current fee guidelines above) must be charged where a child is recorded as low income in the Preschool Census and therefore receives the highest base rate funding.

5.2 Completing consent forms

Community preschools including mobile preschools need to complete 2 types of consent forms, one for each staff member and one for each child upon enrolment. This means on first enrolling. It is good practice to seek a renewal of the consent form every year a child attends. A new form should be completed if any of the details in the original consent form require update or adjustment.

Each form consents to the use and disclosure of personal information by the department to receive funding and other support to deliver an early childhood education program, and for the exercise of the department’s governmental functions. This may include monitoring the funding programs and reporting purposes

Data collected in the Annual Preschool Census is submitted to the Australian Bureau of Statistics for inclusion in the publication Preschool Education, Australia. De-identified data may be used for research and evaluation purposes.

• Consent Form - Child (PDF 716.68KB)

• Consent Form - Personnel (PDF 683.72KB).

5.3 Completing financial accountabilities

In accordance with the Terms and Conditions agreement, an Approved Provider must submit a statement of expenditure for each individual mobile preschool which has received funding, to provide assurance that public funds have been expended for their intended purpose.

Financial accountability is completed through the Early Childhood Contract Management System (ECCMS). Visit our ECCMS page for more information.

The department periodically conducts reviews of preschool services and may request a funding compliance review in these or other circumstances.

In accordance with the Early Childhood Education Grants Programs Terms and Conditions, an Approved Provider must submit a financial accountability for each individual service which has received funding, to provide assurance that public funds have been expended for their intended purpose.

Financial accountability is completed through ECCMS. Further information is available in the Financial Accountability Return Guide and on the Financial Accountability - Information for Services page.

Performance and financial accountabilities may be done either on a calendar or financial year basis.

5.4 Record keeping

The department periodically conducts reviews of preschool services and may request that supporting documentation be provided by the services to the department and its representatives.

Financial accountabilities and collections will capture fee information provided by services. Relevant records must be retained by Approved Providers for the purpose of the department undertaking funding compliance reviews. Examples of relevant records may include:

• proof of expenditure in line with spending rules;

• statements to families or other relevant documents demonstrating fee reduction and attributing fee relief to the NSW Government;

• evidence to support any fee increases or new/increased additional charges for children eligible for fee relief;

• parent/legal guardian declaration forms;
  

• consent forms for data reporting;

• individual Learning Plans (ILP) for children with disability or additional needs working towards 600 hours per year;

• Transition to School Statements; and

• Certificates of Exemption for any 6-year-old children enrolled in the service.
  

5.5 Children enrolled at multiple services

Under Start Strong, a child cannot access a Fee Relief Payment from more than one community preschool or long day care service. However, mobile preschools funded under the Mobile Preschool Funding Program are exempt from this requirement and are not required to gather declaration forms.

6. Resources

6.1 Mobile Preschool Funding Planning Tool

A Mobile Preschool Funding planning tool (XLSX 519.8 KB) for mobile preschools is available to assist services to understand how operational changes will impact on Mobile Preschool funding.

Services can use the information contained in their August Preschool Census Summary Report to estimate their funding.

The planning tool does not currently include the Fee Relief Payment. An updated planning tool including the Fee Relief Payment will be available soon.

The planning tool runs in Microsoft Excel 2010 and later. Users with earlier versions of Microsoft Excel may need to update Microsoft Office to avoid compatibility issues.

Please note: the amounts generated by the planning tool provide an estimate of funding based on the information entered and are not a guarantee of funding.

7. Service changes

7.1 Maintaining up to date details

It is the responsibility of Approved Providers to update provider and service details in ECCMS. An Approved Provider must ensure that the following information is always up to date:

• all tabs on the Main Service Provider page, including Main Details, Contacts, Address, and Bank Account tabs

• all tabs on each Funding Specification page, including Main, Contacts and Address tabs.

7.2 Transferring service approval

7.3 Service ceasing to operate

If a service is to close/cease trading as a mobile preschool, prior to the date of closure, the Approved Provider must:

• contact the department at the contact details below as soon as possible and prior to the surrender of service approval. The department will advise on the steps required to conclude the Approved Provider’s responsibilities under the Mobile Preschool Funding Program

• log on to ECCMS and complete all outstanding financial accountabilities. The department will advise of any additional current year financial accountabilities that require completion by the closing service for the period up to the date of closure. The financial accountability must be completed within 30 days of the closure of the service, unless otherwise agreed with the department

• cease expending all funds from the date of closure

• return all unspent funds to the department by no later than 30 days of the date of the closure of the service

• comply with any direction by the department under the Funding Agreement.

The department may take actions if a service has notified the department that it proposes to close/cease trading, including:

• withholding funding for the service that is proposed to be closed/ceased trading from the Approved Provider, where that funding relates to a period after the proposed date of closure.

No funding will be provided by the department for a service that has closed/ceased trading, in relation to the period after the date of closure.

For temporary closures for 5 weeks or more, the department may seek information from funded services to confirm ongoing availability of funding.

8. Transition arrangements

• Services who have signed the Terms and Conditions will automatically receive Fee Relief funding under the Affordable Preschool initiative. Services that do not wish to receive Fee Relief funding through the Affordable Preschool initiative will be able to withdraw from the Mobile Preschool Funding Program.
• A transition period will operate between January – June 2023. During this period, services can continue to receive Mobile Preschool Funding Program funding without receiving Fee Relief funding through the Affordable Preschool initiative. This allows services additional time to assess their financial circumstances and their ongoing participation in the Mobile Preschool Funding program.
• The Mobile Preschool Funding program will transition from a financial year funding model to a calendar year funding model from 2024. Funding will continue to be paid on a quarterly basis, with allocations based on the Annual Preschool Census held in August.

• Funding is expected to follow the schedule below from 2024:
  • December (Quarter 1) for period January – March 2024
  • April (Quarter 2) for period April – June 2024
  • July (Quarter 3) for period July – September 2024
  • October (Quarter 4) for period October – December 2024.

• To continue to receive Mobile Preschool Funding Program funding an Approved Provider will need to agree to terminate its 2022 – 23 Terms and Conditions and enter into a Funding Agreement for the Mobile Preschool Funding Program for 2023, including the Affordable Preschool initiative.

9. Contact

To speak to someone about Mobile Preschool Funding, please contact the department by:

• calling 1800 619 113
• emailing ecec.funding@det.nsw.edu.au