Learner Support Fund - Tahua Taunaki Akonga

Learner Support Fund

Tahua Taunaki Akonga/Learner Support Fund is a programme which offers tuition sessions to Ngāi Tahu children. It provides additional support for Ngāi Tahu children in all education settings.

Eligibility and Criteria

For your child to be eligible for tuition funding, they must be:

• Registered with Whakapapa Ngāi Tahu;
• Attending school*; and
• Aged between 5 and 21

*Must be enrolled at a New Zealand Primary or Secondary school,
OR be in a Ministry of Education approved New Zealand Home School Programme,
OR be enrolled through the correspondence school and be resident in New Zealand,
OR if the applicant resides outside of New Zealand he/she must be enrolled in an equivalent educational setting that is approved by the government in the applicant’s country of residence.

*Please note: Learner Support Fund is utilised to compliment what is offered already within the classroom, it is important to note that Teacher Aide will not be funded. Funding can support with tuition lessons outside of school hours.

Available Funding

Learner Support Fund (Out of School Tuition)

Learner Support Fund (Out of School Tuition) is available once per financial year. The funding round commences with Term 3 every year and finishes with Term 2 of the following year, e.g. Term 3, 2021 to Term 2, 2022. A new application and supporting documents (pre-tuition report) needs to be submitted each funding round. The Learner Support Fund – Out of School Tuition is solely for tuition – please see Special Assessment funding for learning assessments.

The amount of funding available (per financial year) for tuition support is as follows:

• $470 (+ GST where applicable) is available to tamariki who meet the eligibility criteria above
• $940 (+ GST where applicable) is available to tamariki who meet the eligibility criteria above, and one of the following criteria:
  • is seeking remedial support (the child must be at a remedial level in the subject area where tuition is sought as evidenced by the pre-tuition assessment report)
  • is studying at NCEA level (or equivalent) and needs support in two or more subject areas (a pre-tuition assessment report must be completed for each subject where tuition is sought)

Overseas residents are eligible for equivalent NZ$470 (incl. GST) or NZ$940 (incl. GST) depending on which
criteria are met.

Applications need to be submitted at least two weeks prior to the commencement of the term in which the tuition is to be undertaken. If applications are received after this, they will roll over to the following term. Please see the online application form for specific closing dates for each term. Funding once per financial year still applies.

A supporting pre-tuition report will need to be completed by your child’s school teacher and provided at the time of applying. Templates for years 0-10 are available to download here and years 11-13 are available to download here.

Apply via the Te Kopa Ora Grants Portal.

If you have any questions regarding tuition support, please contact the Funds Team at [email protected].

Special Assessment Funding

Funds are available to provide support for whānau of children with special educational needs. The fund will pay the cost of specialist learning assessments.

The maximum amount of funding available for a specialist learning assessment is $940 +GST (where applicable) per child per financial year.

Funding for specialist learning assessments will be considered on a case-by-case basis.

Apply via the Te Kopa Ora Grants Portal.

Please email the completed form, along with the supporting documents to [email protected].

If you have any questions regarding tuition support, please contact the Funds Team at [email protected].