The Second Language Learning Funding Pool

-1- The Second Language Learning Funding Pool 2006 - 2007 PART ONE : BACKGROUND Introduction As you may already know, a recommendation regarding language learning was contained in a report about the New Zealand curriculum that was published in 2002. The recommendation included the proposal that schools should work towards offering a second language to students in years 7 to 10. Government accepted the recommendation in 2003, and placed a five-year timeframe around its implementation. Schools are therefore working towards giving their students the opportunity to study a second language by 2008. The Second Language Learning Funding Pool has existed since 1999. It has been reshaped for 2006 to focus support on policy directions for languages, and particularly the need for schools to offer a second language to their students in years 7 to 10. Purpose of the Funding Pool The purpose of this contestable funding pool is to provide financial assistance to schools or clusters of schools for developing effective second language programmes for their students in years 7-10. Aims of the Funding Pool The following key aims have been established for the current round of the Second Language Learning Funding Pool:   To improve access to language learning for students in years 7 to 10 To develop teacher capability for teachers who are teaching languages in years 7 to 10. Priority to Years 7 and 8 Research has shown that schools with students in years 7/8 require focused support for language programmes. Applications for funding for these years will therefore be given priority. Accessed from TKI at http://www.tki.org.nz/r/language/funding_pool/ New Structure of the Funding Pool Two types of funding have been created in order to meet the aims of the Second Language Learning Funding Pool. 1) Access Funding for schools with no languages programme as yet. and 2) Sustainable Languages Funding for schools with existing languages programmes. Please note that you should apply for either Access Funding or Sustainable Languages Funding. Each type of funding will be made available for two calendar years (2006/07). The next funding round will take place in 2006 for 2007/08. PART TWO: THE TWO TYPES OF FUNDING Access Funding Access funding is intended to provide financial support to schools (or clusters of schools) that do not yet offer their year 7 - 10 students the opportunity of studying a second language. Research has shown that a considerable number of full primary and intermediate schools fall into this category. Consideration will also be given to schools which have had a second languages programme for one year or less. The Ministry recognizes that these schools may have needs which are similar to those of schools embarking on language programmes in 2006. The support will be provided over a two year period for resourcing and/or for developing teacher capability in a given languages programme. Resourcing constitutes equipment (TV/video, DVD, CD, cassette recorder, and headphones), languages software, and materials such as CDs and books for the classroom. Teacher capability constitutes language proficiency and/or language teaching methodology. The funding will be granted on a one-off basis for two calendar years. An evaluation panel will examine all applications received for Access Funding and will make recommendations to the Ministry of Education based on the following criteria:  A demonstrated need for the funding Accessed from TKI http://www.tki.org.nz/r/language/funding_pool/ 2  Planning set out in the application demonstrates that Ministry guidelines for language learning have been applied (See Learning Languages, a Ministry publication that can be downloaded from the following link: http://www.tki.org.nz/r/language/guide/) Planning for resourcing and teacher capability is clear and closely linked to the needs of the school(s) Indicators of success are clear and evidence of success is clearly aligned to the indicators A budget that is clear and coherent, and supports the goals of the proposed programme. Expenditure categories, the school’s contribution, and the GST component are made explicit A five year plan leading to a sustainable languages programme which becomes independent of additional Ministry of Education funding.     For an application form, please see Appendix One. Completed applications must be received at the Ministry of Education no later than 14 October 2005. For further information, please contact: Sara Esam, Project Facilitator: Languages at the Ministry of Education, tel (04) 463 8966, email sara.esam@minedu.govt.nz or Teri Ah Ching, Senior Support Officer, tel (04) 463 2852, email teri.ahching@minedu.govt.nz Successful applicants will be invited to negotiate a contract with the Ministry of Education. Unsuccessful applicants will be notified by mid-November 2005. Sustainable Languages Funding This type of funding is designed to provide financial support to schools (or clusters of schools) for existing language programmes and is intended to enhance the sustainability of those language programmes. Schools applying for funding will need to have given careful thought to their vision and strategies that support future development and sustainability beyond the need for additional funding from the Ministry of Education. The support will be provided over a two year period for developing teacher capability in a given languages programme. Teacher capability constitutes language proficiency and/or language teaching methodology/pedagogy. In order to be eligible for Sustainable Languages Funding, schools will need to provide for the classroom teacher(s) to offer a minimum of 90 minutes per week of language learning, and for a minimum of three terms per year. A school-wide commitment to language learning must also be shown. Accessed from TKI http://www.tki.org.nz/r/language/funding_pool/ 3 The funding will be granted on a one-off basis for two calendar years. An evaluation panel will examine all applications received for Sustainable Languages Funding and will make recommendations to the Ministry of Education based on the following criteria:     A demonstrated need for the funding Planning for teacher capability is clear and closely linked to the needs of the school(s) Indicators of success are clear, and evidence of success is clearly aligned to those indicators A budget that is clear and coherent, and supports the goals of the proposed programme. Expenditure categories, the school’s contribution, and the GST component are made explicit A five year plan leading to a sustainable languages programme which becomes independent of additional Ministry of Education funding beyond two years.  