As a teacher aide, you have access to funding to support your professional development and career progression following the settlement of the Support Staff in Schools’ Collective Agreement (SSSCA) 2022 – 2024.

The $4 million fund is available to all 27,000 teacher aides, and kaiarahi i te reo in Aotearoa New Zealand. The fund is the result of 2022 collective bargaining and earlier Pay Equity settlement for teacher aides. From this bargaining and settlement, PLD and induction were identified as areas where teacher aides were not able to get equitable access.

The funding recognises the important role Teacher Aides have in supporting education outcomes and provides financial support for professional learning opportunities related to that role.

This new fund builds on Teacher Aide PLD Pilot Fund which operated between June 2020 and July 2021. Learn more about the Pilot here.

The Fund opened to applications on 24 April 2023. 

The Fund remains open until the SSSCA expires on 19 December 2024, or the available funding is fully allocated - whichever happens sooner. PLD accessed via this fund needs to commence on or after 24 April 2023 (the launch of the Fund) and be completed by the expiry of the Collective in December 2024.

• PLD offerings adhere to the principles of Te Tiriti of Waitangi and are reflective of the cultural needs of communities. PLD offerings demonstrate culturally responsive practices applicable to the peoples of Aotearoa.
• The PLD upholds and increases the mana of Teacher Aides through enabling their access to professional development crucial to their career and the schools and kura in which they work.
• The Fund must be accessible to all teacher aides and kaiāwhina working in a range of settings – including, but not limited to, primary, intermediate, secondary, area schools, Te Kura Kaupapa Māori, a range of socio-economic settings and urban and rural/isolated areas. Courses can be delivered kanohi ki te kanohi and/or online.
• Teacher Aides should identify the PLD they wish to engage in and have this endorsed by their people leader, taking into consideration the needs of the school and tamariki.
• Teacher Aides should demonstrate a willingness to foster and contribute to, a greater understanding of Aotearoa’s cultural identities and education sector issues and changes. Where possible Teacher Aides should take the opportunity to share their learning with colleagues.
• Teacher Aides wishing to access the Fund should be fully supported by their schools and kura to do so; for example, assistance with obtaining an ESL login, suitable equipment on which to do their work, and the time to do it.
• The range of PLD available for Teacher Aides will continue be identified, extended, tailored, created and sourced where necessary.
• PLD for Teacher Aides shares the same standards that are applied to PLD for teachers. That is, PLD should be responsive to need, where possible include opportunities for further coaching or mentoring and be delivered regularly.

• The applicant is a Teacher Aide or equivalent working in a New Zealand state or state-integrated school.
• PLD applied for is only for the purposes of building capability and competency in relation to the applicant’s role as a Teacher Aide, and not for any other role.
• The PLD should support the development of the Teacher Aide’s skills and knowledge in a way that contributes to the vision of the school or kura.
• The PLD requested must support the learning needs of the ākonga with whom the Teacher Aide works or align with one or more of the Teacher Aide Competency areas.
• The PLD requested must be upcoming, and not PLD that has already been completed; funding must be requested and granted ahead of enrolment and participation in the PLD.
• The Teacher Aide has discussed and agreed the timetable or time required out of school with their supervisor.
• The Board of Trustees/principal, people manager has been informed of and agreed to the PLD the Teacher Aide intends to participate in.

You can apply for funding to:

• Cover the fees/ costs for the PLD
• Reimbursement your school for the time required for you to participate in the PLD during work hours so that you can be paid at your normal rate
• Contribute to travel and accommodation required for you to participate in the PLD.

If you attend the online course/module outside of classroom hours, you can be paid at your normal rate for the required time.

Entitlement

Individual Teacher Aides will be able to apply for up to $1,000 of funding to access PLD over the term of the Collective Agreement (to 19 December 2024, or until funds are exhausted – whichever is sooner).

There is an additional allowance of up to $500 for travel and accommodation if you meet the following criteria:

• you are located more than 100km from a population centre of more than 20,000 people, or
• you have to travel to a specialist course that is only delivered in limited locations of 100km or more away, or
• you have to travel between islands. 

Costs over and above this must be met by other means.

Kaiārahi i te reo

A separate pilot PLD fund for Kaiārahi i te Reo was launched on 25 March 2024 - find out more about this here.

The Ministry and NZEI Te Riu Roa are working to ensure that the range of PLD accessed through this Fund supports the skills and competencies reflected in the Teacher Aide Work Matrix. [PDF, 400 KB]

From the time the fund opens, you will be able to apply under the following categories of PLD – there will be an application type for each category:

Set Category

These are a range of PLD offerings identified and approved by the Ministry and NZEI Te Riu Roa.

View the Set Category PLD list here.

• This category includes courses from polytechnics, universities, private tertiary providers, non-profit organisations, and free local initiatives arranged by clusters of schools or local Ministry offices.
• Many of these offerings were available as part of the original Teacher Aide PLD Pilot Fund in 2020 -2021. Some have been developed more recently. 

The Ministry and NZEI Te Riu Roa have also identified some relevant Teacher Aide skills/competencies not met by existing PLD offerings and intend to source additional PLD opportunities. These include courses which have a te ao Māori lens, communication, behaviour management, and subject specialist areas, particularly at secondary level.

Open Category

The Ministry and NZEI Te Riu Roa are aware that there are likely to be relevant PLD offerings which have not yet been identified in the Set Category but fit with the Kaupapa of the Fund and are relevant to specialist Teacher Aide needs.

For this category, you can identify the name and learning outcomes of an existing course / opportunity you wish to engage in, where it is available, the cost and how it will support the role you perform.

PLD based on self-directed inquiry

Limited funding is also available for PLD based on self-directed inquiry into a topic of relevance to your work, which fits with the Kaupapa of the Fund, as discussed and agreed with your supervisor.

• This will provide you with paid time – up to a maximum of 10 hours - to immerse yourself in material available online, from reputable sources – such as TKI or other New Zealand sources. The recent report by the Education Review Office Working Together: How Teacher Aides Can Have the Most Impact, together with its associated online resources, is another such source.
  
  
• It is recommended that you document the discussion with your supervisor regarding self-directed inquiry. This will help you capture the information you need for the funding application and to ensure you have your own record of this PLD. Click here for more information and a copy of the template.

For any enquiries regarding teacher aide PLD funding or your application, please get in touch with us at TeacherAide.PLD@education.govt.nz

Update 14 March 2024:

Direct payments of approved funding to schools and kura is now live as of 11^th March 2024, and will occur as indicated in the information below.

Please note that the interim process to release funding to schools and kura on invoice has ceased as of 12 February 2024, and any invoices received after this date will not be processed as those funding allocations will be included in direct payments.

Should you have any questions regarding payment processes, please contact  TeacherAide.PLD@education.govt.nz

Funding payments will be made on the following basis after commencement of the PLD:

Set Category Funding Applications

• PLD fee - paid directly to the provider by the Ministry on invoice once the PLD has been completed. The provider will need the Application Reference Number and a copy of the approval confirmation email from the teacher aide on enrolment in order to be paid.
  
  
• Wage and Travel cost(s) - the Ministry will make payment directly to the school after the PLD has commenced, and the school will need to re-imburse the teacher aide where applicable.

Open Category Funding Applications

For Open Category applications, payment to the provider will need to be made on enrolment; the teacher aide or school will need to arrange this payment.

• PLD fee, Wage and Travel cost(s) - the Ministry will make payment directly to the school after the PLD has commenced, and the school will need to reimburse the teacher aide where applicable. 

The payments will only cover the costs in the application, so it’s important the costs are recorded accurately when applications are submitted.