Background 

Many community organisations and Pacific providers have been supporting Pacific learners and families to stay engaged or re-engage in education during the COVID-19 response and recovery, and to make sure Pacific learners and families have access to the services and support that meets their needs. 

In 2020 and 2021 the Pacific Education Support Fund funded Pacific community groups, and organisations and Pacific Health and Social Service providers to meet education-related and wellbeing needs of learners and families arising from and/or exacerbated by COVID-19.  

Education-related needs includes the resources and supports required to ensure Pacific learners remain engaged in education and supporting wellbeing and growing meaningful relationships. Examples of initiatives funded include: 

• Growing relationships between Pacific families and places of learning by making connections and supporting places of learning to reconnect with learners and their families.
• Joining up Pacific learners and families with the right services that provide support for education-related needs, for example with on-site learning and accessing ongoing education and training pathways.
• Supporting the return to learning at school or early learning, finding the right education and training pathways.
• Supporting attendance and engagement for Pacific learners through mentoring services and homework centres.

The Pacific Education Support Fund is part of the COVID-19 Response and Recovery Fund and invests $39.7m over four years (2020/21 to 2023/24) to broker support for Pacific learners and families to access education.  

Budget and Regional allocations  

The following five regions have a large proportion of the Pacific learner population.  

$10m will be provided to five regions in 2022/23.   

• $6.8m for Auckland
• $587,425 for Waikato
• $361,180 for Hawke’s Bay - Tairāwhiti
• $1.6m for Wellington
• $826,183 for Canterbury and Chatham Islands

The funding allocated to Auckland reflects the significant number of Pacific learners in the region and the impact and number of COVID-19 Alert level changes.  

Round 3 

Round 3 funding will be distributed by: 

1. working with existing providers to continue or expand their service provision in each fund
2. looking to support new projects and may ask for proposals for new projects. 

Our regional offices are currently looking at providers and their initiatives implemented through previous funding rounds, to determine which services are likely to be extended for Round 3. 

Information about the outcome of this process will be available in July 2022.  

Monitoring and reporting 

All providers must report on the progress of their initiative.  

Timeframes 

All funds are expected to be committed in agreements by 1 November 2022.  

FAQ

What are some examples of successful initiatives currently funded?

Le Toloa

Growing relationships between Pacific families and places of learning by making connections and supporting families and learners to reconnect.  

Le Toloa is a unique Pacific Mental Health service provider is supporting up to 200 Pacific learners, parents, and their schools in low decile areas of Auckland by:  

• Working with teachers and schools to support awareness around wellbeing and mental health with the aim to improve learning outcomes for Pacific
• Working with Pacific learners, their parents, and teachers to improve their wellbeing and mental health wellness.
• Establishing and improving relationships between learners and their families, with teachers, and schools, (building trust and confidence).
• Developing referral pathways for learners, with their families and teachers, to access appropriate support in a timely manner.
• Building a community network based on trust and open communication to support mental health and wellbeing of all participants.

Le Toloa has rebranded as Karlis Partnership-Mental Health Specialist 

Career Activ8 programme

Joining up Pacific learners and families with the right services that provide support for education-related needs, for example with on-site learning and accessing ongoing education and training pathways.

Career Activ8 programme:  

• Provides support to enable 130 Pacific learners per year, and their families, to re-engage and remain engaged in learning.
• The programme provides support for young Pacific people to discover their strengths and aspirations for the future. Together with their parents, or a key family member, or school personnel Career Activ8 co-construct a plan with actions to improve attendance or complete relevant requirements at their current school to help transition learners to the next level of study or employment.

Journey of Wellness

Supporting the return to learning at school or early learning, finding the right education and training pathways.

The Journey of Wellness programme supported 46 Porirua City family members from school referrals and self-referrals. The programme was delivered by a Pacific provider who grew whānau resilience, improved parenting strategies and interventions in a Pacific context, and provided access to mentoring, counselling, and other identified supports. The goal to build and support an understanding of how to overcome barriers that may hinder a family’s ability to re-engage in education or transition to employment lead to positive changes and outcomes as reported by participants and schools.

Tautua Village  

Supporting attendance and engagement for Pacific learners.

This programme is aimed to improve engagement and attendance for all Pacific aiga to ensure young learners and their families are culturally safe.

Young Pacific learners and families successfully complete Ira Tangata Life Plan which consists of youth goal setting, culturally centred workshops, whanau interview and engagements, intensive learning support and interest-based activities. 

What requirements do service providers need to meet? 

• All organisations that receive funding must have satisfactory processes in place and completed police checks and vetting prior to commencing work particularly if working with children covered under the Childrens Act 2014.
• All organisations that receive funding must have a written policy in place which meets the requirements of the Health and Safety at Work Act 2015.
• All organisations that receive funding must also have policies and processes in place for collecting, storing and using personal client information and these must meet the requirements of the Privacy Act 1993.
• All organisations that receive funding must be legal entities and registered with the companies office.
• All material risks must be identified to the Ministry of Educationg. pending litigation.
• All organisations must declare any convictions that could compromise their agreements with the Ministry. 

What services and activities will be funded? 

The distribution of funding for Round 3 will focus on the services and activities where: 

• There is sufficient evidence to confirm the services and/or activities made positive changes to the circumstances of Pacific learners and their families.
• Pacific learners and their families are actively supported to access other Pacific health and social services to meet their health and wellbeing needs. 
• Relationships and connections between Pacific learners and their families, and places of learning are grown and strengthened.
• Pacific learners have access to on-site, in school health and wellbeing programmes that support them to remain engaged in on-site learning.
• The material needs of Pacific learners are met and they are supported to stay engaged or re-engage in learning, including on-line or distant learning.

Early learning services, schools, tertiary institutes and other education service providers cannot receive funding from the Pacific Education Support Fund. However, they can receive funding from the Pacific Education Innovation Fund.

What is not funded through The Pacific Education Support Fund? 

• Early learning services, schools and tertiary providers and the activities they are already funded to deliver (direct activities run by early learning services, schools, and tertiary providers).
• For-profit activities and/or any activity where there are financial benefits for the providers at the cost of providing services to learners and their families.
• Programmes and activities occurring overseas, including in the NZ realm countries.
• Overseas travel.
• Infrastructure
• Capital expenses.
• The Purchase of Capital equipment that is not directly linked to support Pacific learner’s engagement in learning.  Note that the Ministry of Education may allow the purchase of appropriate and essential items (such as digital devices) at its discretion.

Contact 

If you have questions that are not answered in the information provided, email: Pacific.Supportfund@education.govt.nz