For an application form, please see Appendix Two Completed applications must be received at the Ministry of Education no later than 14 October 2005. For further information, please contact: Sara Esam, Project Facilitator: Languages at the Ministry of Education, tel (04) 463 8966, email sara.esam@minedu.govt.nz or Teri Ah Ching, Senior Support Officer, tel (04) 463 2852, email teri.ahching@minedu.govt.nz Successful applicants will be invited to negotiate a contract with the Ministry of Education. Unsuccessful applicants will be notified by mid-November 2005. Accessed from TKI http://www.tki.org.nz/r/language/funding_pool/ 4 APPENDIX ONE ACCESS FUNDING: APPLICATION FORM 1. Name of school or cluster of schools: ____________________________ Is there now, or has there ever been, a second languages programme at your school or in your cluster of schools? YES/NO If you answered YES, please indicate how long the second languages programme(s) has/have existed or did exist ____________________ 2. Amount of funding requested Number of students who will study a second language Total of students in school/cluster Year levels to benefit from funding (please tick) $ __________ __________ __________ 7/8 3. If this application is for one school, please complete: Principal: Project director(s): Contact details: 9/10 _________________________________________ _________________________________________ _________________________________________ _________________________________________ _________________________________________ _________________________________________ 4. If this application is for a cluster of schools, please complete: Lead school principal: _______________________________________ Lead project director(s):_______________________________________ Other members of the languages cluster: School name: Principal name: _________________________ _________________________ _________________________ _________________________ _________________________ _________________________ Declaration: I,_________________(Principal), certify that _________________________ _________________________  I am _________________________ _________________________ _________________________ _________________________ _________________________ _________________________ 5. Declaration: I, ____________________ (Principal) of _____________(school/cluster), authorised signatory of the relevant Board(s) of Trustees, certify that this application is true and correct. Signed ______________________ Name ______________________ Date: ______________________ Accessed from TKI http://www.tki.org.nz/r/language/funding_pool/ 5 6. The following are the selection criteria that will be used by the evaluation panel to consider your application. Please address each in turn, assigning no more than one page to each criterion.   A demonstrated need for the funding. Planning set out in the application demonstrates that Ministry guidelines for language learning have been applied. (See Learning Languages, a Ministry publication that can be downloaded from the following link: http://www.tki.org.nz/r/language/guide/) Planning for resourcing and teacher capability is clear and closely linked to the needs of the school(s). See note below. Indicators of success are clear and evidence of success is clearly aligned to the indicators. See template 1 in Appendix Three. A budget that is clear and coherent, and supports the goals of the proposed programme. Expenditure categories, the school’s contribution, and the GST component are made explicit. See template 2 in Appendix Three. A five year plan leading to a sustainable languages programme which becomes independent of additional Ministry of Education funding.     Note: Resourcing and teacher capability Access funding can be requested only for the following resources: equipment (TV/video, DVD player, CD player, cassette recorder, headphones), languages software, and materials such as CDs and books for the classroom. Access funding can be requested for items that develop classroom teacher proficiency in the target language(s) and/or in teaching methodology. Please note that overseas travel is excluded from the funding. Also excluded are requests that entail developing teacher capability in specialist teachers who will replace the classroom teacher. To apply: please send one original and four copies of the completed application form to the following address: Proposal: Second Language Learning Funding Pool Sara Esam Ministry of Education Level 10, Vogel Building 8 Aitken Street Thorndon, Wellington Completed applications must be received at the Ministry of Education no later than 14 October 2005. Accessed from TKI http://www.tki.org.nz/r/language/funding_pool/ 6 APPENDIX TWO SUSTAINABLE LANGUAGES FUNDING 1. Name of school or cluster of schools. Does your school have a languages’ programme? How long has your languages programme existed? 2. ____________________ ____________________ ____________________ $ ___________ ___________ ___________ Amount of funding requested Number of students who will study a second language Total of students in school/cluster Year levels to benefit from funding (please tick) Language(s) being taught Number of hours per week for each language Number of terms for 06/07 for each language 3. If this application is for one school, please complete: Principal: Project director(s): 7/8 9/10 ___________ _____/… _____/… __________________________________________ 4. __________________________________________ __________________________________________ Contact details: __________________________________________ __________________________________________ __________________________________________ If this application is for a cluster of schools, please complete: Lead school principal: ________________________________________ Lead project director(s): ________________________________________ Other members of the languages cluster: School name: ________________________ ________________________ ________________________ ________________________ ________________________ ________________________ ________________________ ________________________ Principal name: __________________________ __________________________ __________________________ __________________________ __________________________ __________________________ __________________________ __________________________ 5. Declaration: I, ____________________ (Principal) of _____________(school/cluster), authorised signatory of the relevant Board(s) of Trustees, certify that this application is true and correct. Signed ______________________ Name ______________________ Date: ______________________ Accessed from TKI http://www.tki.org.nz/r/language/funding_pool/ 7 6. The following are the selection criteria that will be used by the evaluation panel to consider your application. Please address each of the selection criteria in turn, assigning no more than one page to each criterion.     A demonstrated need for the funding. Planning for teacher capability is clear and closely linked to the needs of the school(s). See note below. Indicators of success are clear and evidence of success is clearly aligned to the indicators. See template 3 in Appendix Three. A budget that is clear and coherent, and supports the goals of the proposed programme. Expenditure categories, the school’s contribution, and the GST component are made explicit. See template 2 in Appendix Three. A five year plan leading to a sustainable languages programme which becomes independent of additional Ministry of Education funding beyond two years.  Note: For the purposes of Sustainable Languages Funding, teacher capability constitutes language proficiency and/or teaching methodology/pedagogy. Overseas travel is excluded from the funding. Also excluded are requests that entail developing teacher capability in specialist teachers who will replace the classroom teacher. To apply: please send one original and four copies of the completed application form to the following address: Proposal: Second Language Learning Funding Pool Sara Esam Ministry of Education Level 10, Vogel Building 8 Aitken Street Thorndon, Wellington Completed applications must be received at the Ministry of Education no later than 14 October 2005. Accessed from TKI http://www.tki.org.nz/r/language/funding_pool/ 8 APPENDIX THREE: OPTIONAL TEMPLATES Template 1: Access Funding – Indicators/Evidence of Success (One of several selection criteria - see page 6). The way in which you present the required information about indicators and evidence is entirely up to you. However, we have devised a template which you may find helpful: Aims of the Second Language Learning Funding Pool Your school’s or cluster’s goals as they relate to the aims of the Funding Pool If successful in this application, what will you buy and/or do that will contribute to meeting the goals you have outlined? Indicators/Evidence How will you measure whether the purchases and/or actions have met the goals you set out to meet? Please note that the measurements should be at a level beyond purchasing a certain item or attending a certain course or meeting. What is needed is the impact on student learning. To improve access to language learning for students in Years 7 – 10 To develop teacher capability for teachers who are teaching languages to Year 7 – 10 students. Accessed from TKI http://www.tki.org.nz/r/language/funding_pool/ 9 Template 2: Budget (one of several selection criteria to be addressed. See page 6 for Access Funding, and page 8 for Sustainable Languages Funding). The way in which you present the required budget information is entirely up to you. However, we have devised a template which you may find helpful: What do you need to buy? How many? Cost per item excl GST GST per item Total cost excl GST Total cost incl GST Subtotal GST TOTAL Accessed from TKI http://www.tki.org.nz/r/language/funding_pool/ 10 Template 3: Sustainable Languages Funding - Indicators and Evidence of Success (one of several selection criteria to be addressed. See page 8) The way in which you present the required information about indicators and evidence is entirely up to you. However, we have devised a template which you may find helpful: Indicators/Evidence How will you measure whether the purchases and/or actions have met the goals you set out to meet? Please note that the measurements should be at a level beyond purchasing a certain item or attending a certain course or meeting. What is needed is the impact on student learning. The Second Language Learning Funding Pool: Aim for teacher capability Your school’s or cluster’s goals as they relate to this aim of the Funding Pool If successful in this application, what will you buy and/or do that will contribute to meeting the goals you have outlined? To develop teacher capability for teachers who are teaching languages to Year 7 – 10 students. Accessed from TKI http://www.tki.org.nz/r/language/funding_pool/ 11